| The Monastery: Mr. Vig and the Nun | |
| Director: | Pernille Rose Grønkjær |
| Producer: | Sigrid Dyekjær |
| Music: | Johan Söderqvist |
| Cinematography: | Pernille Rose Grønkjær |
| Editing: | Pernille Bech Christensen |
| Distributor: | Koch-Lorber Films |
| Runtime: | 84 minutes |
| Country: | Denmark |
| Language: | Danish |
The Monastery: Mr. Vig and the Nun is a 2006 Danish documentary film directed by Pernille Rose Grønkjær.[1]
owns a Danish estate, with a ramshackle castle, on the island of Fyn, he has long dreamed of turning his castle into a Russian orthodox monastery.
After a visit to Russia to negotiate with the Russian patriarchate, a delegation of nuns headed by Sister Amvrosija comes to Denmark in order to assess whether Vig's castle is fit to serve as a monastery. The nuns approve the castle, but at the same time, they demand extensive repairs to it. When the nuns leave again for Russia, Vig sets out to do the repairs by himself.
The following summer Sister Amvrosija and the other nuns return and Vig's dream seems about to come true. The nuns move into the castle, and slowly they take over the daily work and introduce new routines.
Vig's life changes; all his life he has lived by himself with no women around, now he has to share his home with the strong-willed Sister Amvrosija and her fellow nuns. They demand more and more repairs; as a solution, the Russian patriarchate offers to pay for all future repairs to the castle, but on condition that Vig leaves his castle to them in his will.
Vig has serious doubts: should he leave his castle to the Russian church in his will and thus fulfil his dream of creating a monastery? Or should he keep his castle to himself and continue his life as a bachelor? Vig faces many conflicts with the apparently difficult Sister Amvrosija, but she does not want to leave him and his castle, even if she is the only nun left.
By the end of the film, the monastery is run by Sister Amvrosija. The Russian Orthodox priest Hegumen Theofan, Dean of the St. Alexander Nevsky Parish in Copenhagen, regularly comes to conduct services. The Russian Patriarchate and the Hesbjerg Foundation are negotiating the future plans for the monastery, and an agreement appears to be well on its way.