-Who is Anton Svantesson-Helkiö?

Oh wow, we’re starting off with the existential crisis. After 30 years I’d have thought that I
would have a definitive answer, but the truth is that I have no clue whatsoever. In order to
quote the hilarious Billy Crystal in one of my favourite comedies, Analyze This:
“Who I am? Who I AM? Who am I? Who am I is a question for the ages. That’s the one we’re all
searching for to find out who I am, who’s in there, who wants to come out and go: “Hey, I’m
hungry!”.”
Or this quote from Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones:
“I’m just a simple man trying to make my way through the universe.”
I guess I would say that I’m a filmmaker and photographer from Malmö, Sweden, who has
resided in Helsinki, Finland since the late summer of 2018 with my beautiful, amazing wife
and our so-cute-that-it-hurts dog. I started making my own short films when I was about 12
or 13 years of age. I would take a big, clunky DV camera, go out to my parents’ backyard and
just start shooting whatever. Whether it would be our dogs, the sun shining through the trees – anything was cinematic to me. I would then import the footage into the only editing
software available to me, Windows Movie Maker, not really do any editing, put in random
music and I would think to myself: “This will get me to the Oscars!”. Teenage delusions of
grandeur at its finest. I would like to think that I’ve improved behind the camera since then.
I never want to lose the sense of wonder, or overwhelming excitement, that I felt growing up.
In summary I would say that I’m a filmmaker who approaches filmmaking with passion,
curiosity and child-like wonderment.

-Do you remember the exact moment you fell in love with cinema?

This is difficult, because I can point to several moments where I fell in love with cinema.
Already as a child I loved telling stories, re-enact scenes from movies (especially The Mask
of Zorro, I love that movie so much), drawing my favourite characters (I think Batman,
Superman and Zorro were the ones I drew the most). Come to think of it, I probably spent a
lot more time drawing and playing make-believe in kindergarten (or is it preschool now?) and
elementary school than I did trying to connect with my peers.
I always felt like an outsider growing up, and cinema became my sanctuary in a way. I loved
getting immersed into other worlds, spending time with characters and, ultimately, feeling a
sense of belonging that was rare to find outside of the movies. The first movie-theater
experience that I remember was going with my dad, big brother and a friend from
kindergarten to see Toy Story 2. I was about 5 years old when that movie was released.
Another memorable experience was seeing Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black
Pearl. That movie was the start of my Johnny Depp-mania, and if you’re, for whatever reason,
reading this, I love you, Johnny!
However, when my undying love for cinema truly started, when I knew that there was no
turning back – it was a warm summer day in 2007, my dad and I went to the supermarket to
buy breakfast, and, as per our ritual, we went to the movie-section.
We were browsing and browsing, but then, as if being called by a mysterious force in the pile
of movies, we found Jaws and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. I had been nagging my
parents about watching Jaws for some time, and now the day had finally come. Dad bought
the movies for me, you know when Dr. Phil says:
“This is gonna be a changing day in your life.”
The day I watched Jaws and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly was exactly that. I was beyond
excited, and terrified, to watch Jaws for the first time. The only thing I knew about it was the
main theme that my parents and relatives hummed time and time again. When I heard
anyone humming it, I just kept thinking that it didn’t sound scary at all, in fact it sounded
quite lame and ridiculous. However, as soon as the DVD-menu came up and I heard the main
theme, as composed by the greatest composer of all time, John Williams, for the first time
ever, I realized faster than a split second just how wrong I was. The DVD-menu alone scared
the living shit out of me, and I basically ran out of the living room and shouted that I wasn’t
gonna watch it. Lucky for me, my dad knew just what to say to get me to calm down, so I sat
back down on the couch and I watched the movie.
18 years and 50+ (not joking) rewatches later, Jaws is still my favourite movie of all time,
and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is still my second favourite movie of all time
(coincidentally, it’s my wife’s favourite movie of all time).
When I saw those movies, I think it was the first time where I started paying attention to the
power of editing and music. The editing in Jaws is immaculate in every single way, it’s still to
this day one of the best edited movies that I’ve seen. The scene on the beach when Alex
Kintner is killed by the shark is film editing at its absolute finest. Jaws’ use of editing and
music, and The Good, the Bad and Ugly’s use of cinematography and music, those elements
made me go:
“I know that I’ll never be able to reach those levels of perfection, but, whatever and however
long it takes, I sure am gonna try.”

