Johan Salberg

-Can you explain to the audience your career?

I started of as an actor when i was a kid. Studied hardcore method acting in Sweden for years. Mostly shortfilms and theatre tough. Did Stand Up comedy. Then i moved on to study film and filmmaking and finally i got a degree in Screenwriting. So i guess you can say that I've done my research.

I’ve never waited around for things to happen, so I started creating my own material early on. Break Up is my feature debut as a director, writer, actor, editor, and producer – basically wearing all the hats so i'm glad i spent some time before learning before doing.

-How many years have you been making movies?

I started making movies with my friends when i was around 14-15. So what is that like 20 years? I think I've ust have done something like 100 DVCam-shorts and sketches. Most of them are on youtube in horrendous quality.

-Why did you start making movies

I have done pretty much everything acting and comedy-related that i dreamt about doing since i was a kid. Plays, sketches, shorts, stand up comedy and played in bands. I feel like movies was always the end goal. The thing i enjoyed the most doing. It has everything. The acting, the writing, filming, music etc mixd into one art form.

-Tell us a little about your project. What will the audience be able to see in your film?

Break Up is an ensemble dramedy set in a small Swedish town. The film follows a group of friends in their mid-twenties navigating love, identity, and emotional growing pains during a chaotic party weekend.

I basically wanted to make and american 90s indie film - but in swedish!
With great acting and quick rapid fire dialouge. Basically, something that I've never seen before.

-Why did you do this project?

Why not? No one else was gonna do it.
I knew after film school that i wanted to make a feature. I felt done with shorts. All my ideas where for longer projects. wanted to make something raw, funny and real. Something that looked and felt different from the overly polished, safe Swedish movies that all seem to follow the same template. And because I wanted to show what actors are capable of when you actually trust them.

-One of the problems some directors encounter is directing actors and dealing with some actors, especially in the amateur world. How do you see this topic? What kind of work do you do with them?

Well since i am an actor myself and alot of the actors in the film are my friends i guess i have a bit of an advantage. I know what to say and not to say. I believe in creating a safe space where actors can explore freely – as long as we all know what the goal is. We knew this film was gonna make or break with the script and the actors so i cast actors that i knew where capable of great things. They believed in the project and where willing to push themselves to the limit.

-A good movie takes care of all departments. But normally we can not allocate all the resources to have a good photography or spend a lot of money on sound post production or budget to hire actors. In your project what % have you allocated to. I don't just mean money but time as well. Of 100% of the time/money, what % did you dedicate to each department?
This is a hard question to answer. We spent alot of time but not much money on Direction and the work with the actors. We saved alot of money by using locations that we had a free aceess to etc. I think most money was spent in post. Since it is a dialogue driven film the sound needed to be great so we spent alot of time on that in post.
Photography was important as well and Peter SN(DP & Co-producer) spent alot of time making the lightning work to our advantage. I cannot give you a %-breakdown but i hope this answers your question somewhat anyways.

-If you could go back, what would you change about this project? (1 thing only)

Basically making a more detailed plan for post produuction. We learned so much doing this project but alot of time could have been saved by having a better plan for everything related to post. It's just so much that you need to do when the actual shooting is done and over with.

-What are you happiest about this project?

That we actually pulled it off. We made what we set out to do and i am very greatful and proud of everyone involved. Especially the actors and my DP and co-producer Peter. I think we actually managed to to something special with this film.

-Make a wish to the movie gods. What do you ask?

I whish that this movie will lead to more opportunities and jobs in the movie business for the actors - they truly deserve it. And also for Peter and myself of course!

-What movie would you have liked to direct?

Nothing that already exists. But i heard they did a tv show about The Pirate Bay. I haven't seen it but i would love to do my own version of that story.

-What kind of cinema do you like? Genre, directors, actors?
It's a boring answer but i love "Good Cinema" no matter what style.
That said, I’ve always had a particular fondness for ensemble films with strong dialogue and great acting. I love Pulp Fiction, Fanny and Alexander (the five-hour version, of course), Alien, and so on. I’ve also worked a lot with comedy over the years, so that’s obviously something that I really appreciate as well. I think you can see all of that reflected in Break Up.

-Imagine that all the movies are going to be lost. If you could save 3 movies, what would they be?

1. Pulp Fiction(Quentin Tarantino)
2. Fanny & Alexander(Ingmar Bergman - 5 hour version)

3. The Man On The Roof(Bo Widerberg)

-If you have more projects underway, can you give us a bit of information?

I'm pitching a tv show called "The Good Girl"(Not inspired by the 2002 Jennifer Aniston movie), a play called "Sexual Perversions In Borås" as well as a new feature. But it's early days in the last one. - I'm open for work! If you like the movie - Please hire me!