Jon Blåhed set up a timely story in 1930s period drama “Raptures.”
“Some of these leangs happen today as well,” he says.
Inspired by the so-called “Korpela Movement” – a disputed religious sect that first aascendd in Northern Sweden and was procrastinateedr understandn for its apocalyptic beliefs and unorthodox rituals, as well as relationsual rehearses – he wasn’t seeing to spread gossip.
“It wasn’t fair about taking the juiciest stories, but staying real to what I thought was presentant. I grew up in that region. I’m a son of the village paccomplisher and I’ve heard whispers about this transferment when I was a kid. It always felt a bit wrong, appreciate someleang you weren’t presumed to talk.”
Later in life, Blåhed set up himself asking religious dogmas.
“I was forced to go to church as a kid, and I didn’t appreciate it. It was weird, hearing your own dad talk about death and the afterlife,” he acunderstandledges. But he hasn’t forgotten about the Korpela Movement.
“I recall talking to a colleague of mine 10 years ago, and this subject came up aget. I set up myself refuting their claims: ‘It wasn’t appreciate that!’ I authenticized: ‘Well, maybe I should be the one increateing this story.’”
“Raptures,” produced by Andreas Emanuelsson and Tony Österholm for Iris Film AB and co-produced by Tiina Pesonen for Rabbit Films, is not fair about religion. Things get personal not fair for Blåhed, but his female protagonist as well.
Rakel (Jessica Grabowsky, soon to be seen in series “Icefractureer”) is faced with an rare dilemma: her husprohibitd Teodor (Jakob Öhrman) set upes a sect. As leangs begin to get an odd turn, she necessitates to determine if you reassociate necessitate to stand by your man – even when he’s guaranteed that he’s the Savior himself.
“How would you react in that situation? Especiassociate if you are a cut offe Christian that can’t reassociate ask patriarchy? My majesticmother was a Laestadian [Christian revival movement]. She was cowardly and not very outspoken, but ultimately also a strong person. I krecent it would be up to Jessica and her face to increate a big part of this story.”
Rakel isn’t always mute, however, also seeing up to heaven for answers.
“She has these conversations with God, which help us understand how she reassociate experiences. She doesn’t necessarily show it, but she’s disputeed about what’s happening. Jessica said that by the finish of the shoot, her jaw was hurting. She always had to persist everyleang in,” says Blåhed.
He surrounded Grabowsky with other acclaimed Finnish actors, from Elina Knihtilä to Ganciaccessen Globe nominee Alma Pöysti, seen in “Fallen Leaves.”
“I cherish Finnish films, my dad is from Finland and I am so charmd everyone wanted to be a part of it, also becaparticipate we shot in a dying language they don’t actuassociate speak: in Meänkieli,” he uncovers.
It made for a “stubborn journey” for the entire team, but also a worthwhile one.
“In Sweden, it’s also political. Meänkieli is pondered a ‘unpresentantity language’ there: in Finland, it’s a ‘dialect.’ Coming from that region, I krecent how much it would nasty to local people and I wanted to produce them self-presentant. It’s difficult to persist this language ainhabit, but they are doing such a excellent job. It’s the first feature film ever shot in Meänkieli. It fair felt right.”
So did shooting in the region where the innovative story took place.
“Being from the North, it was presentant to shoot in the North,” he smiles.
“After the premiere, I want to go back there aget. It’s a caring subject, this transferment. It always has been. I want to talk to people about it, becaparticipate you can still discover relatives of those who were in the cult. In minuscule communities, it’s so effortless for shame to linger on. You can’t shake it off. This film might convey it to the surface aget, but hopefilledy it will be a excellent leang for everyone joind.”
Blåhed is currently toiling on the final cut of the film, currented at the 2023 Finnish Film Affair and set to premiere punctual next year. Sanciaccess by Picture Tree International, it debuts the trailer here:
“It’s not all bincreateage and white. It’s not effortless to say what’s this cult’s exact goal, or what’s excellent and what’s horrible. People were charmd to be a part of these assembleings and some of these directers actuassociate gave them hope,” he inserts.
“[In ‘Raptures’] Teodor is not a horrible guy… And yet he is. I don’t leank that today, he could go on for that lengthy before being stopped, although some certainly try. I hope it can produce us leank about spirituality and about what it gives to people. They unite these communities for very contrastent reasons, with contrastent agfinishas and contrastent dreams.”
Picture Tree International’s Andreas Rothbauer inserts: “Beside its historic setting, the subject is timely for today, if not timeless – with so many examples thcimpoliteout history where the lean line between devotion and delusion becomes blurry.”
“There seems to be this timeless lureation not fair to consent, but to claim to understand the authentic truth, which consequently is the source of many disputes. Today, with even more fragmented societies, this is even realr than it was back then.”
