A World Gone Mad – The War Diaries of Astrid Lindgren will premiere at the 2026 edition of CPH:DOX, the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival, shining a new spotlight on the Swedish creator of Pippi Longstocking and Ronia the Robber’s Daughter, organizers unveiled on Wednesday.
The film from director Wilfried Hauke tells the story of Lindgren’s “young years during World War II through her own diaries in a beautiful and intelligent film about life, death and art in the shadow of war,” a synopsis of the film on the website of the Danish doc fest reads. “As the storm clouds of a new world war gather on the horizon, Lindgren watches in despair. And on September 1, 1939, when Germany invades Poland and the war begins, she starts a diary, which becomes her companion during the dark years of the war. Line by line, the sensible Lindgren puts her thoughts about life, death and the role of art in the shadow of war into words.”
It is understood that the doc suggests that Pippi Longstocking would not have existed without World War II. CPH:DOX organizers highlighted that with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the turmoil it has caused, A World Gone Mad – The War Diaries of Astrid Lindgren also feels “eerily topical.”
The film from producers Iris Sommerlatte, Wilfried Hauke, Magnus Gertten, and Hermann Pölking-Eiken will screen at the Copenhagen fest on March 22, along with screenings in other parts of Denmark around that time. The Copenhagen screening will be followed by a discussion with former member of parliament, long-time minister and author Bertel Haarder about “spiritual rearmament, Astrid Lindgren’s united values and the Nordic community.”
CPH:DOX 2026 runs March 11-22.
The Copenhagen fest previously said it would pay tribute to Belgian cycling legend “The Cannibal” Eddy Merckx with the Danish premiere of Christophe Hermans and Boris Tilquin’s doc Merckx – Race of a Champion. With A World Gone Mad – The War Diaries of Astrid Lindgren, it is adding to its cinematic exploration of big European names.
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