15/01/2010

Iranian-born, Swedish filmmaker Babak Najafi will be competing for the Crystal Bear at this year’s Berlinale in the Generation 14Plus section with his debut feature, the mother-son drama Sebbe [+see also:
trailer
film profile].

Born in Teheran in 1975, Najafi came to Sweden at the age of 11. In 2001 he graduated from Stockholm’s University College of Film, Radio, Television and Theatre (Dramatiska Institutet) and continued directing several shorts, including Elixir (2004), that caught people’s attention for his poetic narrative skills and strong sense of reality.

Based on his original script, Sebbe centres on a 15-year-old boy who lives with his mother Eva in a suburb. Bullied at school, he escapes reality thanks to his technical skills, which he uses to create new objects or play tricks on others. But most importantly, according to producer Rebecka Lafrenz, “It’s a strong story about a boy’s relationship with his mother, something that can appeal to international audiences”.

Lafrenz and Mimmi Spång, her partner at Garagefilm International, have known Najafi since the three were at the Dramatiska Institutet. When the two producers joined the production company Memfis Film, they helped Najafi make Elixir. After going solo with Garagefilm in 2006, they immediately got in touch with Najafi again.

For Lafrenz, Najafi has a true talent for directing non-professional actors, a large majority of the Sebbe cast. She hopes that the film will be for her company “the beginning of a long journey with the director.” The SEK12.4m (roughly €1.2m) film was co-financed by the Swedish regional film centre Film i Väst, with public broadcasters SVT (Sweden) and YLE (Finland), and support from the Swedish Film Institute and the Nordisk Film & TV Fond.

Sebbe has also been selected in the Nordic Film competition programme at the Göteborg International Film Festival (January 29-February 8). Sonet Film/SF will release it in Sweden on March 12.