Short interview: Iris Olsson

How long did it take to make BETWEEN DREAMS? Was it difficult to get financing?
BETWEEN DREAMS was born as a movie challenge set out by the filmmakers for themselves. To travel through Russia in a month from east to west with the Trans-Siberian train and upon arrival at the other end to have a finished movie in their hands. In short, one exhilarating and thrilling non-sleep month from an idea to a finished film.
With some money gathered from a few European organizations from different countries the travel expenses of the film crew were financed. Everything else came out of our own pockets, which makes us even prouder of the result of the film and the response it has received.

Which thoughts come to mind concerning a “European cinema community”?
I wish for a stronger European Film Community, more exchange, communication, sharing. We should cherish what comes from Europe and in each country have the possibility to see more European Cinema and know about what’s the latest in each countries movie scene.

If you owned a theatre for one night, which films would you screen?
I would put up a modern Scandinavian feast. Starting with few short films from Finnish master Eija-Liisa Ahtila, and then showing a really important film from Sweden by Lukas Moodysson LILYA 4-EVER, and then ending it with the minimalistic, outstandingly written and played tragic love story EN SOAP by Pernille Fischer Christensen from Denmark. Hmm... that looks quite gloomy. Maybe we need some Jacques Tati at the end?

What is your next project?
At the moment I'm finishing a year’s post as a documentary director for the Finnish TV and starting with two short films, a documentary set out in Lebanon and a fiction short about violence where women actors play men. On the grand scale I have three fiction features that I know that I want to do, and I'm happy to have the time next year to start to write one of them!

Courtesy of European Film Academy, 2010.