Hope

Longtime partners and parents to a large family, Anja (Andrea Bræin Hovig) and Tomas (Stellan Skarsgård) have grown independent of each other, with creative jobs in parallel worlds. Their modern life breaks down when Anja gets a terminal cancer diagnosis and realises that she needs Tomas’ full support. After years of emotional isolation, they finally begin to find each other again. Based on writer-director Maria Sodahl’s own experience of being diagnosed with cancer, Hope is a poignant and intimately observed drama about the resilience of love.

‘The challenge of writing Hope was to avoid any navel-gazing… I had to strike the right balance in terms of sharing material so private that I hardly dared to reveal it even to myself, in order to achieve a story that was personal, as opposed to private. In my writing process, some very naked and raw scenes inevitably came up – situations that are difficult to stay indifferent towards. My idea was to let people into a world where they could identify with actions and emotions that weren’t flattering, but without becoming ashamed.’

Director Maria Sødahl, from an interview with Cineuropa.