Harbour

For its centenary, Halden wanted a film for its people first and its customers second.

A 20-minute documentary, an 8-minute version for trade fairs and an archive of interviews.

The 20-minute film was made for the centenary evening and for every new employee after it. The 8-minute version keeps the history short and the people in front, for trade fairs and customer visits.

The interview archive was part of the brief from the start: every conversation in full, transcribed and indexed, so the company keeps its own memory long after the film.

Thirty interviews, from the founder's granddaughter to the night shift on the cranes, and a week at sea.

Every interview was filmed where the person works, during their shift, with the harbour audible in the background. The oldest voice belongs to a retired crane driver who started there at fifteen.

The week at sea was on one of the company's own container ships, from loading to the next port. We worked from the family's photo albums and the harbour's film archive to connect the past to what we saw on board.

Premiered for 800 employees and their families in the company's own warehouse.

The warehouse was set up as a cinema for one night, with the ship that appears in the film moored outside. Many of the people interviewed saw themselves next to their parents' generation for the first time.

Halden now shows the film on every new employee's first day, and the archive has become the basis for the company's museum corner in the harbour office.