Christiania - 40 Years of Occupation tells the story of a squatter community occupying an abandoned military base in the center of Copenhagen, Denmark.

 

Christiania was born in 1971 when youthful idealism and a severe housing shortage incited hundreds of young people to occupy 85 acres of deserted brick buildings, woods, ramparts and canals as their home. Finding it politically unpopular to evict the young settlers, the Danish government declared Christiania a "short-term social experiment".

 

Over forty years later, Christiania is still standing.

 

Through interviews with longtime Christiania residents and police and government officials, Christiania - 40 Years of Occupation explores consensus democracy, alternative building methods, drug policy and Scandinavian culture in a provocative and often humorous character study of this fascinating community.