Verden er uskarp / The World Is Out Of Focus

Marianne Engberg, Else Tholstrup, Nanna Bisp Büchert, and Tove Kurtzweil learned the craft of photography during an era when women were thought best suited for the role of assistant at best. The four worked in the 1950s and 60s at Bauhaus in Chicago, Sri Lanka, New York, and Copenhagen and were pioneers of avant-garde photography, all taking very different life paths. Their stories bear witness to turbulent, eventful lives, but also to how women, despite their spirit of innovation, their creativity, and their technical know-how, were usually relegated to second place, behind the men. The film makes clear why these women photographers are only just now very gradually receiving the placement they deserve in museums, and invites us to discover their work. The works that are shown over the course of the film are impressive testimonies to their various oeuvres. They give the film a great sensuality and simultaneously make it a tribute to analogue photography.