The Early Years: Erik Nietzsche Part 1 (2007)

Erik Nietzsche is an intelligent but inexperienced and shy young man who is convinced that he wants to be a film director. In the late 1970s, Erik is accepted by the Danish National Film School where he enters a world of angry and unhelpful tutors, weird fellow students, and unwritten rules. During this exhilarating and angst-provoking period, Erik feels increasingly like a foreigner in the film industry. Frequently, he is a mere observer of the absurdities that surround him. He encounters trade-union disputes, falls in love, and experiences self-assured, empowered women who refuse to commit. The film is a drama full of comedy, a sharp portrait of a conceited but entertaining world of film which we suspect our dogged young director will eventually conquer with his vision.