We had been deep into the swedish forests. A place called Pålskog, a 20 minutes drive into the pinewoods, following a long and winding dirt track. Out there, where there is no phone connection, unless you stand on a rock and point your not-so-smart-anylonger smartphone in a specific direction, and then maybe, if you're lucky, you'll get enough signal to send a text message. Out there, where the darkness was overwhelming and the early misty mornings seemed Tarkovsky-esque divine. It was perfect.
We knew our central elements. The cottage in the forest was the geographic frame around the story. We knew our characters, the conturs we had drawn of their backstory, the depth of their emotional dilemmas. I had a list of keyscenes with me, that I knew I wanted to capture. Even some dream-imagery that I didn't fully understand, but I knew was important. The rest was something we had to discover together.
We were a dynamic pack of 5 people. Two of them, are the most incredible actors I could have wished for: Gaia Rosberg and Sofya Johnson. Fearlessly the two jumped head first into this intuitive exploration, and kept true to their characters at all time, even when I gave them very little linearity to work from.
It's not always given that actors can access that intuitive place with such ease and trust in the process. And depending on the content of the piece, it's sometimes too much to ask for. Gaia and Sofya was able to do it, because both of them are incredibly intuitive talents and because they had excellent chemistry together.
We had done two workshops before we left, with emphasis on a very physical way into the material. It was obvious, that the work we had done in the workshops, had been a crucial component. My only wish, is that we had had more time to dwelve deeper into the method, and to bridge the process more seamlessly.
We were cut down to the bare bones. The intention was intimacy, which we achieved, but it was also hard work. Film maker & video-artist Gabriel Foster-Prior was the films cinematographer and experimental sound-artist Carlo Störup was on sound. The three of us was the whole crew, which even for my small-crew standard is a very slim set-up. Luckily, both Gabriel and Carlo are talented artists with an experimental heart, who know what it is to play and explore and who take their work seriously. They entered the proces with an impressive creativity and work-ethic and managed to cope with the extremely high demands that came from being a more-than-skinny skeleton-crew. I'm really thankful for what they brought to it.
We came back from the forest 8 days ago. I don't have the faintest idea of where those 8 days have gone.
I must have slept through it somehow. We were all exhausted. But thrilled as well. It was a good experience. Now, the next step of the process lies ahead. A more introvert part of the creation. Going through the material, together with my editor. And then, slowly, begin to wrap our heads and hearts around this enigmatic creature: Mothlands #1.