00:03
Aka Niviâna
In this picture, you have the light colors in the background and these deep colors in the front. A lot of contrast.

00:10
Aka Niviâna
Makes me think about how our society contradicts in many ways. You have a king wanting to help the common people, but at the same time, it's also a king living in a hierarchy and he's on top of that hierarchy. So I think it's a good sense for me to think about how I form opinions or think about all these nuances that I've been trying to navigate in these spaces, and not always having the answer for what is definitely right and definitely wrong.

00:41
Aka Niviâna
Monarchies around the world and empires and all of that. And only now we live in democratic society, and it's so young. I think we're still learning how to human sometimes.

00:55
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
My name is Tina Jøhnk Christensen, and I'm the host of Danish Originals, a podcast series created in partnership with the National Gallery of Denmark and the American Friends of the National Gallery of Denmark. Our goal is to celebrate Danish creatives who have made a significant mark in the US.

01:14
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
Today, our guest is Aka Niviâna Mørch Pedersen, a multi talented creative woman from Greenland. Welcome, Aka.

01:21
Aka Niviâna
Thank you so much.

01:23
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
Aka, you wear so many hats professionally. You're an activist, an actress, a producer, a poet, an advisor, and I could go on. Maybe it would be a good idea for you to present yourself to our listeners and tell them about a lot of the things that you are engaged in. So Aka, what do you do? Give us a short introduction to the many things that motivate you and that you are engaged in professionally.

01:47
Aka Niviâna
I like to introduce myself as an artist using different platforms to whatever occupies my mind, I think, and what I feel I want to talk about, whether it's issues or just things that interest me. So yeah, I would mainly say I'm an artist in different situations and work relations.

02:08
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
What would you say are your creative fields that you express yourself in?

02:12
Aka Niviâna
Mainly within film. I like working with scripts and of course acting, but also production itself. I come from Greenland and I live in Nuuk and it's still a developing field within the film industry. And within the past years we've been lucky to collaborate with a lot of different filmmakers. Also filmmakers in Greenland have worked so hard to develop and reach — get out there with all the beautiful talent we have in our land.

02:43
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
And one of the professional hats that you wear is the actress hat. Recently, you played the troubled character Julia in the eerie and haunting American crime series True Detective, which, fourth season, is called North Country. Tell us about this character and why she was right for you to portray.

03:04
Aka Niviâna
I think, for me, it's also telling a story through acting. This character, for me, I didn't see myself one to one with her, but I recognized some layers and some nuances that I wanted to show. Coming from a small community, you're a part of a community and this dynamic within that society, but you're also battling your own individual demons, issues, navigating the space between being a community member.

03:34
Aka Niviâna
But also, it's important for me when we talk about indigenous peoples, that we're each individuals, different peoples with space to have our own opinions and not always having to be what we want people to hear, I think.

03:50
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
The director of the series, Issa López, who's from Mexico, said that you blew her away with the casting tape that you sent to her. She explained that it was a very complicated role and that you nailed it. Which kind of tape did you send to her and how was the process of getting the role after they'd seen it?

04:10
Aka Niviâna
I was reached out to by Danish caster Julie Wieth. I've been in contact before due to another role in another context where I had a try, but I was still not really confident in acting. It was never something that I wanted to pursue like that because I'd like to see myself also as a behind the scenes person.

04:29
Aka Niviâna
So I was skeptical. It was a different role at first I was going to be cast as. And I sent it in, I just, yeah, it was a self tape. And then, outside of Nuuk to this festival where you're off grid, you have no connection or anything, and I was there for four days, and I didn't give any thought to the casting, really.

04:49
Aka Niviâna
When we were on our way back to Nuuk on the boat, I got a connection and I just saw my phone blowing up. And Julie has written to me again, and was like, so the director wants to try you for a bigger role and it's this character. Give me a call and I want to tell you a little bit about it.

05:06
Aka Niviâna
She was like, I need you to call me today, so I did. And still I was a little skeptical because I think, still not seeing myself as an actor in that sense. I was a little, okay, whatever, I'll send something. And, yeah, I sent in a tape a few days later. And Julie kept writing me, why are you not sending me the tape? It was kind of funny and then she was like, come on, I need you to do this or will you please send me a tape?

05:36
Aka Niviâna
And I did. And I think around a week later, I got the call. She called me on FaceTime and I was like, Whoa. And she was just really happy and she was like, welcome to this production. We are so happy to welcome you to the cast. And that's when it hit me and I was like, Whoa, what's going on? What just happened? So yeah, that was how I got casted as Julia Navarro.

