What was the starting point for In a Better World?
I had discussions with Anders Thomas Jensen about Denmark being perceived as an idealistic and very harmonious society, while things are never that perfect in real life. We started thinking about a story where unpredictable events would have dramatic effects on people and disrupt this image of a blissful place to live in. So the story of two young boys who become friends, but then one of them suddenly becomes violent, gradually started to develop. Usually we believe - or want to believe - that small boys are good and creatures of love, but in this case, the 12 year-old boy becomes vicious, even evil because he is angry.
What would you say the film is really about?
The film focuses on the character of Mikael Persbrandt who plays an idealistic doctor, working on a humanitarian mission somewhere in a refugee camp in Africa. He wants to do the right things but is being tested by events and we see how far this can go. His story interweaves with the story of the young boys. The doctor is a very interesting and intriguing character who has had to deal with his own scars in life but still dreams of a better world.
In After the Wedding, Mads Mikkelsen also played a humanitarian, suddenly faced with a difficult choice in his life. You're obviously drawn by these complex male characters, suddenly tested by fate and forced to make almost heroic decisions...
I think I just like real human beings, and problems in their lives are what make them interesting. In the film, Mikael Persbrandt is romantic, idealistic, but he is far from being perfect. He is a true human being in all his frailty, with doubts and uncertainties.
As a female director, I am driven by these male personalities. Actors often have a strong feminine side, and I like to try to find that in them, like hollowness, a hidden treasure to bring out in the open.
Did you have Ulrich Thomsen and Mikael Persbrandt in mind when you wrote the script with Anders Thomas Jensen?
We don't usually discuss actors in the early stages of scriptwriting. We want to fully concentrate on the story and dramatization of the characters. We kind of second guess during the second and third draft and once we have the names, we re-write some parts of the story.
It was the first time you worked with Swedish star actor Mikael Persbrandt. How was that experience?
He is a truly skilled actor, very forceful. He has a strong animalistic side and it was amazing for me as a director to deal with it.
You had some problems last January with Soudan's government that accused the film of being anti-Islamic and depicting ‘non-existing conditions in Darfur'. How did you feel about this episode?
The film has nothing to do with Darfur at all. It was partly shot in Kenya, and the action is set somewhere in Africa, in no specific place. Plus the story itself has nothing to do with religion at all. It was a completely wrong accusation.
You are one of the most ‘bankable' filmmakers in Scandinavia and your films are seen around the world. Is this international recognition important to you?
Yes it is very important. Filmmaking for me is not making some small avant-garde movie that no one will see. I enjoy connecting with an audience and I do think of the audience when I make a film.
You're attached to a new comedy co-written with Anders Thomas Jensen and produced by Zentropa, and to an Ingmar Bergman biopic to be produced by SVT in Sweden. Which one will be next?
Right now I'm promoting In a Better World and I haven't quite decided yet what will come next.