How can there be music in the worst place in the world?

Told through the words of victims of Auschwitz who played and created music during the terrors of the Holocaust, this film shows how, in the most brutal and dehumanizing situations, music could be a lifeline, a way to give testimony, and even a way to resist. Woven throughout are new interpretations of musical works written by victims of the camp, mainly filmed at resonant locations in the environs of Auschwitz. Between them, they touch on themes of loss, longing, and cultural memory, and address head-on the barbaric and murderous regime at Auschwitz.

In this Sundance-selected documentary, Englishman Nik and his Norwegian wife Maria attempt to forge a new life on a farm in her homeland’s lush woodlands. Their goal is to live sustainably, putting as little strain upon the planet as possible. But when the family suffers a tragedy, Nik’s resolve to continue on this singular mission is severely challenged and the ‘normal’ world comes knocking. Can they maintain some version of this idyll or is it a paradise out of reach?

Bearing comparison with the events of Captain Fantastic (2016) but played out with the complexities and inescapable truths of real life, A New Kind of Wilderness is not just a heartbreaking portrait of the endurance of a family, but also a breathtaking trip into the Norwegian wilderness. The kind of unfolding, surprising, intimate and honest documentary portrait that can only emerge over years of hard-won access,

A New Kind of Wilderness is for anyone who wants to (re)discover the power of family and think about different ways of striding this Earth.