06:01
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
Wow. And you went to the premiere of True Detective in Los Angeles in January this year. What was the experience like and what is your impression of Los Angeles? I know you went to Paramount Studios, one of the historic places in this city.

06:18
Aka Niviâna
Yeah, I think it was really overwhelming, and I think reality hit me standing on the red carpet and seeing all these photographers and journalists asking. And I think, yeah, mid-interview with someone, I was like, Oh my God. I just realized that we're doing this and it's the premiere and I think the anticipation has been going on for so long.

06:39
Aka Niviâna
So it was always something in the future and I don't know, not really daring to believe that this was gonna happen. I put this distance to it and then it just hit me when I was at the red carpet and being asked what — all of these questions.

06:56
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
Is there a special atmosphere when you go to Paramount Studios? It's an amazing place with a lot of history.

07:05
Aka Niviâna
Yeah, definitely. When we entered the door, it was just like, oh my God, all these filmmakers, all these legends have been here, premiering all different things. So I think it was also so unreal. A lot of it has been unreal. And especially also landing in Los Angeles.

07:21
Aka Niviâna
It was my first time in Los Angeles as well. And came here with my partner and my baby. We've been in this baby bubble, so I think it was also such a different reality and looking at the billboards and we were everywhere. Unreal, I think, is how I would like to describe it.

07:39
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
Yes, billboards with True Detective North Country on it, right? On Sunset Boulevard, for instance.

07:44
Aka Niviâna
Yeah.

07:45
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
The series, however, takes place in a different state in the US, called Alaska. But it was shot in Iceland, which pretended to be the US for a little while. Do you have any connection to this part of the US? Have you been to Alaska?

08:00
Aka Niviâna
I haven't been to Alaska. But I have a lot of friends in Alaska, mostly artists because we perform in circumpolar places, like we have Inuit in Greenland, Canada, and Inupiaq in Alaska, which is related within Inuit peoples. I know about Alaska, but I haven't, unfortunately, been there yet.

08:19
Aka Niviâna
And that was also interesting, portraying a character in a community that I haven't been in. But I think, for me, reading the script, knowing people living there, I could see a lot of similarities from our own communities in Greenland, this rural atmosphere and small society, and at the same time having the whole world look at you, all of a sudden.

08:42
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
And Issa López, again, the director of the series, said that a lot of the Inuit actors who were from various parts of Canada, Greenland, and Alaska knew each other from before and felt a very special connection. What was your experience of this and how important is it to share this experience with other Inuit actors?

09:03
Aka Niviâna
Yeah, definitely. I think a lot of us knew each other and had this connection through language, culture, appearance. We look alike a lot. Yeah, I think the important part for me was, and what I was really aware of, was that we're representing a really small demographic group in the world, but at the same time navigating in a space that not feeling responsible for all representation of this.

09:32
Aka Niviâna
Because I also think it's important that we have a space to be also people, not always having to carry the whole responsibility on how we are seen by the world. Because it is important and I tried to be very mindful about it, but also really investigating this. Okay, so how can we make this a better space to represent something also, not having to—

09:58
Aka Niviâna
Okay, because for me, I was afraid that I would make a mistake and some people from the communities wouldn't like it and they would feel misrepresented and feel like they've been wronged. And I thought a lot about that, but I'm also a human being and trying to open that conversation as well. So what do we do better the next time if there was anything that people wouldn't feel good about. Yeah.

10:25
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
When I spoke to the filmmakers and actors who were part of the series, they said that you all became like a family. Jodie Foster, who plays the leading role, talked very lovingly about the experience. It was her first TV series, which means much longer shoots than a feature film. How was it like for you? Did you feel this was like a family affair?

10:46
Aka Niviâna
Yeah, definitely. Everyone was so supportive. Not only the cast but the crew as well. And people really took you in and I think for me it was my first role in a space like this. At first I felt intimidated and nervous and really like I don't know if I can do this. I got really insecure before speaking to anyone. But then we met everyone at the table read, and people were so welcoming.

11:12
Aka Niviâna
And at the cast dinner afterwards, with the executive producers and producers, and yeah, I think that's where I felt okay. The support, people came greeting you. Barry Jenkins, a person within film that I've been looking up to for years, he came to me saying my name and was like, it's an honor to work with you and I was like, what are you telling me?

