Jerry Carlsson
Project Name:
Bränder (Burnings)
Producer:
Frida Mårtensson & Anette Sidor
Country:
Sweden
Year of lab participation:
2023
Lab edition:
11
Logline
A lonely teenager tries to hide his attraction towards other guys, but when he finds a portal in the basement that can make him change his appearance, a whole new world opens up that makes him question who he wants to be.
Synopsis
Ako (15) is lonely and wishes he was someone else. Longing to explore his sexuality he creates a fake online profile (Paul) to talk with other boys. When the facade of Ako’s house collapses he finds a portal in the basement that leads to a different house, where Ako looks like his fake profile picture. As Paul, he is finally free to explore his longing, but pretending to be someone else comes with a price and his lies quickly begin to catch up with him.
Director's Note
A philosophical and artistic take on the coming-of-age genre where the world is intertwined with Ako's subconscious. An underground fire, a crumbling house, a family obsessed with renovations but unable to communicate. In the midst of it Ako, trying to navigate a burning longing by pretending to be someone else. I want to capture the urgency of what it means to be young; when your body, mind and world is on fire, facing a change.
Director-writer
Co-writer
Producer profile
Verket Produktion is a Stockholm-based production company run by producer Frida Mårtensson and writers/directors Anette Sidor and Jerry Carlsson. Verket develop, produce and co-produce shorts, features and documentaries for an international audience. We see filmmaking as a way of investigating what it means to be human. Verket's shorts have reached an audience worldwide via festivals and platforms such as Canal+ and Criterion Channel. Among the released titles are Successful thawing of Mr. Moro (TIFF), The Night Train (Venice) and Fuck You (Locarno, TIFF, Sundance). Verket is currently in financing with several feature projects supported by the Swedish Film Institute. Frida Mårtensson recently produced the feature The Year I Started Masturbating by Erika Wasserman which premiered on Netflix worldwide in May. Her shorts have competed at festivals such as Venice, TIFF, Clermont Ferrand and won a number of international awards.
Production company profile
Verket Produktion is a Stockholm-based production company run by producer Frida Mårtensson and writers/directors Anette Sidor and Jerry Carlsson. Verket develop, produce and co-produce shorts, features and documentaries for an international audience. We see filmmaking as a way of investigating what it means to be human. Verket's shorts have reached an audience worldwide via festivals and platforms such as Canal+ and Criterion Channel. Among the released titles are Successful thawing of Mr. Moro (TIFF), The Night Train (Venice) and Fuck You (Locarno, TIFF, Sundance). Verket is currently in financing with several feature projects supported by the Swedish Film Institute. Frida Mårtensson recently produced the feature The Year I Started Masturbating by Erika Wasserman which premiered on Netflix worldwide in May. Her shorts have competed at festivals such as Venice, TIFF, Clermont Ferrand and won a number of international awards.
Production Budget
Verket Produktion is a Stockholm-based production company run by producer Frida Mårtensson and writers/directors Anette Sidor and Jerry Carlsson. Verket develop, produce and co-produce shorts, features and documentaries for an international audience. We see filmmaking as a way of investigating what it means to be human. Verket's shorts have reached an audience worldwide via festivals and platforms such as Canal+ and Criterion Channel. Among the released titles are Successful thawing of Mr. Moro (TIFF), The Night Train (Venice) and Fuck You (Locarno, TIFF, Sundance). Verket is currently in financing with several feature projects supported by the Swedish Film Institute. Frida Mårtensson recently produced the feature The Year I Started Masturbating by Erika Wasserman which premiered on Netflix worldwide in May. Her shorts have competed at festivals such as Venice, TIFF, Clermont Ferrand and won a number of international awards.
Genre:
Drama/Fantasy
Language:
Swedish