My Grandmother ironed the King's shirts

Torill Kove’s grandmother often told her stories, one of which revolved around ironing shirts for the King of Norway. What if that intriguing detail was just the tip of the iceberg? Perhaps she also worked covertly in the Norwegian resistance - maybe she even spearheaded a campaign to create an unprecedented brand of guerrilla warfare. Treating history as a fabric woven from personal stories, animator Torill Kove follows a thread of family history, embroidering it with playful twists along the way. In ‘My Grandmother Ironed the King’s Shirts’ she imaginatively renders her grandmother’s life and work in Oslo, especially during World War II. Sharp and whimsical, her story combines the grandmother’s tales with historical events and fantasy and shows how a cherished anecdote can come to acquire a mythical status. This is remarkable story about an ordinary woman with a revolutionary instinct. With sharp humor it explores storytelling, myth-making and the important contributions that are possible through the most humble means. (Awards: Vancouver; Oscar nomination, Hollywood.) Narrated by Mag Ruffman.