11:35
Aka Niviâna
Yeah, so that's where I really felt, okay, they're taking me seriously, even though I'm new within this industry in that sense. And Jodie also, when I had scenes with Jodie, she was really supportive and took her time to talk it through and if I was okay with everything that was gonna go on.

11:53
Aka Niviâna
And Kali, who portrays the other detective, my sister, in this series, we really also found this sisterly bond, spent a lot of time together outside of shooting as well. And yeah, basically everyone. We had spent so much time together off set as well.

12:10
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
Jodie Foster has the leading role with Kali Reis, an indigenous champion boxer who turned an actress too. Jodie's character is not very likable in the series, and she does not care at all about this fact. How is she as a colleague, and how much did you learn creatively from all these more experienced actors, maybe especially the AMERICAN actors?

12:34
Aka Niviâna
Yeah, whenever I had questions, not just for the script or for the scene or anything, and my insecurities, I think I was really honest about it sometimes when I felt overwhelmed and people were just really supportive and they're like, okay, what do you need to feel safer in this situation, and really cheering you on. They were just like, yeah, no, you got this. Of course you got it.

12:57
Aka Niviâna
I really felt so honored to be welcomed like that and again, taken seriously as an actor and as a professional, even though a lot of people doubt themselves in situations where you're under pressure. And personally in doing this production there were two big live events happening that changed my whole life, and people also had the space to, and time to, recognize that.

13:30
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
Jodie Foster is somebody who's been in the business forever. She's been acting since she was a little girl. How was she, what was it like to look at her and her acting? You say everybody was welcoming and supportive. Was she like that too?

13:44
Aka Niviâna
Yeah, definitely. I remember having a specific scene and I had it with Jodie and I was nervous because it was Jodie Foster. I'm going to play a scene with Jodie Foster. But then she came on set and she was like, Oh, can I give you a hug? And I was like, Oh yeah, sure. And she's like, how are you feeling?

14:02
Aka Niviâna
And I just came back from a trip. I was briefly back in Denmark for a week and I came back. And, unfortunately my mother suddenly passed away —

14:12
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
I am sorry to hear that.

14:13
Aka Niviâna
— and the day after I found out I was pregnant. So it was a mind-blowing, emotional roller coaster. So yeah, I went to Denmark, I was there for a week, and then I came back on set and that was the first scene I was going to shoot with Jodie Foster and she was just like, "How are you feeling?" And just took her time to talk to me and if I was okay doing this scene.

14:41
Aka Niviâna
And I felt at the moment because then I just started sharing what I was going through at the moment. And I think at that time I would feel I was oversharing a lot and being, Oh my God, did I just tell all of these things to Jodie? But she was just really nice and I felt sincere support and really, that was the moment that I felt the most support, definitely from my colleagues and Jodie Foster.

15:10
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
Sorry about your mom and happy about your baby. Kali plays your big sister in the show. She told me that she would call you little sister on the set, and she said that you are very talented and very passionate about your job. What makes you passionate about being an actress?

15:29
Aka Niviâna
Yeah, I think it's this storytelling aspect of it. Getting to tell the story that I see, that I've seen, that I experienced, through a character that's not, again, one to one who I am at all. But similarities living in these communities, and what happens in rural Arctic communities.

15:52
Aka Niviâna
The intensity sometimes, it can be when you are 5,000 people living in a small space and you can't just go away from that space if you'd like. I think that intensity is something that all people get to experience and whatever comes with that. I think other people's opinion, at least to me, feels more intense, living in a small community like that.

16:17
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
She also talked about the fact that as Indigenous people, you belong to Mother Earth. What does that mean to you, if it means the same to you as it does for her?

16:28
Aka Niviâna
I think the relation to nature and earth is also really important to me as well as an indigenous person. But, my focus the past years has also been seeing myself in a modern context, and I don't necessarily think that it's going to be opposites.

16:45
Aka Niviâna
If you belong to nature, if you're a modern person, that's not how I see it, but I think, for me, non-indigenous people who talk about indigenous peoples often get this romanticized view on the indigenous person, and only being limited to those things.

17:03
Aka Niviâna
While I recognize that is a big part of who we are, nature and the relation to everything living, it's also become really important to me to talk about us in the context of being now, a part of Hollywood, being a part of — so that's how it's also trying to—

17:22
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
You're also part of the community as a whole.

