Film is change and change is scary.
Film is the definition of change. One image replaces another. One moment gives way to the next. One emotional state is altered by what follows. And change is frightening.
In this way, film does what all art does: it allows us to experience what it means to be human - some moments terrible, some beautiful - with intimacy, without having to be there. They once called this magic. We call it cinema. Or perhaps: magic, at scale.
When we experience, through the characters on screen, the feelings of others - closely, intimately - we find connection. To love. To tragedy. And in that connection, we discover we are not alone. That all our emotions are felt by others. That our humanness is universal. Now that’s magic!
Film has the unique potential to reach and move large groups of people. Even though the medium seems to be taking an increasingly less prominent place in the cultural landscape, it is still a medium that can make controversial questions and themes broadly discussable. And in a highly entertaining way! To me, these two characteristics go hand-in-hand: I refuse to accept that the value film can play in public debate is over and I also refuse to watch boring movies...
My love for the medium lies in all aspects of the creative process: I love shooting a shot, talking to an actor about how to deliver a line or how to deepen a character, I love writing a scene and laughing out loud in amazement because I have no idea where what I just wrote came from. I love slapping the cinematographer on the shoulder with enjoyment because everything just came together in one take! I love watching all the takes a hundred times and choosing the very best one. I love preparing down to the last detail and still being surprised on set. I love it and I want more!
My preference goes to the horror, thriller and crime genre - always with a touch of irony. It’s exciting and thrilling, and I love that. I love sitting on the edge of my seat, being forced to confront fears and dark forces. I believe evil resides within all of us and that it's too easy to condemn evil as something that exists outside of us.
That’s what I explore: ordinary people confronted by extraordinary darkness who make choices. Life is beautiful but also unpredictable, unfair, deadly serious, tragic and very ironic. And we, the actors on this stage? We just muddle through searching for meaning. It’s terrifying. But also deeply human. And film allows us to be deeply human- together… 24 times a second.