For years, Morten Michelsen records his thoughts, daily life and attempts to find help. Living with mental illness and addiction, he is acutely aware of his own vulnerability, yet repeatedly experiences rejection from the systems meant to support him.
In December 2020, Morten contacted emergency services after a stay at a psychiatric clinic. When police arrive at his home in Bergen, the situation escalates rapidly. Thirteen minutes later, he is shot and killed. The audio recorder in his pocket captures the entire encounter.
Drawing on more than 35 hours of Morten’s recordings, family footage and images from the places he lived, Linn Helene Løken allows him to remain present as a complex person rather than a figure defined by his death. A dramatised reconstruction based on the police investigation places his voice alongside the official account, revealing how language, fear and institutional procedures shape competing versions of the same event.
Formally precise and deeply empathetic, In Defense of Self asks what happens when a person seeking care is instead perceived as a threat, and how such encounters might be prevented.
