Ask Hasselbalch

Born 1979, Copenhagen (Denmark). He graduated from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 2010, the same year as he graduated in Directing from the Danish film school “Super16”. In 2013, he was chosen for the Nordic Film Lab program, reserved for 16 of the most promising directors, scriptwriters and producers from Scandinavia. He directed several short films, including YOU’RE THE BEST (EN SIKKER VINDER, 2008), THE OTHER SIDE (HUSET OVERFOR, 2009), and his graduation film, THE CROSSING (VILDDYR, 2010). ANTBOY marks his feature debut and got world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Director’s statement

“My intention with ANTBOY is to give the audience the same rush that I felt as a child watching superhero movies like Tim Burton’s BATMAN and Richard Donner’s SUPERMAN THE MOVIE”.
“ANTBOY is a film about a 12-year old boy who, by coincidence, becomes a real superhero. And through the changes and the struggle with his new identity, he learns to accept who he is, as well as realizing the importance of friendship”.
“The film is filled with action, and has a strong moral: you don’t need superpowers to remain who you are, as long as you have friends who stand by you. It’s a film that is true to its genre without surrendering to irony. However it still manages to maintain a tongue-in-cheek tone. I wanted to tell a classic story about good vs. evil using the language of modern film, without compromising either its style or substance”.