-Tell us about your project “Then & Now”.

It was the autumn of 2020, the post-production for my second directorial effort, Hissen, had
begun, and I was already contemplating my next project, or future ones. However, it was so
difficult to think of anything that seemed worth the effort of putting digits on the keyboard.
As I was about to give up I started thinking of what it would be like to write about a couple
celebrating an anniversary, but they have stopped talking to each other, really go all in on the
not talking-aspect of it, and just tell the story visually? I also thought that even if I wouldn’t do
anything with it, it would still be a great exercise in sparse and economical screenwriting.
It took me a couple of days to write the first draft (back then it was called Narcissus), and,
after writing a couple of drafts, I basically put it away never to look at it again.
Then about 3 years later in the late summer of 2023, I was contacted by Antti Saarikallio
about my feature length screenplay A Scanian Revenge Tale, it had won an award from the
Finnish Film Foundation, we talked about how much we liked working with each other on one
of my school productions, Linda & Kasu, where he played a supporting character, and that it
would be lovely to work together again on a new movie. Antti is an incredible actor in every
sense of the word. When we worked on Linda & Kasu I was taken aback by not only his
enormous talent, but his kindness and, I don’t know, it just felt very special to work with him.
His ability to go from being this warm sweetheart to a cold and vicious monster really
amazed me. I said that I would reach out immediately if I could think of anything.
That’s when I remembered the screenplay for Then & Now, I told Antti about the story and my
vision for it, he was very intrigued and asked to read it. A few days later Antti came back with
his verdict:
“What a beautiful, touching story. I’m in!”
With that sentence I went from not ever going to make it to all of a sudden figuring out how I
was going to make it. It’s funny how it can change so rapidly.
Once Antti was onboard, playing the role of Simon, I immediately started thinking of potential
actresses for the role of Johanna. I realized very quickly that there was only one actress who
could portray Johanna, and that was the lovely Antonia Atarah. Just like with Antti, Antonia
and I collaborated on Linda & Kasu, where she played the lead. It was our first collaboration.
Whenever I reminisce about that production, I instantly think about how much I loved
working with her. Antonia’s ability to portray emotional vulnerability while at the same time
remaining strong and resilient was what really stood out to me, and after production had
wrapped on Linda & Kasu, I told myself that I have to work with her again when the right
project shows up. I sent the screenplay to Antonia, and I was so nervous that she would turn
it down, since she was my first and only choice. If either she or Antti had turned it down,
I wouldn’t have made it.
However, it seems like all the stars aligned because Antonia liked the screenplay a lot.
She had a few concerns, but after I explained my vision for the movie and we talked it out,
she finally said that she was in. With both Antonia and Antti onboard, the main cast was
sorted out, and I couldn’t have been luckier and happier.
Even though I had already decided that Then & Now was going to be a no-budget
independent short film, and that I, in addition to writing, producing, editing and directing,
would also do the cinematography, using my own camera and only use natural lighting –
I knew that I was going to need someone to help me to make sure that the shoot would run
as smoothly as possible. I reached out to my former classmate and very close friend, Ida
Henriksson, who’s a brilliant filmmaker herself. One reason as to why I wanted Ida to be
involved was because I knew that she would keep me grounded, but also give me
suggestions as to how to improve scenes, camera angles and editing. Like I said, Ida is a
brilliant filmmaker. I considered her to be the best director in our class. Her ability to create
an atmosphere that was not only immersive, but unique, was just simply amazing in every
way.
At first I reached out to her to see if she would be interested in playing the supporting
character of Linnéa, but then I also asked her if she would also consider being the script
supervisor. Ida very graciously accepted both of my requests. Let me tell you something,
friends like Ida only come by once in a blue moon. When we studied together, Ida was my
biggest supporter. If I was having difficulties with my productions, whether I would be
overwhelmed, seriously doubting myself or whatever, she was always there for me, listening
to what was bothering me and lifting my spirit. She believed in me when I was unable to, and
having someone who believes in you, it does wonders. I can’t thank her enough for
everything that she has done for me, but that won’t stop me from saying;
Thank you, Ida.
The shooting of Then & Now is probably the smoothest I’ve ever had during my time in the
business so far. Because it was just me, Ida, Antonia and Antti on set, which mostly was the
apartment that my wife and I live in, it allowed for us to have a very relaxed and casual shoot.
Most of the film consisted of scenes taking place at night, and, even though we had many
scenes to shoot, we managed to keep the days quite short. The longest day was the first
one, we worked for about 6 hours, but the remaining two days we mostly wrapped after
about 3 or 4 hours. Even though it was a sad movie that we were making, the atmosphere
was very light. In between takes, and on some occasions during the takes, we were joking
around a lot. The more relaxed you are on set, the results will improve dramatically.
I started editing already after the first day of shooting, and I think a few hours after the last
day, I had put together a first rough cut. Every time I had a new rough cut I would show it to
Ida and my wife. Their feedback was invaluable, since they would see flaws that I was blind
