Suzanne Osten breaking the last taboo – Sydsvenskan

– I was surprised, in short. I still worked to test the movie to children from 7 years and up, and is written and worked for 15 years. But I underestimated the immense power of the taboo of mental illness, says Suzanne Osten said.

“The girl, her mother and Demons” has evolved from the play ” the girl, her mother and garbage, “which in turn is based on Suzanne Osten’s book of the same title from 1998. the play was set up at Unga Klara and toured internationally for over ten years.

to develop the project to the film is a given Suzanne Osten has carried with him for long. She grew himself up with a mother who suffered from schizophrenia, and has touched on the theme in some of his earlier films. She explains that most of the new film based on research, but that the commitment comes from their own experience.

– I honestly do not remember much of my childhood. Sure, I remember how the mother cried – it was a tremendous experience of powerlessness. And we played cards. She had humor, and there was probably a kind of fraternal jargon between us. And that this girl is not afraid of the mother, that I recognize. I was never afraid of my mother. I was very concerned.

Why do you think to the topic mental illness evokes such strong emotions in adults?

– It is the last taboo, we are afraid of, and it’s so scary for adults. It’s scary for anyone who lives with it – not to mention for all children who are shut in there 24 hours a day. This is just a movie in 90 minutes, with much hope. It will go well, we say in the beginning. But there are children in the reality that goes under in such environments.

Not the first time one of Suzanne Osten films children is banned. 1996 happened to her film “Bengbulan” the same fate. The debate that followed was tough, and Suzanne Osten says that she occasionally doubted himself. Today, she is however convinced that it is good to let the children come into contact with art by adults may be perceived as annoying. But it must be done professionally.

– My protection filter is quality. I claim that I make quality. It’s very provocative, but what I do is pretty damn carefully done. I work with super-professional actors, craftsmen, photographer. The best. I can only defend myself so.