Tea time with Aldriland

An interview with Håvard Fandrem, director of Aldriland

Can you tell us more about the circumstances in which you made the film, as I’m aware it’s your thesis project?
Yes, it was my project for the last semester at a film school called Westerdals in Oslo, Norway. For my thesis project, I wanted to move away from my comfort zone, and work with a subject that I didn’t know much about. I felt at that time that whatever I wrote or made was usually based on my life or my own experiences, and wanted to do something different. I wrote and directed this film with another student from my class as the producer, and we found our film crew outside the school.

Where did the idea come from? Is it based on a real-life story?
It is in some ways based on a true story, as the idea for the film came from an article in a Norwegian newspaper which was an interview with a pedophile man in his twenties, who talked about how he realized that he was a pedophile when he was 15. It was for me an eye-opening article to read, as I realized I had never thought of a pedophile to be anything other than the stereotypical man in his 50s. It was very new for me to think that they once were teenagers, having the same sexual feelings. The interview ended with the man saying «There’s is nothing I want more than to wake up one day and not be a pedophile». That made an impact on me, to realize that many people struggling with these kind of feelings, and want nothing but to escape them.

The characterization is subtle and nuanced. How do you feel about the way taboo subjects such as these are usually portrayed in film?
It is difficult to answer, as there is a whole range of how sensitive subjects such as this has been portrayed. But I think that in general there is a tendency to treat taboo subjects like this in a black or white matter, instead of the grey zones that it is. This can easily lead to stereotypes. I would wish to see more films that portray people with extreme emotions in a more humanized matter. No matter what a person thinks, feels or does, he or she is still a person.

What are you hoping the public makes of it?
I hope that they can identify with the boy in some way or another. To not see him as a pedophile, but as a young boy struggling with something that he needs help with. That was something that I kept referring to when I made the film: that there is a huge difference between a pedophile and a child abuser. The one doesn’t have to be the other. But it was important to me to try to make a film that didn’t have a «political message». I didn’t want to pinpoint what is right or wrong. I wanted to portray a simple «slice of life» from a young boy’s everyday life, that was told from a neutral, but intimate perspective.

How did you cast the main actor?
We had a casting call in Oslo, but we didn’t specify what exactly the film was about, except that it was a drama with an intimate subject.  It was first when we met the actors face to face during the audition that we explained what the role was about. We felt this was the right way to do it, as we wanted to give the actors a complete understanding about how we would treat the subject, and why we wanted to make the film. Most of them reacted positivity to it, and some politely declined to audition. Arthur was one of the last to audition, and absolutely blew us away. It was funny how he had just finished doing a larger part in both a huge Norwegian war movie and a very popular TV series, but I failed to recognize him during the audition, and foolishly asked him if he had any professional experience.

What sort of freedom would you say the short format allows?
In my case, the possibly to explore a taboo subject without having to rely too much on plot. I think one gets a larger freedom to explore smaller subjects, such as a single feeling or a moment. I also love the way a short film can in a extremely short span of time can breathe life to a character and make us, the viewer, imagine a whole life outside of the perhaps five minute we are watching. I find that very fascinating!

Aldriland is being shown in International Competition I9.