to. One of the problems with editing is that you do it for so many hours every day that when
you first identify a problem, you think to yourself:
“Well, maybe it’s not that bad, I can make it part of the narrative.”
Like I said, I knew that Ida would keep me grounded, but also that my wife would, and for that
I’m very grateful. Altogether the editing lasted about a month and a half, during which I
edited about 7 different versions before ultimately settling on the version that was released.
Another thing about editing, and everything else really, is that even though there’s always
room for small improvements, you have to be able to know when it’s time to let it go in order
to move forward. It’s not easy, but all the more necessary.
With editing completed there were still two major things remaining: music and color grading.
When it came to the music I already knew who I was going to reach out to: my brother from
another mother, Mattias Ohlsson. He and I have been close friends since junior high where
we made a lot of short films and medium length films together. We restarted our
collaboration in 2020 when I asked him to compose the score for Hissen, and he composed
a score that completely blew me out of the water. A score that not only enhanced the horror,
but also the emotional core. Mattias also composed the score for my last school production,
The Most Dangerous Game, an action-comedy that was the polar opposite from Hissen, and
just like with that movie, Mattias managed to compose a score that worked so perfectly that
if you’d remove it from either of them, they just wouldn’t be the same.
When it came to the music in Then & Now I needed a score that would become another
character. We both knew that the word that best described the movie was melancholia, and
therefore the score needed to be just that. The basis of how Mattias and I collaborate is that
I will describe the story, plot points, characters and the underlying themes, and then I will
show him the final rough cut. Mattias will then spend some time in his home studio
experimenting with different instruments, and send me samples along the way until we both
say: That’s the one!
With Then & Now Mattias felt very strongly that the music needed to be something that
would work as a common thread, and play throughout the entire runtime. In many ways it felt
like making a modern silent movie without title-cards. Mattias composed this absolutely
beautiful, melancholic and haunting score that had so many subtle changes in the present
day scenes and the flashbacks. It also had this hypnotic quality that gave the movie a
heightened reality of sorts. When I first heard it I wasn’t entirely convinced, because it
sounded too simple, but then when I put it into the editing timeline and watched the movie
from start to finish, I realized just how perfect it was. In the end, the minimalist approach to
the storytelling needed to be applied to the score. Mattias did that to perfection.
The final piece of the puzzle was the color grading. At first I tried to do it myself, but back
then I had absolutely no comprehension of how to do it. I tried several times, but I just
couldn’t get it to where I felt somewhat okay with the result. Help was needed, so I reached
out to another former classmate, my friend, Veikko Luukkonen.
Veikko and I first worked together on my directorial debut, The Fleeting Moment, where he
was the gaffer and colorist. Later he was the cinematographer, editor and colorist on Hissen
and on The Most Dangerous Game he was the cinematographer, colorist and VFX-artist.
A seriously talented and kind guy who took my movies to the next level visually with his use
of contrasts, highlights and shadows.
With Then & Now I wanted two distinctive color palettes. One for the present day scenes
where Simon and Johanna are cold and distant towards each other, and the other for the
f
lashbacks where their love is at its strongest. The two movies that immediately came to
mind when creating the mood board were The Piano and Drive. The first one is one of my
favourite romantic dramas of all time, and the use of muted and desaturated colors was
something that I thought would benefit Then & Now greatly. With Drive there was one scene
in particular that came to mind – the elevator scene when The Driver kisses Irene. The warm
colors along with the contrasts immediately stood out to me, and that was what I wanted for
the flashback scenes. I sent the mood board to Veikko and he went to work.
When he sent me the graded version, it made me teary eyed, not only because he realized my
vision to a tee, but because the use of these color palettes made the movie visually layered.
One thing that I was worried about was that maybe the cinematography was too simplistic,
or that the exposure was all wrong, but Veikko did wonders. He made it beautiful.
When all was said and done I didn’t think that Then & Now would make much of an impact.
I figured that I would just upload it on Youtube, it would disappear in the vast sea of short
f
ilms, and that would be it. However, I still felt that I should try my luck with film festivals,
because who knows, maybe there would be an audience for it somewhere? As it would turn
out, there was. The movie was selected by some film festivals in Sweden and USA, and when
it won Best Short Film at the Denver Monthly Film Awards, it completely took me by surprise.
I thought that would be the end of that, but then more film festivals began to reach out to me
personally and were interested in including the movie.
With 24 selections at film festivals in Bulgaria, France, Greece, Indonesia, Italy, Nigeria,
Serbia, Sweden and USA, plus awards for Best Short Film, Best Director, Best Actress, Best
Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Original Score, I’m still in shock of how
the movie has been embraced. It never occurred to me that a tiny, no budget, independent
short film about dying love would create such a fuss.
I very rarely take pride in what I do, but in the case of Then & Now, I am so proud of how it all
turned out. Everyone in the cast and crew did such an amazing job, they are the reason for
the movie becoming what it is. Eternally grateful.

