You've been running your own independent production house Hepp Film since 2003. What makes you come aboard a project? People are the most important to me. When you grow in age, you understand what makes you tick. I worked many years for Sonet Film at a time when they were an important distributor, releasing wonderful European films in Sweden. Before that, I had studied to become a psychologist. I'm interested in themes in a film, whatever the genre. For me, the story has to have something to say and to make people think, like with Svinalängorna. It's a difficult subject, - about a woman's traumatic childhood - but full of hope.
Did you approach Pernilla August or was it the other way round?
The rights were with Drakfilm who had optioned Susanna Alakoski's novel in 2006. Pernilla was approached by them. She then asked if I could come aboard, as we had met at several work occasions in the 90s, when I was working as first assistant director and we got along really well. Personally, I was interested in Pernilla's idea to add to the novel the point of view of Leena as an adult, her journey and ability to cope with her childhood, to learn from her mistakes and find resolutions.
How was your collaboration on Svinalängorna?
Our relationship was based on trust, plus I have a strong love for actors and acting. I've always enjoyed being on sets and seeing the magic happening between actors. Normally, I'm the most active during script development and in the editing stage. I am available during the shooting without standing on the director's shoulder.
You had several Nordic co-producers and co-financiers on board...
The funny thing was that the year before, I had put together a kind of odd European co-production between Sweden, Italy, Finland and Germany on A Rational Solution that was also selected in Venice. Svinalängorna was again a debut film. Noomi Rapace was chosen by Pernilla before her Millennium fame. Pernilla had seen her play ‘Medea' on stage in Stockholm. I started to put the financing together on the film in the middle of the financial crisis. It was very strange. I thought the world was falling apart with hedge funds crisis in the US, Iceland going bankrupt. In the middle of this, there were these fantastic Scandinavian film institutes from Sweden, Denmark and Finland that came on board, plus Nordisk Film & TV Fond, committed co-producers Helle Ulsteen (Kamoli Films, Denmark) and Tero Kaukomaa (Blind Spot, Finland), plus Nordisk Film Distribution. They have a great marketing team who worked on the core idea of the film.
So you were actively involved in the marketing at an early stage of production....
When I was at Sonet Film, I used to do a lot of marketing. I know that nothing comes on its own. Working on a film is a true team work and getting input from all is part of the process. I had constant strategy discussions with Nordisk Film and SF Cinemas on how to launch the film domestically. The film is going out in Sweden with 75-80 prints (including digital prints). Nordisk Film will handle the release themselves in Finland in March/April, and in Norway. The Danish branch hasn't decided yet on a release date.
Did you also handle the international strategy?
Yes, I also chose to take control of the festival strategy, with support from the Swedish Film Institute and TrustNordisk. I had the contacts with the Venice Film Festival, and hired a great PR consultant, Ann-Louise Dahlgren who also knew the right people in Venice. Pernilla was shocked when I told her we would try to go for Venice because the film wasn't locked. It was fantastic that they picked it and that we won two prizes, the Audience-Critics Week award and UNESCO-Hope award. We did the international poster ourselves, promotional packages etc. I enjoy this part and know how important it is to communicate well on a film.
You must have been pleased that the film was immediately acquired by several international distributors...
Absolutely. The film was picked up by major distributors in Germany, Benelux and Italy. If you have a universal story, told in an interesting way, although it is local or ‘exotic' in the look, it has a good chance to travel. You need to move people as well. That's the most essential with film I think.
What projects are you working on?
I have Jens Jonsson's new project Follow, Follow, Lead that won a Special Mention at Rome's New Cinema Network. It will be an outrageous black comedy about a woman who is part of a pyramid scheme. It's a film about the financial crisis and why consumption is so important today. It will be a typical Jens Jonsson film, although he will go broader this time. We will probably have a US actor for one of the lead roles. Jens and I want to make it an international co-production and already have the Netherlands, Germany and the UK on board. The budget will be around €2m. I don't want to go higher. With a good story, all you need is great actors, and great actors - from the US or Europe - are always looking for great scripts.
What other projects are you working on?
Before Jens Jonsson's film that will hopefully start filming after the summer, I have two projects with Swedish writer Zak O'Yeah who lives in India. The first project that will start principal photography in March/April is The Pollutant based on O'Yeah's original script. The environmental thriller will be shot in India by the Indian director Prakash Belawadi. The second project is based on O'Yeah's novel ‘Tandoori älgen' published in English by Hachette under the name ‘Once upon a time in Scandinavistan'. It's a futuristic/crime novel about India and Asia colonising Northern Europe.
So Hepp Film is producing on a global scale now...
As a producer, you need great directors, wherever they come from. I'm developing my company organically. Filmmaking is all about storytelling and in India, there are great authors - Salman Rushdie, Amitav Gosh - and great filmmakers. It's fascinating to see changes taking place there. India's National Film Development Corporation is very keen to develop international co-productions. They support films at 1/3 of a budget, and you can get the rest of the financing from Europe. There are also private equity companies wanting to make independent films outside of Bollywood.
Do you have other projects in Sweden?
I have a documentary about Anita Ekberg shooting right now, Anita & I produced together with Ann-Louise Dahlgren and Helle Ulsteen, to be edited by Margareta Lagerkvist. I have another feature project, Bo & Anita with Noomi and Ola Rapace who played in Beyond. Based on a script by Peter Birro, it will focus on the passionate and destructive relationship between Swedish boxer Bo Högberg and cabaret singer Anita Lindblom. I am looking for a director right now. The project will be produced with Malte Forsell and Maria Dahlin. With Pernilla August, we're looking for a great story to develop together, but there is no rush.