Record‑Breaking New Season for ASK WHY? Docs

The new season of ASK WHY? Docs has launched, and it’s shaping up to be the programme’s biggest year yet. Over the coming months, more than 10,000 students from 158 schools in 38 different municipalities across Denmark will take part in documentary screenings and discussions about freedom, democracy, and human rights. These numbers represent the highest turnout to date, setting a new year‑on‑year record for ASK WHY? Docs, which continues to expand its educational programme and bring global issues to young audiences throughout the country.

Through documentary film and dialogue, the programme encourages students to engage with complex social issues and reflection on how values and personal views are shaped by the world around them.

Twelve documentaries, one shared conversation.  

This season ASK WHY? Docs introduces students to four documentaries from the new WHY FREEDOM? campaign, which explores what freedom means in different parts of the world. The campaign brings together documentary films from across the globe that examine freedom from different perspectives and experiences. 

Through personal stories, the films invite young audiences to reflect on questions of identity, human rights, belief, and the choices people are able - or unable - to make in their everyday lives. The films take the audience from Ukraine and Bolivia to Myanmar and India, introducing stories about how freedom is experienced by people around the world. In addition, eight other documentaries will be screened, including the Oscar‑winning film Mr. Nobody vs. Putin.

A record-breaking start in Copenhagen

The new season officially began on September 1st at Palads Cinema in Copenhagen, where more than 1,200 students and their teachers gathered for a screening of Catching Them Young by Pankaj Johar and Sunaina Kapoor. The film follows children who attend a traditional boarding school in India, where devotion merges with political ideology and indoctrination.

“I was surprised by how little freedom the children had, and how strict everything was compared to our schools,” said Augusta from Sølvgade Skole.

Following the film, students participated in a discussion about freedom and religion with guest speaker Christoffer Paulsen. Christoffer shared his own experiences growing up in a strong religious environment within the Danish Lutheran Mission and spoke openly about how it shaped his life. 

For many students the discussion helped connect Christoffer's personal story to the themes explored in the film and encouraged them to reflect on their own experiences and beliefs.

‍“Christoffers story showed us that the same kind of influence can happen in every religion, also in Christianity," said Daniel, who attends the 10th grade at NEXT. 

The students also took the opportunity to ask Christoffer more personal questions about his decision to leave his religious community and how that choice affected his relationships with family and friends. Through his reflections, the students gained a deeper understanding of the challenges that can arise when personal beliefs change and conflict with the expectations of those around you.

The conversation encouraged them to reflect on their own lives, freedom, and the role religion and community can play in shaping a person's worldview. For many, the discussion helped bridge the gap between the documentary and their own reality, making the themes of the film feel more relevant and relatable.

“Freedom for me means that I can choose my own path without my parents having a fixed opinion on what I should do,"  said Robin, who attends the 10^th grade at NEXT.

Using the cinema as the classroom, ASK WHY? Docs encourages students to engage with contemporary global issues through award-winning documentary films from around the world. The programme combines film and dialogue to promote critical thinking, perspective-taking and democratic citizenship, creating a space where young people can explore complex questions, challenge assumptions and better understand the world around them.