“The first synth movie ever” is Swedish director Patrik Blomberg Book’s tentative assessment of his feature debut, Love Will Save Us [+leggi anche:
recensione
intervista: Patrik Blomberg Book
scheda film], premiering in the Nordic Light section of the Göteborg Film Festival. He shared some thoughts on the film’s journey as well as his own experiences back in the mid-1980s.

Cineuropa: Like Fredrik in the film, you were a synthare, or a “synther”, back in the day. Is there an English-language equivalent to this Swedish expression for someone in the synth-music subculture?
Patrik Blomberg Book: Possibly “synth kid”? It’s kind of tricky. In this mid-1980s Swedish setting, it’s special. It deals with a kind of rough, punky sound, which is perfectly exemplified by Daniel Miller’s group The Normal and the track “Warm Leatherette”. Grace Jones covered it later, and Miller, of course, founded Mute Records and signed Depeche Mode.

You have stated that Love Will Save Us might be the first synth movie ever. Have you investigated this thoroughly?
I have certainly searched around. The Fan, a 1982 German film, features a synth artist, but it’s not about synths per se. Another German film, Play It Loud!, deals with the group DAF. But I haven’t found anything that plays out in the synth milieu as such. It baffles me, as there’s certainly no shortage of those who ventured deep into this world, with great passion. It was huge, and still is. Just imagine if there were no films about rock or hip-hop.

What we don’t get is the traditional story setup, with the forming of the band, the hardships and struggles, and the ultimate triumph. At least, that doesn’t seem like the film you wanted to make, right?
I have a note in my office that says, “Make the film that only you can make.” And that film wasn’t your regular lightweight fare that we see now and then in this genre. People already tell me it’s darker than they expected, and different from what they had in their head beforehand. In my world, that’s a positive thing. I can already feel that it has touched some viewers.

First and last, it’s a coming-of-age love story between Fredrik and Nina. It’s partly autobiographical. Like Fredrik, I came from a dysfunctional home and found shelter in the music; I experienced some very strong things in my late teens. I’ve carried it with me and had been hoping to turn it into a film one day.

Although it’s your debut fiction feature, you’re hardly a newcomer. How did your film career start out?
Around 1990, I got into the world of promotional music videos, which kept me busy for the entire decade with some 60 clips for major Swedish acts. Between 2000 and 2007, I lived in Copenhagen, worked as an editor at a TV station and did commissioned work. Together with a filmmaker friend, Anders Gustafsson, I made a documentary called Little Miss Grown Up, which won several Danish awards, including a Robert.

Love Will Save Us started out as a Kickstarter project, didn’t it?
It did. A few private backers joined in, then Film i Skåne got on board, which gave us a decent budget for a shooting plan. Later on, Moving Sweden also came in. I did the editing and composed the original score. Given the circumstances, I’m tremendously pleased with the result. The common denominator throughout has been the love that people have put into it.

Several of those people are your close family. Your wife Viktoria produces, Viktoria’s sister Anna Blomberg plays Fredrik’s mother, and your daughter Vesta plays Nina’s kid sister – with great talent at that.
Absolutely. Anna is a popular comedienne who gets to do a darker part here. Of course, she knows my story well. Vesta is just a natural. She did a small part in The Bridge a few years ago and nailed things straight away – just like she did here.

You thank Lukas Moodysson in the end credits. What for?
He had the kindness to read an early draft of the script and also brought in his regular editor, who gave me additional valuable input.

How do you follow up an experience like this?
With more fiction features. I have three ideas in development, and at least one of them is quite fantastic. If I could wish for something, it would be a slightly larger budget, as that would be a great stress reliever.