Danish Film Recreates Cult Life With Input From Former Members

The hybrid documentary 'Father's House' opens in the Doc@PÖFF International Competition on Monday at the 30th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia. The film pairs former members of the Danish Christian sect Faderhuset with celebrated actors to recreate life inside the group during the 1990s.

The congregation, known in Danish as Father's House, operated as a tightly controlled community dominated by faith, manipulation, and abuse. It closed its doors in 2013, after which various leaders and members moved abroad. The film traces this evolution and the internal dynamics of the group.

Directors Adam Nielsen, Andreas Koefoed, and Eva Mulvad avoided conventional dramatization. Instead, they used former members to guide actors through reenactments. The production intercuts these scenes with behind-the-scenes exchanges and interviews where ex-members confront traumatic memories. The festival describes the result as intimate, deeply unsettling, and formally inventive.

Trine Dyrholm, known for The Girl With the Needle, portrays Ruth Evensen, also known as Ruth Kristiansen. Evensen led the sect throughout the 1990s. David Dencik plays former member Jerry. Laura Kronborg Kjær plays Camilla Johnson, and Emma Sehested Høeg also stars. Nielsen handled editing, while Mia Mai Dengsø Graabæk and Adam Jandrup served as cinematographers.

Camilla Johnson spent seven years in Faderhuset before leaving to found InsideOut. This nonprofit organization helps others exit cults through books and talks. Her connection to the film began a decade ago when she met Mulvad. After Johnson wrote her second book, Mulvad proposed a documentary collaboration.

The directors proposed that former members help direct the actors. Johnson initially hesitated, uncertain about sharing the most shameful parts of her life. She ultimately embraced the concept, praising the cast and directors for treating vulnerable material with respect. After the first day of shooting, she drove home feeling profound gratitude for her freedom, which she gained 18 years after leaving the sect.

Johnson stated that the film was never about her personal story but about showing the mechanism of control. She described the process as healing and beautiful. Koefoed called the concept really genius, arguing that conventional reenactments often feel artificial. This production shows how scenes are built, making former members co-creators. Johnson helped select scenes and appears early in the film giving notes to Dyrholm.

One intense sequence, which Johnson calls the birth scene, places Dyrholm's Ruth opposite Kjær's Camilla. Johnson initially refused to include it because it involved some of the worst abuse she experienced. She later viewed it as essential to show how people lose themselves to power when God is placed above human control. She wanted audiences to see and feel that dynamic.

Koefoed hopes the film counters the tendency to dismiss cult members as weak or unintelligent. He described the people in the film as super smart and strong, noting that they entered the group during a vulnerable stretch while seeking community. He wants viewers to understand why people join and how difficult it is to leave and rebuild a life.

Johnson stressed that the subject reaches beyond Denmark. She observed similar mechanisms while traveling in America and living in Jerusalem and Israel. She called the film timely in a world where people seek faith and belonging. She warned that when questioning a human being becomes the same as questioning God, a huge problem exists. The filmmakers sent the film to Father's House representatives about a month ago with two weeks to comment. They never responded. Camera Film will release the movie in Danish cinemas on Nov. 19, with DR Sales handling international sales.