[1][2] Henning-Jensen was born in the Copenhagen district of Frederiksberg in 1914, to parents Ferdinand Smahl and Ruth Hanner.
[3] Furthermore, it has been called the film that gave hope to the future of Danish cinema following the second world war, and is in this effect compared to Italian Neorealism.
The article views Ditte, Child of Man (1946) as the start of a flourishing tradition, and Those Damned Kids (1947) as the first real Danish children's film.
The film deals with Paw's introduction to a new way living, and was noted for being one of the first in Denmark to openly discuss racism in society.
[16] Paw, and especially its portrayal of racism, is an example of one of the most important aspects of Henning-Jensen's career: her themes of humanitarianism, as well as social issues and justice, in which she gave center place to children and women.
The film follows a series of women experiencing difficulties with their pregnancies and explores the bond that forms between them at a hospital.
In her career, she made a substantial amount of documentaries dealing with the lives of people in different environments, such as ballet children in Ballettens børn (1954),[19] or the recovery of torture victims in Trods alt (1990).
Received special prize Priz pour le sujet for its story at the 1949 Cannes Film Festival.
[25] Part of the Official Selection at the 1960 Cannes Film Festival where it won Grand Prix Technique for its photography.