-Which Director inspires you the most?

Oh, this is a difficult one, since I can probably name a hundred directors that inspire me in
one way or another. However, if I absolutely have to boil it down to the most essential ones it
would be Martin Scorsese (my favourite director of all time), Sergio Leone, Tim Burton, Bo
Widerberg and Ari Aster.
Scorsese inspires me with the energy of his filmmaking and use of music, Leone with his use
of striking panoramic shots and extreme close-ups, Burton with the quirkiness and
originality, Widerberg with his ability to convey emotional realism, and Aster for how he
blends genres to a cohesive whole.

-What do you dislike about the world and what would you change?

I’m not sure that I’m the right person to ask this, since I try to stay away from the news of the
world, and I don’t really know how to say anything of value. But I know that I want to live in a
world that’s much less judgemental and exclusionary. Much less oppression and much more
love and positivity. There’s such an outpour of hate and discrimination, and that’s not what
the norm should be.

-How do you imagine cinema in 100 years?

My hope is that in 100 years the film industry will embrace all kinds of filmmakers from
various parts of the world. Especially independent ones. Right now there’s too much focus
on big blockbusters based on IP. Not that there’s anything wrong with blockbusters, I love me
a blockbuster when it’s done right. The best one that I’ve seen recently is Ryan Coogler’s
masterpiece Sinners. That movie blew me away, and I’m so happy that it’s doing so well, not
just financially, but critically. I also loved Top Gun: Maverick, whenever Tom Cruise has
something on the pipeline I’m immediately counting down the days until theatrical release.
I’m also so incredibly excited that masterful independent filmmakers like Ari Aster, Robert
Eggers, Brady Corbet, Osgood Perkins, Damien Leone, Thomas Vinterberg, Sean Baker,
Susanne Bier, Andrea Arnold, Emerald Fennell and Ti West continue to make such an impact
with deeply personal and genre-redefining movies.

-What is your impression of WILD FILMMAKER?

I think WILD FILMMAKER is wonderful in every single way, and I’m so excited to be included
in the community. It means the world to me that I get to share my work with all of you.