fighting over Selma

We had different ideas about who Selma really was. I wanted her to be more of an artistic character but Lars, who is a complete fanatic, wants his role figures to suffer, especially the female ones. I couldn’t really accept that.

Selma has had a hard life and she is very imaginative due to all the times she has escaped from her problems into a fanatasy world. Her despair gives you an emotional kick, she makes you high !

But Lars thought that was impossible. All the time he just wanted more and more dreadful things to happen to her and in the end she is even being executed. I thought that was a bit too simple, a bit too easy.

But I don’t think the whole film is based only on conflicts, it’s a compromise between our different views. It’s a combination between reality and fantasy just like a musical.

Zero, autumn 2000