The experimental film is one of seven directorial debuts competing at the Venice’s International Critics’ Week, unspooling August 29-September 8. The Venice sidebar’s General Delegate Giona A Nazarro said: "I believe M is a very challenging, bold and brave piece of work. M definitely pushes the boundaries of cinema forward”.

Finnish artist Anna Eriksson, winner of two Finnish Emma prizes (Finnish Grammys) and of the prestigious Nordic Teosto Prize in 2013, put aside her music career that year to start working on her first feature. She told nordicfilmandtvnews.com: "It’s an honour to be selected at the Venice Critics Week. But what makes it really meaningful is that I have worked with this film totally independently for almost five years, believing in my vision. It is very rare these days to be able to work that way and be recognized for it.”

Eriksson said she had the idea for the film about ten years ago, after reading the book “The many lives of Marilyn Monroe” by Sarah Churchwell. “I loved the book and it totally changed my view on Marilyn Monroe. I started reading more about her, basically anything I could find. I watched all her films, documents, etc and became almost obsessed by her.”

Using film to explore her new creative urge and Marilyn Monroe fixation, Eriksson said she thought of the iconic Hollywood star, ‘in a kind of limbo, endlessly repeating the cycle of death’. “The link between sexuality and death is something that I think profoundly defines Monroe's fate, says the director. “I also personally recognise that link. I wanted to explore it and I was very surprised of the feelings I had to go through as the work process progressed.”

Eriksson took control of the entire creative process - from writing, directing, acting, editing, music to costumes - with her husband, cinematographer Matti Pyykkö, and produced the film through her company Ihode Management. The low budget film supported by Taike (the Arts Promotion Centre Finland) will have its premiere in Finland at the Helsinki International Film Festival in September and Finnkino will distribute it on its event cinema platform.

Looking ahead, Eriksson said her plan is to continue to work as freely and independently as possible. “The only way to be true to your vision is to work independently. You cannot buy artistic freedom with money. I have fought very hard for this freedom also in my musical career and continue to do so. My only aspiration is to make art,” she concluded.