08/05/2024 - The creator and star of one of this year’s most acclaimed series in Spain (and award winner at Canneseries) gives us guidelines on its gestation before its premiere in Germany and Sweden

Actress Aina Clotet (Barcelona, 1982) is known for her work in films such as La filla de d’algú [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], 7 Reasons to Run Away (from Society) [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] and The Enchanted [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], and in series such as Hierro [+see also:
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interview: Jorge Coira
interview: Olivier Wotling
series profile], among others. But after making her feature directorial debut in 2016 with the short film Tiger, she took on This is Not Sweden [+see also:
series review
trailer
interview: Aina Clotet
series profile], which she co-directed, wrote and starred in. It won her the award for Best Performance at the recent Canneseries. A few days before its release in Sweden (16 May) and Germany (end of July), she shared her thoughts with us.

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Cineuropa: Lately you have been covering several professions...
Aina Clotet: I don't consider myself a professional scriptwriter. I only write from my own stories because I have a deep respect for a profession that I think is a craft. I love storytelling. I discovered it when I was studying audiovisual communication, when I wanted to explore certain issues. Every time I start a project in any field, I have doubts about how to do it. But that is also motivating: from where do I face this challenge or explore this history? Because there’s no one way to take on a story, it’s about getting to the truth, knowing what you want to tell.

And how do you know that your truth will be interesting to others?
We are all connected by universal themes and deep down we have the same neuroses, but in different disguises. With the series I was unsure if it would connect, with parenthood being a crucial topic for anyone, because if you are not a parent, you are a child. But it wasn't just that. We wanted to explore other aspects, like fear and failure, which has connected with many people, which makes me happy because I didn't expect that. It's about being honest with the story you want to tell; then you can't control whether it will reach people or not.

A friend of mine (gay and childless) told me great things about This is not Sweden.
I’ve been very surprised that it has connected with many different people, especially with people who do not plan to have children and with many young people. Connecting from another place: with the child protagonist, with the somewhat lost society that the series reflects, or with those high expectations of wanting to be the best version of ourselves.

So, it has been a family project?
The idea came from wanting to explore that sense of failure, when we were invited to parenting therapy, with a generational seed of wanting to get away from the education received. But it's fiction, putting the children at the centre of the action, with many exteriors and a rather ambitious machinery. So I thought: either I find allies or it would be complicated to make. I'm quite obsessive about truth, that the stories and characters emanate it. That mix of non-actors playing themselves with professionals was a way for the series to convey this sense that you're spying on people in the neighbourhood. And that could be achieved with friends and acquaintances. This made shooting feel familiar and playful, albeit with the stresses and strains of any filming. Everything is so complicated on a shoot that the more like-minded people you can get, the more you have the courage to take the leap.

So, could you combine your tasks as (co-)director, screenwriter and lead actress?
I’ve had a great team that has helped me a lot. And having my partner Marcel Borràs as co-star made things easier. A lot had already been said. Although he had to cut his long hair to make it look like he had alopecia.

One of the best gags of the series, that male fear of losing his hair...
We wanted to talk about new masculinity and also its vanity. What would undermine this character's self-esteem? That was it. We are all lost, men and women, in a paradigm shift. There are no role models: in the series men play the role that has always been given to women and that is how we treated them, as invisible, without the accolade of professional success. Although we were afraid that my character Mariana was not going to go over well, the viewers are intelligent and followed an erratic person understanding her fears. And this connects with the public because we’re all in the same boat.

(Translated from Spanish by Vicky York)