Marcus Carlsson has previously shown films at the Gothenburg Film Festival and has also directed theatre. But now he is taking a step up the career ladder with "The Beekeeper," which will open Sweden's largest film festival.
In "The Beekeeper," Olof (Adam Lundgren) tries to cope with his wife's suicide while his relationship with his daughter Claudia (Hedvig Nilsson) has become frosty. But they are forced to grow closer when Olof falls ill.
I am very inspired by Bo Widerberg, Lars Molin and Jan Troell, without any other comparison... I have missed the warmth of Swedish film, the humanism, and I have wanted to bring that into this film, explains Marcus Carlsson.
Inspired by family history
The film is loosely inspired by his own family history and has taken almost ten years to complete.
This has been a project that I didn't want to rush through. I'm very happy that it turned out the way it did. Otherwise, Hedvig wouldn't have been involved and Adam previously felt too young for the role. Now everything has fallen into place.
Adam Lundgren has been an established actor since his breakthrough in the TV series "Never Wipe Tears Without Gloves" almost 15 years ago and has known Marcus Carlsson for a long time. In addition to playing the lead role, he has also written the script.
"It's good for an actor to be involved from the beginning. Otherwise you get involved so late in the process. Now I got to be a co-creator and come up with my own suggestions for the character and events," he says.
Rough Värmland
The film is set in Åmotfors in Värmland, and the location itself was at least as important to the end result as the actors and the plot, explains Marcus Carlsson. It was there, among other things, that he found Hedvig Nilsson, who plays the daughter Claudia in the film.
The dialogue is in broad Värmland dialect, so much so that the film will be subtitled.
"You'll have to do that. That's where we recorded and that's where people talk," says Marcus Carlsson, smiling.
But it created problems for Adam Lundgren, who has no connection to Värmland and had to learn the dialect.
"It was just practice, practice, practice. And then I worked with a dialect coach. Then Hedvig and her dad had to read all the lines so that I would have two different voices to learn from," he says.
"The Beekeeper" will be shown at the Gothenburg Film Festival and will be released in theaters on April 17.