17:25
Aka Niviâna
Yeah, and navigating in it. And I think it's still an ongoing process for me, finding all the layers, the nuances of that as well. But yeah, I will definitely recognize that.

17:37
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
Our podcast series is called Danish Originals, and you are Danish, but that's not all you are. You are, as you mentioned, from Nuuk in Greenland. And without knowing for sure, I would assume that this is where your heart belongs and where you ultimately define your identity. It is probably a simplification, so I would like to ask you about your cultural identity and how you would like to define yourself.

18:05
Aka Niviâna
Yeah, and I think that, too, is an ongoing process to me. I am definitely Greenlandic, and I think the older I get, I — also investigating these layers. Because I think if you'd asked me five years ago if I was Danish, I would have said no, and I would not hear something like that.

18:25
Aka Niviâna
I come from Greenland, in the northern part of Greenland, but I live in Nuuk now. But I spent most of my life in Denmark. And with the prejudice and everything, I was very angry. I felt let down by this community and I hated everything that has anything to do with Rigsfællesskab. I can't remember the English word for that, common realm, the —

18:49
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
The Danish Commonwealth.

18:51
Aka Niviâna
Yeah. I was really driven by anger. But then, I think the older I get and the more I see and also try to understand about the world, I definitely feel related to Denmark. Again, I lived most of my life in Denmark. I came back to Greenland in 2018, relearning my language, getting to know my family again. And this whole process, when we talk about identity and self, how we see ourselves.

19:19
Aka Niviâna
And I think back then it was important for me how others saw me. I think it was important for me that others saw me as a Greenlandic person and I did everything to distance myself from everything from Denmark. Now, I actually don't care a lot what others think about me, how they would define me, as long as I have my own power to define myself and the obstacles coming with wanting to choose what kind of life you want.

19:45
Aka Niviâna
And I think there are still hierarchies and all of these things. I don't think they're gone, but I think my relation to it has changed and how I choose to navigate in it. Because I don't want to be driven by anger. That was really exhausting and it was easy to burn out and everything you do is out of that.

20:04
Aka Niviâna
So I started asking myself, how can I talk about these things without having to be this angry all the time? So yeah, and it's still a process. Again, I'm not really angry anymore in that sense. Again, I also think with age, in the beginning of the 20s back then and this whole identity chaos I think we all go through and becoming an adult and all of these things.

20:30
Aka Niviâna
I think now it's just different. I'm comfortable in my own skin and yeah, but still navigating in our indigenous people's rights, climate rights, all of these things. But at the same time trying to put a distance to it personally, so I don't feel that I'm losing something every time I try to have a conversation and it doesn't go the way I want to. So yeah, but it's not easy, but I think it's possible.

20:57
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
Can I ask where you are from in Northern Greenland and what made you move to Denmark?

21:01
Aka Niviâna
Upernavik. It is the second northernmost city in Greenland. There are around 1,000 people living there. My parents moved to Denmark when I was a kid. Yeah, we've been moving a lot. They had jobs back and forth, so we moved to Denmark and we came back to Greenland on vacations.

21:21
Aka Niviâna
And we moved back for a little while and then moved back. We've been moving a lot, me and my parents, so that's why we ended up in Denmark. And, I think education and everything in general is just — it gives you possibilities having been in Denmark.

21:34
Aka Niviâna
Unfortunately, it still is not the same in Greenland. So I think maybe that was also a part of the thoughts and in making those choices. But then, when I was a young adult, I forgot my language, because I had worked internationally, so I would use English and Danish, German, all the other languages.

21:52
Aka Niviâna
So I didn't really have anyone around me that spoke Greenlandic besides my mom. Or, some friends, but I also forgot because I also lived in Denmark. So yeah, it just felt natural for me to go back. And it was supposed to be for a year, and then I would go back, move back to Copenhagen where I lived at the moment. But then, I'm still in Greenland. So yeah.

22:15
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
You were a producer assistant on the Oscar nominated short film, directed by Anders Walter called Ivalu, which takes place in Greenland and deals with serious subjects like sexual abuse and suicide. What do you think of this film and its representation of Greenland?

22:34
Aka Niviâna
I think it was a door opener to a lot of filmmakers in Greenland. I think it was knowing other people behind that production, especially from the Greenlandic side, how hard they worked to make that happen and how much they wanted to be a part of telling this story.

