After the death of her twin, Linda Mortansdóttir offers a tender exploration of the life they shared and the aspects of her brother she struggled to know. The feature unfurls a loving portrait of Rasmus Rasmussen whilst delicately unpicking the societal prejudice he faced growing up on the Faroe Islands.

This story was Linda Mortansdóttir’s documentary debut. It was nominated for the Prix Europa in 2016 and finished in the top 10. The documentary was made in collaboration with Third Ear, with production coaching from Tim Hinman and Rikke Houd. It was first broadcast on national public service radio in the Faroe Islands and later released as a Third Ear x Politiken podcast in a new version. Since making this documentary Mortansdóttir has moved back to the Faroe Islands with her family.

In 2006, stories of LGBT people being harassed started to emerge in the capital of the Faroe Islands – Tórshavn. Incidents where people had been chased and attacked. There was a particular incident, the one mentioned in this story, that reached the media’s attention and provoked fierce debate.

The debate reached Parliament – the Christian right wing vs. the left liberal wing. Many people wanted the Discrimination Act (§266b), to include ‘sexual orientation’ in order to protected homosexual people in the Faroes under the law, so that they wouldn’t be discriminated against, when applying for jobs, etc.

Some politicians argued, that there were no gay people in the Faroes, and therefore we didn’t need this change in §266b. But the incident in this story, proved, that this was not true. After this there was a concrete case, giving evidence that homosexuals in the Faroes were persecuted.

After several months of debate in Parliament, and on social media, Parliament voted 16 against and 17 for the proposal was approved, so that ‘sexual orientation’ was included in the Discrimination Act.