In this episode of Stream Close Up, Brian sits down with comedians and creators Sissela Benn and Jonatan Unge to talk about Popular Problems, their sharply observed new comedy series for SVT.

Based on their own former relationship and breakup, the show turns co-parenting, therapy, social services, and modern Swedish anxieties into painfully honest and often hilarious television. Benn and Unge discuss how the project grew out of an earlier Swedish Radio audio series, why they chose to mine their shared history for comedy, and how humor became a way to process a difficult separation. The conversation touches on collaboration after a breakup, drawing comedy from real life experiences, and the fine line between discomfort and truth that gives Popular Problems its bite.

Recorded on site ahead of a Stockholm Film Festival screening, the episode also captures the unpredictable realities of making podcasts outside the studio.

Popular Problems is set to debut on SVT in January.

It's funny.

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At the Stockholm Film Festival, Brian sits down with Dutch writer director Sven Bresser to talk about his debut feature Reedland, the stunning and meditative drama that has become the Netherlands’ official Oscar submission. Sven reflects on the film’s unusual blend of murder mystery and disappearing rural tradition, the influence of the reed landscape he grew up with, and the central performance by real life reed cutter Gerrit Knobbe. They discuss casting non actors, shaping cinematic language around nature, and how audiences around the world are responding to the film’s quiet exploration of fear, community and change.

Check out the Reedland Trailer

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Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani on "Reflection in a Dead Diamond"

On this episode of Stream Close Up, Brian sits down at the Stockholm Film Festival with filmmaking duo Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani to talk about their psychedelic spy film "Reflection in a Dead Diamond" The couple discuss twenty five years of working and living together, creating a twisted love letter to James Bond and sixties Italian cinema set on the sun soaked Mediterranean coast.

They break down the film’s surreal visual language, meticulous location scouting on the Cote d Azur, and their highly crafted sound design that draws on classic Italian genre films to create a hypnotic big screen experience. Bond fans and anyone into stylish surreal thrillers will want to seek this one out.

"Reflection in a Dead Diamond" features Fabio Testi, a cornerstone of Italian cinema. We'll hear about how he both inspired the film and ended up in the starring role.

Reflection In A Dead Diamond: Trailer

Reflections In A Dead Diamond will be available to stream on Shudder from December 5th.

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Five years ago Julia Decournau won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival for her film “Titane”.  We caught up with her on her recent visit to the Stockholm International Film Festival where she presented her latest work “Alpha”. It’s a multi-layered story of love and fear where a mother must navigate the possible exposure of her daughter to a virus that once killed her brother.  As Julia will tell us, a synopsis can’t describe this or most other films. 

Julia shares insight into some of her filmmaking choices, including the use of Nick Cave’s song “The Mercy Seat” to set the tone for  pivotal scene.

Alpha: Trailer

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Coming to you from the Stockholm International Film Festival.

In this episode Brian is joined by legendary documentary filmmaker Ross McElwee. Known for his deeply personal and quietly funny explorations of family, memory, and the passage of time, Ross has shaped the language of first person documentary for more than four decades. His films include classics like "Sherman’s March", "Time Indefinite", "Bright Leaves" and "Six O Clock News". Each one blends intimate storytelling with cultural reflection in a way that has inspired generations of nonfiction filmmakers.

They discuss his latest work “Remake” which was just awarded the Bronze Horse as best documentary at this year's Stockholm Film Festival. It starts out as a journey to document a Hollywood producer’s attempt to remake “Sherman’s March” as a drama but quickly turns to the passing of his son Adrian who dies of drug overdose involving fentanyl.  Adrian was a filmmaker in his own right and was documenting his lifestyle.  That material in combination with a lifetime of shooting his family, provides Ross with rich source material for his loving tribute.

Congratulations to Ross on a well deserved award.

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Award winning filmmaker and journalist Auberi Edler joins us as we dive into our coverage of the Stockholm Film Festival.

We discuss Auberi's latest film "An American Pastoral" which covers a school board election in Elizabethtown Pennsylvania. What unfolds will surprise and possibly scare you.

It’s an even handed portrayal of a battle that pits right wing MAGA republicans, including a married couple that proudly helped organize and storm the capitol on January 6th, against a coalition of center republicans and democrats in a race that focuses on book bans and a traditional Christian vs secular approach to managing public education.

Everybody involved is honest and passionate which sets up some very dramatic confrontations. 

Auberi is able to win trust and take us into the lives of the candidates and broader community and what she reveals helps explain the growing divide splitting Americans.

The result is sometimes disturbing.

Join us as we meet Auberi Edler.

Trailer: An American Pastoral

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Writer and director Mattias J Skoglund has been traveling the world presenting his latest project the horror film "Hemmet" (The Home) and joins us today to celebrate the Swedish theatrical release.

Based on Mats Strandberg's novel, "Hemmet" tells the story of a young man who returns to his childhood home in order to move his mother into an assisted living facility. Once there, her condition takes a turn for the worse and drama unfolds. Is it a question of deepening dementia or is something more sinister afoot?

With tremendous performance by Anki Lidén and Philip Oros among other notables, "Hemmet" will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout.

Mattias will tell us about his experience writing with Mats, how he went about casting a mix of seasoned pros and unknowns and the eight year journey to bring "Hemmet" to the screen.

You can get a look at "Hemmet" here: Trailer

Sorry about the audio, I think the spirit of Bengt might have been lurking when we recorded.

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We are digging into our coverage of the 36th Annual Stockholm Film Festival.

Ella Rae Rappaport joins us to talk about "Egghead Republic" which will have its European debut on November 8th as part of the festival. "Egghead Republic" is a surreal peek behind the curtain at the machinations of a modern media empire and the madness of power. But as you will learn, this doesn't even begin to describe this wonderful film.

Ella Rae is nominated for the Rising Star Award at this year's festival for her performance as Sonja, a Swedish club kid with big dreams who joins a road trip through a post-apocalyptic landscape that may or may not include mutant centaurs.

It was a pleasure to meet Ella Rae, but I have to say I did feel a little old when she didn't get any of my cultural references ;-)

You can get a little taste of Egghead Republic here: Trailer

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Beatrice Karlsson is the Program Director of the Stockholm International Film Festival. Beatrice and her team are the architects of the schedule and are responsible for sorting through the over 3000 titles submitted for consideration this year.  

Last week they finalized and presented the impressive lineup of over 130 films from 60 countries for this year's festival where Isabella Rossellini will be the guest of honor

In the midst of this frenzy of activity Beatrice was kind enough to join us to talk about what goes into organizing a festival, what criteria they apply when curating the final list of films and what we can expect in the coming weeks.

We catch her three weeks ahead of the start of festivities and just 48 hours after announcing this year's lineup.

For more information: Stockholm Film Festival

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Norwegian-based Swedish director Fanny Ovesen joins us to talk about her debut* feature Live A Little / Leva Lite. The film is a thoughtfully written coming of age story about friends Laura and Alex who are taking a long planned girls’ trip. Along the way there is a night of partying and blackout sex. The story follows them as they couch surf across Europe and try to unravel what happened. Was it simply a drunken fling, or something darker?

In this episode we take the opportunity to walk through Live A Little in detail with Fanny. We also take a few minutes to get into her wonderful short film She-Pack (link below).

Fanny is just one more example of the amazing young filmmaking talent emerging in Scandinavia. It was a pleasure to meet her and have the chance to explore her work.

Live A Little was just released in North America. Look for it wherever you find quality films.

Live a Little Trailer

She-Pack

* That is if we discount her childhood work with her brother ;-)  

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