22:53
Aka Niviâna
It's not a Greenlandic-written story, but it's affected, of course, by the Greenlandic cast that was on this production. Ideally, I don't think if it was a 100% Greenlandic production, it would have been made in that sense. But I think doing something like that gives the opportunity to tell our own stories on a broader scale.

23:16
Aka Niviâna
It was really a lot of conversation around that and also the issues, what felt problematic to talk about in this context of Denmark and Greenland, but also what are the good things about it? I think, really trying to work in a nuanced space, then you need to have these hard conversations.

23:34
Aka Niviâna
I think what's important when we talk about suicide and sexual abuse in Greenland, it's real and it's there, but when we talk in a context of Greenlandic success, I try to also include other stories as well. It's not only that. Greenland is more than suicide and sexual abuse and alcoholism. And I think how that conversation is held is just really important.

24:00
Aka Niviâna
Of course, I think it should be there, the conversation, but I also think we should take it further than Greenland has a high suicide rate, then asking why, and why are we still talking about the issue as just a fact? I think it's important to me, as in everything else I do, that we really dissect everything about it. Why is it that we keep talking about the same headlines? Why hasn't the conversation moved further?

24:24
Aka Niviâna
But hopefully I think with productions like that and with stories told like that, I think that's how you could maybe push the narrative. And the whole world now saw that film and now knew, okay, so that's an issue in Greenland, then now what? Can the next film that we make, can we move on to the next point of the conversation or the next level?

24:45
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
We were excited to see it go all the way to the Oscars. Did you watch the Academy Awards that year?

24:51
Aka Niviâna
Yes. Yes. Oh my God, I think everybody in Greenland saw that. And that's also the thing, that even though I talk about these issues, making productions and layers, I think it's still important that you also see Greenlandic people on the red carpet at the Oscars and getting the names out there and getting access, meeting people.

25:12
Aka Niviâna
Because it's also how I've learned, in especially the film industry, how you make things happen, broadening the possibilities, ideas, meeting other creative souls. So yeah, of course, I watched all of that.

25:26
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
You also had a production assistant job on the popular TV series Borgen, which was also a success here in the US. It partly took place in Greenland. How important is it to you that Greenland is represented on screen? And if you were to decide, which stories out of Greenland?

25:47
Aka Niviâna
Yeah, I think, yeah, following up on what we just talked about — representation and becoming a part of a world community, I think, and not as some mystery peoples in the Arctic that nobody knows about. They know they're there. I think being a part of all of this, getting to stand, taking the mic, telling the story, answering the questions.

26:10
Aka Niviâna
Yeah, I think that's really what it's about for me, that we are not something that someone is telling a story about. We are telling the story ourselves. As an indigenous person, I want the power or the ability to tell whatever story I want to tell. I don't want to be limited to talk about suicide. I don't only want to talk about the issues in my community. I want to talk about something outside of what is expected as well.

26:36
Aka Niviâna
I think I want the freedom to do that as well and not be punished in the public sense. Why are you not talking about these issues instead? I want to be free to talk about what I want as well. And whatever creative process, I want to go through and make that as well.

26:56
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
You mentioned that you lost your language at some point, the Greenlandic language. What is your favorite Greenlandic word, and how important is this language to you now, today?

27:08
Aka Niviâna
Yeah, what's my favorite Greenlandic word? Yeah, I think my favorite Greenlandic word is aaliagiisinnaaneq, that means being able to make a choice. I think for me, making choices and being free to do that is what I strive for and for all people to be able to.

27:28
Aka Niviâna
And I know that it's not possible for all of us to make all choices due to rights and situation and environment, all of these things, all the layers of that as well. But I think that's the goal I see in all sense in our communities and my own creative field. And I think for me, being free to make choices is one of the most important things.

27:54
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
How do you spell that word? I am not trying to say it because —

28:03
Aka Niviâna
A-a-l-i-a-g-i-i-s-i-n-n-a-a-n-e-q. Yeah, maybe I spelled that wrong. I think I spelled it right. But, yeah, it's a long word.

28:17
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
We'll double check. What is your favorite Danish word and why?

28:24
Aka Niviâna
Finurlighed.

28:26
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
That's a good word.

28:28
Aka Niviâna
Since I was a kid I just liked that word a lot. Finurligh. Finurlighed.

28:32
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
Oh, why?

28:33
Aka Niviâna
It's funny. It's funny to say. And it has a funny meaning, something funny. Since I heard the word for the first time, I like that.

