Interview with Anders Engström

Return to Deadly Cell Interview with Anders Engström (Director) How did you come up with the idea of a story about conspiracy in Finland? The idea was introduced to me by my co-writer Thomas Borgström; Scandinavia's number one corporate thriller movie writer. In a country well known for its mobile phone development with one of the most important companies on the market, how did the country react to the film? The country appreciated the film as a work of fiction. It is a corporate thriller and its theme is a mobile phone that harms health. If somebody were related to an existing company it would be difficult to say, considering some 15% of the Finnish population saw the movie - but the film itself makes no references to actual companies, people or products. How did you select the cast of the film? Did they meet some specific requirements? I am glad to say I got all the actors I wanted. They are all well trained actors and filled the parts gracefully with their skills. Did you do some specific research to write and direct the film? If yes, did you find something that really surprised you? My focus was on making an exciting corporate thriller where business is in conflict with health issues and where corruption conflicts with personal morals and the free press. The story works regardless of research on mobile phone radiation since the events presented in the film are fictional. What are your next filming projects? The Finnish Film foundation has provided me with a grant to develop a film written by the legendary Western screenwriter Gerald Wilson. It's a story based on revenge featuring a Lakota woman, it's due to be shot in Canada. The film is called Wind Woman. What do you think are the main differences between Finnish cinema and the rest of Europe cinema? In comparison to main stream European cinema, Finnish films might seem darker and slower. But getting to know the Finns you will find out that the characters are filled with warmth, humor and humanity. There are exciting and surprising undercurrents in Finnish films that take a bit of practice to notice. Return to Deadly Cell