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Screwed

Country: Finland, Language: Finnish, 100 mins

Original Title

Pihalla
  • Director: Nils-Erik Ekblom
  • Writer: Nils-Erik Ekblom
  • Producer: Marko S. Eronen; Tom Norrgrann

CGiii Comment

This a low-low-budget production...which should not necessarily mean low on talent. After all, all great and not-so-great filmmakers started off with no budgets...usually honing their skills with a few shorts before having a stab at the feature!

That's the problem with Screwed, it was screwed from the off, there's just not enough meaty material to justify a feature...a badly-acted, narcoleptic father, even as a subplot, is not the way to go!

Nils-Erik Ekblom has made a couple of short films before, he should have made a few more before embarking on this endeavour! And...as director, co-writer, cinematographer and editor, should have considered doing a little less...it's that jack-of-all-trades trade-off against mastering an artform!

A word of advice to all new and less experienced filmmakers...use people! Go to drama schools, universities, colleges, schools, film schools...find those people who want to make a career out of their chosen path. They'll work harder than any paid professional...because they have something to prove. They want a portfolio, they want to get on the first step of the ladder...help them, they'll help you. Collaborate!!!

So...until you make the perfect short film...do not think about making a feature!


Trailer...

The(ir) Blurb...

“It’s going to be a dry summer,” prognosticates one of the characters in director Nils-Erik Ekblom’s lyrical and poetic coming-of-age tale, Screwed. This remark — tinged with irony and metaphor — soon sets the stage for a distinctly sensual, beautifully shot, and sensitively acted drama about a young gay man on the cusp of adulthood.

Because of an ill-advised rave thrown at home while the adults were away, 17-year-old sexually insecure Miku (Mikko Kauppila) is sentenced to spend the summer with his bickering parents at their private cottage. There, against the tranquil backdrop of the Finnish countryside, he encounters confident Elias (Valtieri Lehtinen), with whom he strikes up an intense friendship, one that leads to physical consummation and mutual self-discovery.

Though familial dysfunction and relationship turmoil are at the heart of Screwed, its protagonist’s sexuality is refreshingly matter-of-fact. Says director Ekblom, “We wanted to show an uncensored version of the daily life of a young Finn on the brink of adulthood, who also happens to be gay. I wanted to make a movie where a character being gay is unremarkable.” He has artfully achieved that goal; also notable about Screwed is its ripe, crisp dialogue, its realistic depiction of a young gay man’s sexual awakening, and the tender and erotic interactions of its two main characters.
Based on the personal experience of its young writer-filmmaker, Screwed displays a sophisticated directorial feel for mood and pacing that makes us eager to hear more from an intriguing new Scandinavian voice. — TIM SIKA

Cast & Characters

Mirja Oksanen as Veera;
Juho Keskitalo as Sebu;
Sami Huhtala as Jaakko;
Sanna Majuri as Minna;
Marlene Dumas as Party Girl;
Valtteri Lehtinen as Elias;
Mikko Kauppila as Miku;
Kaisa Saarakkala as Sanna;
Miika Karlsson as Btmn;
Jukka Federley as Siivooja;
Johanna Jaakkola as Juice Bar Girl;
Amanda Virolainen as Sini;
Ossi Agren as Koivu