It’s clearly evident that France has imprinted on the charismatic director Sofia Norlin. Having lived there for 18 years it seems as though the city has rubbed off on her creatively, and Ömheten, directly translated The Tenderness, is a great example of that. Ömheten is a perfect name for her debut film. There was a fine line between vulnerability, rawness and tenderness throughout and Norlin has done an impeccable job taking it to the level of film mastery.
Ömheten is about how four different young people deal with the turmoil in their lives whilst the grounds are shaking beneath their feet, literally, in the northern Swedish city, Kiruna. It is a profound exploration of inner battle, dealing with life, and responding to changes within and around you.
Even though the film lacked a lot of dialogue, the silence in between sentences translates in nature speaking on behalf of the actors. There is a glimpse of poetry in a lot of the scenes; the rough industrial mining meets a very scenic environment with a lot of greens and even snow. The film speaks a kind of metaphor on how the west-world is today.
– People are getting more and more aware of the importance of nature that is overshadowed by industry and technology.
Ömheten was screened for the first time in the majestic film theatre Skandia, and viewed by hundreds of people. The next step is to screen it in the actual place the film was held, Kiruna, and there is no doubt that it will be received with nothing than a big welcoming hug – that’s the overall feeling one gets when the credits started rolling in.
– The film is a poetical drama about the grounds shaking beneath Kiruna. I’ve noticed people reacting differently to the word poetry… in France it’s warmly welcomed to use “poetic” as a film description, in Sweden it’s a little different. I don’t know, maybe people find poetry to be hard to understand and difficult rather than liberating and beautiful. So in a way I’m a little cautious when saying that word. Also, during the making of Ömheten we searched for filmic ways of presenting sound and language. And with that process, we thought the fewer dialogues the better, to let the nature speak for itself, which I think the viewer’s might notice.
Being as Ömheten is Norlin’s first long film debut, it’s clear that it’s a happy moment in her life.
– I’m glad to see how it turned out and see it meeting an audience for the first time. People have had a positive attitude to the film which means a lot to me. When you’ve put so much work into something it’s nice to get a positive feedback.
Choosing the cast for the film has neither been easy nor difficult, the process went smoothly Norlin explained to me. She is thrilled that she picked the right cast.
– We sent out scripts to see if that would work, which it did. But we also met young people during our trips to Kiruna when we visited schools; some of the ones we met became a part of the cast. I think this was an advantage for them because they’re from Kiruna and they know Kiruna which gives them an advantage when adapting to the surroundings.
– I’ve been living in France for the past 18 years now, where I actually also met my husband, and one day I read the Swedish newspaper regarding the grounds shaking beneath Kiruna, which is something that’s actually happening in present day. This sparked my interest, and especially within time when I researched my idea. I think it’s interesting how the industrial meets nature in Kiruna. Their biggest source of income is the mining, but at the same time there’s the nature that’s so overwhelmingly beautiful and vast. We went there during different seasons, so the footages vary, obviously, but they also show several sides of Kiruna. I’m overall happy that Kiruna was the place we filmed.
The future seems to be bright for Norlin, she’s already started concocting ideas for her next film which will be based in France, but with a twist.
– It’s going to be about orphaned child soldiers from Kongo arriving to suburbs in France. I’ve started writing on it, so it’s going to be interesting to see the idea develop.
The process in making the film has taken a long time, it started in 2009 and ended in 2013, but Norlin told me it felt like a thousand years.
– We weren’t in Kiruna all that time obviously, we traveled on and off during different times. The team was great, and we had a great time working together. If you see the film you’ll realize that some areas we filmed from were difficult, in the sense of it being very cold or steep for example… but sometimes we stood still for a very long time to catch the light and so on. We switched from a bigger to smaller camera depending on where we went.
– I liked the industrial and the nature, but also how the society is formed around the mines, and in a way this has been an inspiration for me throughout the whole process of making this film.
Sofia Norlin is a mother of three children, two of which who starred in a small role in the film. I asked her to describe herself with three words…
– Mother, daydreamer and passionate about society.
All of which that reflected in her beautiful debut film Ömheten.
Words by Derya Aktas
Ömheten is out in theatres on 6 December.
