Tuva Novotny, Christoffer Boe on the impact of Covid-19

TUVA NOVOTNY, Director/writer/actress, Sweden
Internationally acclaimed Scandinavian actress Tuva Novotny (Annihilation, Borg vs McEnroe, A War) made her debut behind the camera as episodic director of the Norwegian series Dag and Lilyhammer.

She made her feature film directorial debut with the Norwegian drama Blind Spot, a challenging drama about mental illness, shot in one take and in real time. The film was nominated for the 2019 Nordic Council Film Prize and won numerous awards including Best Actress at San Sebastian for Pia Tjelta and the New Talent Grand PIX at CPH PIX. Her first Swedish language film Britt-Marie Was Here, based on Fredrik Backman’s best-selling novel, was the second biggest local hit in 2019. 

Her upcoming film Diorama based on her original script, examines the intersection between social structure and our biological building blocks. The Swedish film will start filming this fall.

Novotny is also co-writing Jonas Alexander Arnby’s upcoming film In the Eyes of God.

As a filmmaker, how do you experience social distancing, being confined?
TN: As a writer/director, I am used to spending a lot of time alone, at home or at my own office, writing and preparing projects, so on a professional level this has not been an unusual time for me, since I am writing a script and preparing my new movie.

I haven’t had the sense of being confined, since both Sweden and Denmark have allowed people outside, so all in all my everyday has not been hugely affected structurally and routine-wise.

In this phase of moviemaking [pre-production of Diorama], I usually wouldn’t have met a lot of people anyway. But of course, in a broader perspective, what is going on is affecting us all, and will probably also affect a lot of future projects.

How do you experience suspended time - not knowing when film-making life in general will go back to ‘normal’?
TN: Well, I am lucky to live in a state subsidised movie-making country, so I actually haven’t experienced any kind of suspension. The script I am writing for Jonas Arnby and Profile Pictures, got further funding from the Danish Film Institute during this time and preparation for my own upcoming film Diorama is continuing as planned; scheduled to shoot this fall. 

But of course this is all my subjective and professional view; on a private and personal level the sense of suspension and social distancing, is much more apparent.

What do you think will be the impact of Covid-19 on our shared humanity? 
TN: One thing I am amazed by through this time, is how quickly people adjust and how strong the sense of unity and cooperation is throughout the world; despite obvious different strategies nation-wise. Also, it seems almost everyone has really had an awakening in terms of our need for human intimacy and just how much that, and the lack of it, actually affects us in our everyday lives. So hopefully this will be a thing we all take with us, along with the solidarity, unity, generosity and general humanity the whole world has shown. Let that continue.

What do you think will be the impact of Covid-19 on the film & TV industry?
TN: I believe storytelling through theatre, film or tv, has a fundamental trait; to reflect on humankind and the state of the world. So I am sure that our industry will produce some interesting pieces on how this phase in history rolled itself out, on many different levels.

How do you feel about watching films only on television? Can you cite two films you’ve watched recently?
TN: I think some movies are meant - and made to be seen on the big screen, but a lot of movies are not hurt being watched on a home device. Modern technique also make it possible to watch movies in high quality visuality and audio, so I’m definitely pragmatic on that matter.

Recently I realised that I have watched more series than movies, but this is because I have had the time for series which I don’t usually have. I was happy to be able to see both The Lighthouse by Robert Eggers, and A Perfectly Normal Family by Malou Reymann in the cinema before they closed, and I can’t wait to see a movie in a theatre when they open again. On the series side, I have watched DEVS by Alex Garland.

CHRISTOFFER BOE Writer/director, Denmark

One of Denmark’s most talented and prolific writer/directors of the post-Dogme 95 generation, Christopher Boe has evolved from pure arthouse/auteur cinema (Reconstruction, Camera d’or in Cannes 2003), to mainstream fare and B.O. hits (Sex, Drugs & Taxation, The Purity of Vengeance).

He successfully turned to TV drama with TV2 Denmark’s thriller Warrior (TV2), followed by Viaplay’s Face to Face, experimenting with style and genre conventions.

His upcoming film A Taste of Hunger starring Nicolaj Coster Waldau and Katrine Greis-Rosenthal is in post-production. “It’s a movie about love, food and family,” says Boe.

Boe is also co-owner of the commercials company Circus Alphaville.

Questions: As a filmmaker, how do you experience social distancing and living in a confined space?
CB: This specific part of the Covid-19 experience hasn’t really affected me personally that much. I’m with my family and my laptop and I could pretty much live like this - except for not being able to be on a film set. But I actually did a movie once where I made the actors record themselves without me - so I could probably work around that too!

How do you experience suspended time - not knowing when filmmaking, life in general will go back to ‘normal’?
CB: This part - the uncertainty of the future - is worse. I’m pretty impulsive in my life and work - but this only works if everything else is dependable and solid. I have a production that has been postponed until….nobody really knows.. and how will life be “on the other side". When will normal return - will it return? These are more troubling issues. But I have to admit also intriguing questions. These are interesting times - where structural changes might occur on a scale that would have been unimaginable just a couple of months ago.

What do you think will be the impact of Covid-19 on our shared humanity?
CB: Something will change - it has to. In what direction, only time will tell. But I think everybody has been affected by three major wake-up calls connected to the impact of Covid-19 on our daily lives:
1- the fragility of our world - where within weeks we all lived in a bad sci-fi movie.
2- the efficiency of our world. Even though a lot of talk is about errors and omissions the realities that we all experience are enormous resources at our disposal: be it technology, science, medicine and not least:
3- the human connection. The feeling of a shared global experience and a very local feeling of connectivity and empathy between family, friends, colleagues and neighbours.

These elements will result - should result - in systemic changes. But let’s see…

What do you think will be the impact of Covid-19 on the film & TV industry?
CB: Really the long-term impact I don’t know. Right now, the most urgent issue I see is: when people - of their own free will - seat themselves in a cinema?

How do you feel about watching films only on television?
CB: I have to admit that this is not a new situation for me. I used to live in cinemas - they were my churches, my refugees, my homes…but now they are mostly memories.

Can you cite two films watched recently?
CB: Love. Wedding. Repeat [Dean Craig]. Not to be recommend. Ponyo [Hayao Miyazaki]. I re-watched it with my wife and three children. It’s the closest thing I know to a family Tarkovsky movie. Such pure sense of cinema - emotional, visceral & beautiful!