Aka Hansen: I was surprised how many poems could fit into film and politics

Aka Hansen (1987, Aarhus) is a Danish-Greenlandic writer, filmmaker, and activist who in her work combines literature, film, and social engagement. She grew up between Denmark and Greenland in a family with a Greenlandic mother and a Danish father, which fundamentally shaped her perspective on questions of identity, language, and cultural heritage. After studying at the European Film College and the Super16 film school in Copenhagen, she focused primarily on film and television production, striving for an authentic portrayal of Inuit life and for overcoming stereotypes associated with Greenland. She is the founder of the production platform Uilu Stories, whose aim is to strengthen the voice of Indigenous people through their own narratives. In addition to her film work, Hansen is also establishing herself as a writer: her book debut Manifesti (Manifest, 2024) brings together personal, poetic, and political voices and addresses themes of colonialism, identity, gender, and the right of Inuit people to tell their own stories. She is also actively engaged in public life—she ran for the Siumut party in the 2026 Danish parliamentary (Folketing) elections and aligns herself with the circle of views close to the Greenlandic politician Aki Matilda Høegh-Dam, who advocates strengthening Greenlandic identity and greater autonomy for the country. In her work, Hansen emphasises the search for voice, the process of reconciliation, and the strengthening of cultural memory, understanding art as a tool for social change.