Interview: Isabella Eklöf – Holiday

I was lassoed by the pre-fest launching of the accompanying marketing materials for this Danish-Dutch-Swedish co-production Sundance’s World Cinema Dramatic Comp selected debut, and a mere minutes into the screening, I knew I was in for the type of delight I’m accustomed to seeing in the comp for the Palme d’Or. You see, this examination of femininity through masculinity under the guise mafioso world in swim trunk vaca mode adheres to a quality that we find in some master filmmakers who adorn Cannes. With a firm control with long takes, still frames, subtext loaded language, Isabella Eklöf‘s Holiday invites curious onlookers to witness how one might conform, assert and essentially climb the ranks machismo with actress Victoria Carmen Sonne’s character making power moves with bare minimum in terms of “physical” effort. I got to sit down with the filmmaker to discuss several facets of the screenplay, the mise-en-scène, some of the film devices she uses in terms of exploring time and gender dynamics.