– Do you remember the exact moment you fell in love with cinema?
I was lying on a sheep skin rug on the living room floor, watching television. Ingmar Bergman’s masterpiece Wild strawberries was on. The film made a strong impression on me, and it has accompanied me throughout my whole career as a filmmaker. It describes a journey through time and space, where we get to accompany the elderly professor Isak Borg as he approaches death. Wild Strawberries touches upon the the most important existential questions of life and death. I clearly remember a scene where a young actor Bibi Andersson (Sara) puts a mirror in front the old man as if in a dream. He doesn’t want to look, but she insists and says: ” “Have you looked in the mirror, Isak? You’re an anxious old man who’s soon going to die.” The mirror here is a painful vehicle of self awareness: the glass mercilessly reflects the aspects of the self that the person reflected wishes to ignore.
The film makes a journey through life where darkness and light are painted in beautiful black and white. Maybe this is why I often make my films in black and white?
– When did you realize that the story living in your heart had to be turned into a screenplay and then into a film project?
My film project Not without gloves was born out of boredom and isolation during the covid pandemic. My thoughts went back in time to the place I was born. I am like Ingmar Bergman in this respect: it starts with an image in my head. Not without gloves problematizes the romantic approach to nature through distortions, and asks questions about the original place. We get to go into a magical world where I poetically treat the covid pandemic and the changes to the environment of today.
Originally, I am an artist. I started art school early and got my master’s degree at a young age. I was doing paintings but much to the dismay of my teachers I took up photography and film. Still I consider myself a painter, painting my stories and try to push the limits of what film and art can be. When I created Not without gloves I was supposed to have been curating a large exhibition of art from the 90’s, but because of covid the exhibition had to be moved forward to a later time, and I got time to experiment with a project of my own, poetically framing the pandemic. I don’t work with a script in the traditional sense but rather make my way forward through experimenting with pictures and sounds. Eventually a script emerges and I know exactly what I want to express. I paint the story rather than tell it in a traditional, linear fashion.
– Is there a person you would like to thank for helping you bring your project to life?
For many years I have worked with the philosopher, art critic and musician Conny C-A Malmqvist. He makes new compositions for me that I can use however I want to. I am very greatful for this cooperation and it is very artistically advantageous to me that I am able to decide on my own how the story gets to evolve in a visual and aural respect, since I do all the editing myself. I put down a lot of effort and energy into the process of editing the film. It is a central part of my artistry. I love everything about the process of film making, from meeting the actors, who often influence the films, to the shooting and finally, my big passion, cutting and honing the final shape and form of the film. I work with film in many different ways, as sculptural works or part of the public space, or more traditionally. There are no limits.
– Do you think the Wild Filmmaker Community is helping to turn your dream into a reality?
Yes, definitely. Through the collaboration my film has gained a completely different impact internationally, which I am very happy and grateful for. I have met several like-minded film makers that I can discuss life, art, poetry, literature and film history with through Wild Filmmaker Community. These topics are very close to my heart. As a film maker and artist I want to erase the boundaries between different art forms and genres. Maybe we can only do that together.
https://wildfilmmaker.com/my-dream-and-i-exclusive-interview-with-lena-mattsson/
