Two days ago the Docpoint documentary festival started in Helsinki. One of the most interesting movies featured is the documentary “69” which depicts the last months before the eviction of the legendary Ungdomshuset / Youth House in Copenhagen.

Before it’s eviction in March 2007 the Youth House was the gathering point of the autonomous radical left of northern Europe, as well as the center of independent and leftist culture in Copenhagen. After the eviction the authorities found out this the hard way. Thousands of young people from diverse political and cultural scenes of Copenhagen took to the streets in the worst riots in Denmark since the Second World War. Struggling at their side were hundreds of foreign supporters. Solidarity actions were arranged across Europe. Actions were also arranged in Helsinki and the local squatting scene actually got restarted from these struggles.

The result was a massive radicalisation of hundreds of people in Copenhagen and abroad. After a year of struggles a new Youth House was instituted in Copenhagen. The offshoot movement in Helsinki also gained it’s own victory: A social center for radical grassroots activities was given to squatters. The “69” documentary will be shown tomorrow for free at this house (which officially opens only in a month), with an introduction by the director Nikolaj Viborg.

For me the Copenhagen scene is the culmination of social autonomy at its most beautiful. Located around the district of Norrebro the scene is buzzing with political and cultural grassroots activities. This diversity includes a variety of very interesting underground music groups that would deserve way more attention. We are proud to give our readers a first introduction to this scene through the rapper RasmusModsat, who wrote some of the most angry rhymes on the eviction of the Youth House.

We’ll get back to this issue with a diverse variety of artists from the Copenhagen underground at the anniversary of the eviction of the Youth House on the first of March. Stay tuned.

69 in the house, the new documentary at our new social center at 7pm tomorrow Sunday.

RasmusModsat – De har taget et hus [mp3]
RasmusModsat on myspace