28:42
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
And not that I'm a Danish teacher, but for our audience who don't understand Danish, how would we spell this word? Would you spell it for us?

28:50
Aka Niviâna
I can spell it for you. F-i-n-u-r-l-i-g-h-e-d, if you want the whole, yeah.

28:57
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
The Danes recently learned during her New Year's speech that their Queen Margrethe II would abdicate and pass on the job to her son. She has always loved Greenland and its people and has been very outspoken about it. How do you feel about her and how do you think she represents us, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and Denmark internationally?

29:20
Aka Niviâna
Yeah, honestly, I don't have the biggest personal relation to the royal family, but I love the story of it. I've always been fascinated by kings and queens and monarchies around the world, and I think it's really fascinating. But thinking about my personal relations, I don't really feel super connected.

29:39
Aka Niviâna
But I like the Queen, I like the story of all of it, but also navigating, again, trying to navigate — okay, when you talk about rights and hierarchies, what is the monarchy and the monarchy we have today in that context as well. So I think, yeah, I don't really know, I'm going to be honest. I don't know.

30:01
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
That's okay. We don't all have an opinion about it. What do you feel about the connection between Greenland and Denmark? What do you cherish the most and what would you like to change?

30:13
Aka Niviâna
We have 300 years of common history, and I want to acknowledge that there is that history together. I think when we talk in an equality aspect, there are still some steps we have to make. But I feel the past five, six years, the conversation has been given a space, and actually people that I've spoken to are willing to listen more.

30:40
Aka Niviâna
Again, as I mentioned, I grew up in Denmark and the prejudice was insane. Back then, my mom couldn't get a job because everyone was afraid that she was an alcoholic. And in school I would get bullied a lot for being Greenlandic, and kids would beat me up.

31:00
Aka Niviâna
I don't know, I'm not a kid anymore, and I don't go to school in Denmark, but hopefully, I don't think it's that extreme anymore, but when I came to Denmark as a kid, it was not nice at all. But now, as an adult and as a person navigating the public space, choosing to have these conversations, I feel more openness now than I felt five, six years ago.

31:28
Aka Niviâna
I think it's still a hostile space. I don't like having those conversations, but I think sometimes it's really necessary that we get uncomfortable and also be honest about what we feel about it. Because I think getting told by someone that you are the reason for my misery is also, okay, am I personally responsible, or is it like in a historical context?

31:49
Aka Niviâna
Instead of just shutting down that conversation, I think it's interesting if we keep having the conversation. Where can we go then? And I feel I've met a lot of people that I could do that with, and willing to ask, okay, so what can I do? And again, I don't think we're there yet. And I'm wondering if we ever get into this ideal utopian space where we all understand each other. And I hope, and I'm gonna do everything I can to make that space.

32:21
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
Storytelling is a good means for that, isn't it?

32:24
Aka Niviâna
Yeah, exactly. Yeah, I think so, too. And I also realized the older I get, I can't force people to think anything specifically or however I want the world to be shaped. But I can tell my stories. How do I imagine it? Yeah. So I think that is what I can do.

34:43
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
And my last question for you, as we are in Los Angeles while doing this podcast and you've been to many countries as a professional woman in different capacities, I would like to ask you where you see yourself in the future and what you would like to achieve. What are your dreams and goals and where are you going to be?

33:04
Aka Niviâna
Yeah, everywhere. I think I'm gonna be everywhere. I'm not exactly sure what I'm gonna be doing, but having discovered acting now as something I really like to do, I hope I am gonna do more of that in the future. I hope I'll get to learn even more, in especially filmmaking. Again, that's what I really love to do now.

33:27
Aka Niviâna
When I was younger, I think I've done everything — poetry, music — and I still love doing all of that. And I hope I get to try new things as well. But I think for me, my focus right now is in film and is in especially acting. So I hope that's going to happen. But I don't know where and when, and yeah, I have my daughter. And I hope that she gets to see the world and getting to ask a lot of questions and telling her own stories as well.

33:58
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
We wish you good luck and we thank you very much for being with us here today. Thank you, Aka.

34:03
Aka Niviâna
Thank you.

34:08
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
For today's episode, Aka Niviâna Mørch Pedersen chose Nicolai Abildgaard's Christian III ophjælper Danmark. Allegori or Christian III Succouring Denmark from 1780–1781 from the collection of the National Gallery of Denmark.