Boys (Friends Forever)

With Boys, I wanted to challenge and nuance the idea of intimacy within the male friendship. It is my understanding that we as a society have a very limited idea and expectation of the behavioural patterns of heterosexual men. I want to portray an existing alternative with an ambition to push the boundaries of these expectations.

The film is very inspired by my own experience of being in a similar group of friends and I’ve ended up casting some of my best friends despite their lack of experience in front of the camera. For me, this has further fueled the authenticity of the material while creating a loving and vulnerable process in working with the performances. I know more about the dynamics in this room than I know of anything else in the world and it has been my ambition to give a naturalistic and truthful insight into the everyday life of the characters.

The plot of the film deals with mental vulnerability. During the last years, I have had personal experiences with stress and anxiety. My own mental state has been all over the place and several of my friends have had similar experiences. The film serves as a reflection of some of the dynamics that arise when somebody close to you has a meltdown. The attention and care, the precautions and the emotional consequences. I deeply sympathize and identify with every character of the film as they try to be there for each other without losing themselves.

During an extensive run of test screenings, it has come to light how embedded the preconceptions of the audience have been when confronted with the behavioural patterns of the characters. For a large part of the audience-specific behavioural patterns seem to be inextricably connected to specific sexual preferences. For us, this has only served as proof of the necessity and novelty value of the project.