I'm not a genre film filmmaker. I'd rather look for a topic that I think we need to bring up and discuss because there's something about the issues in the film.
Ruben OstlundWhy I'm interested in filmmaking is because a moving image is very, very powerful when it comes to changing human behavior.
Ruben OstlundI want my film to be possible to use as a reference when we are trying to live our lives.
Ruben OstlundSo many times after a catastrophe like 9/11, Estonia in Sweden, the Holocaust or whatever, we are so fond of lifting up the hero examples, but actually 99 percent of survivors have done something that they feel very guilty about.
Ruben OstlundJust look at the history of cinema. The most reproduced male character is probably the hero and the most reproduced female character is probably the sex object. I think those stereotypes have been reproduced over and over again. It also changes our expectations when it comes to a situation like this in real life.
Ruben Ostlund