Björn Runge

Directed 1 Oscar nominated performance: Glenn Close in The Wife (2017).

For me, a film production always starts with a Love affair. With the script. When I read "the Wife" (by Jane Anderson), the script connected to strong experiences in my own life and I felt I was familiar with the characters and the dramatic journey they were on. I created a strong Imagination of how a possible film could look like, during those first readings.

From the moment I'm committed to the film, I want to be involved in all creative decisions of importance. Just to be faithful to my Imagination. To prepare a film is to take care of every possible detail there is. Every word and every sentence in the script has to be comparable into the concrete world.

Together with the Producers will I put together a team, we start the search for a ideal cast, we begin looking for the right locations and start the discussions about how to dress them. We go deeper into different tests how the Visual look for our film will be and what kind of light we shall use. We're planning for the shooting-schedule and doing rehearsals with all the actors, testing clothes and makeup, rewrites the script, and having a lot of meetings and prepare us for the shootings.

The pre-production is dealing with the concrete aspect of the existence. But the plan is to leave the gravity of our daily life and create life in front of the camera. Our preparations are our runway.

On this film, the Team was very dedicated. We built up a strong empowerment together. The Production was a dream to work with. So, there was no excuses when the shooting started.

I like to think of the set as a meeting place. For me as a Director, I'm dependent to see what the actors brings to the scene. From there, I will get associations and can be involved in creating the scene. Together with Ulf Brantås (the DoP), we try to find ways to shoot the scene in the best way. I love to be surprised on the set. I think we all want to be surprised by what's happening when the script becoming flesh and blood in front of the camera. We have prepared us self for this: To be amazed. With actors like Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce, its very much to taking care of their tremendous acting energy in the best way. My ambition was to create an atmosphere of trust on the set, that allowed the actors to be Free to be Free. Because for me, the shootings are a collecting of emotional material into the Editing room. And my ambition is to have such a rich material as possible when we goes into the post production.

I am not a perfectionist, but I always try to make a film that's close to my own Imagination, even if it changes over the time, the heart must be the same. It's like getting the Olympic fire from the script, and then try to keep the fire alive during the long period of pre-production, shootings and the post-production. When the film is completed, it's time to deliver that fire to the audience. It's not easy to make a film, often, it's really tough, but in the end, when it works out well, I perceive a very strong force of exuberance.

Björn Runge