Director’s Talk
Lena Mattsson is a distinguished Swedish artist and filmmaker whose voice frequently leads the conversation in Artist and Director’s Talks. Her work exists on the boundary where documentary meets poetry and magical realism, weaving a cinematic tapestry that challenges our perception and explores the very essence of human existence.
-When you plan the realization of a film project, what are your objectives?
When I embark on a new film project, I begin with a profound artistic and film-historical excavation — an almost archaeological descent into the layered strata of art and cinema. Each work emerges from the interplay between mind and spirit, often born in the liminal realm of dreams, where the boundaries of reality dissolve and intertwine with the subject I seek to illuminate.
A vital source of inspiration is the cinematic universe of Ingmar Bergman, whose work continues to resonate deeply within my artistic consciousness. Yet my practice is defined by its essential solitude. I take on nearly every role in the creative process: I write, direct, shoot, record and compose the soundscapes, edit, and at times even perform in my own works. This total authorship allows me an intimate and uncompromising artistic vision.
Once the raw material has taken shape, I transform the films into painterly and poetic expressions. These works may manifest as monumental, sculptural projections — cast upon islands, cliffs, buildings or houses — or unfold within more traditional cinematic frameworks. My practice is guided by the conviction that imagination alone sets the true boundary.
Most of my films are site-specific, sensitively attuned to the spatial, historical and emotional character of the locations where they are presented, as well as to the thematic questions I explore. I primarily work in long-form documentary, experimental cinema, art film and short film formats. My works are screened at international film festivals around the world.
Among them are several award-winning short films — The Aesthetics of Failure, Not Without Gloves and The Rorschach Test — which will be featured in the film journal Variety on 17 May 2026, during the Marché du Film at the Cannes Film Festival, in collaboration with WILD FILMMAKER.
I have had the privilege of collaborating with remarkable actors whose lived experiences have profoundly influenced my artistic direction, as well as with distinguished composers such as Conny C-A Malmqvist, who has created music for several of my works.
My films and artworks are exhibited in art halls, museums, galleries and public spaces. I am currently developing a major new project entitled In the Artist’s Eye, which will be presented together with a catalogue at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm from 20 March to 1 May 2027. This project is supported by an exhibition scholarship from the Gerard Bonniers Fund.
My artistic practice is an act of resistance — a persistent insistence on seeing beneath the surface in a world often content with mere appearances. In doing so, I seek to pose norm-critical questions about the human psyche, existence, transience and death, thereby opening portals to the unknown and inviting the viewer into the enigmatic realm of the moving image.
-With Artificial Intelligence, cinema is undergoing a phase of transformation even more radical than the one that occurred in the 1920s with the transition from silent films to sound. What is your opinion on this?
I have not yet incorporated Artificial Intelligence into my filmmaking practice. At the time of writing, I do not know whether or how I will use AI in my future film-making; that remains for the future to reveal. Nevertheless, I am fully aware that it will fundamentally reshape both cinema and its history — perhaps as profoundly as the transition from silent film to sound in the early twentieth century.
I view AI as a potential addition to my future palette, much like a new brush for a painter. As a classically trained artist with a five-year Master’s degree in painting, I do not resist the future — such resistance would be futile. Instead, I approach it with critical awareness and intellectual curiosity, a stance I intend to uphold throughout my artistic life.
For me, there are no absolute boundaries — only ever-evolving possibilities. Time itself will reveal what lies ahead. What remains essential is that the artist continues to follow their inner voice and vision with unwavering integrity, never compromising the truth of what they seek to express.
-To which production or distribution company would you like to propose your new project? Give us a profile, including some examples.
My work belongs primarily to the realm of experimental cinema. I therefore seek collaboration with producers and production companies that are both courageous and receptive — partners who believe in artistic freedom and trust the filmmaker’s intuition.
I draw inspiration from visionary filmmakers such as David Lynch, Francis Ford Coppola, Stanley Kubrick, Michael Haneke, Federico Fellini, Michelangelo Antonioni, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Agnès Varda, Orson Welles, Lars von Trier, Thomas Vinterberg, Bo Widerberg and, not least, Ingmar Bergman — all of whom realised their unique visions in collaboration with producers who respected their artistic integrity.
If I were to highlight one specific production company, Zentropa stands out, not least for its geographical and artistic proximity. Founded in 1992 in Copenhagen by Lars von Trier and producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen, the company has become synonymous with bold and visionary cinema. I chose Zentropa in particular because Lars von Trier has been a profound source of inspiration for me as a reflective filmmaker. He possesses a remarkable ability to pose interesting and deeply probing questions that touch the very core of human experience.
At the same time, I remain open to new collaborations, especially with emerging producers and companies willing to venture beyond conventional frameworks. In particular, for my new, more extensive artistic project at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm, I am seeking visionary collaborative partners who work with the moving image and with whom I can develop and realise this ambitious undertaking.
-WILD FILMMAKER can now “sit at the table with the big players” alongside The Hollywood Reporter and Variety during the Cannes Film Festival, but we have chosen to continue being a Global Cultural Movement with an ethical mission: to bring democracy into cinema, placing the Work of Art at the center of our project rather than Marketing. Do you think we are doing a good job?
I am deeply grateful and honoured to be part of WILD FILMMAKER, particularly in your collaboration with Variety and The Hollywood Reporter during the Cannes Film Festival. Your vision resonates profoundly with my own understanding of what meaningful cinema should be: bringing democracy into film while keeping the work of art at the very centre, rather than allowing marketing to dominate.
In a cultural landscape often driven by commercial imperatives, your mission stands as something rare and profoundly necessary — a genuine space for artistic freedom, authenticity and creative courage.
Only together can we bring about meaningful change.
WILD FILMMAKER embodies a spirit of true artistic liberation and cinematic magic — something I wholeheartedly support and stand behind.
Forward, toward new visionary cinematic art.
https://wildfilmmaker.com/directors-talk-lena-mattsson/
