Interview With Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir On Her First Feature THE SWAN

I was lucky enough to speak with Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir about her new film, The Swan (Svanurinn). Although a beautiful coming of age story, it’s not always what you expect. Some of the topics in the film seem like a lot to handle for a typical nine-year-old her, much less any person. I asked about some of the more serious scenes in the movie and had a great discussion!

First, I want to say thanks for talking to me and that I really loved the film.

Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir: Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it.

I must say, it was a much darker movie than I anticipated for a coming of age story.  I understand it was a novel first. What made you want to make this movie?

Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir: Right, well, I saw myself in the character a lot, and I was able to imagine the scenery in the story and was really excited to put those images on screen.

Yeah, the scenery was absolutely gorgeous.  One thing I noticed was how intense The Girl [played by Grima Valsdottir] was. She didn’t have a lot of lines, but she didn’t really need them; she was very expressive.  How did you choose her [Grima]?

Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir: So, I held auditions for a short film, and I knew pretty much when she auditioned that she would play the part.  We had a very good relationship, would do things together off set, like a sister relationship. I think that helped a lot.  Also, when Grima and I did a Q&A at TIFF, someone else had asked how she was so serious for the part. Grima said that she thought it was just how the character was, you know?

One thing I wanted to talk about was that kiss between her and The Farmhand. I was a bit taken aback by it… it was very Interview with the Vampire.

Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir: Wow, you know, I hadn’t even connected that, and I must tell you that that was one of my favorite movies when I was younger. I recorded it and watched it all the time.  I was about the same age as Kirsten Dunst when it came out.

That’s so funny! Yeah, it was one of the first things I thought of, actually! So, what was it like shooting that scene? For both of them, Grima and Thor Kristjansson?

Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir: Well, we had talked about it a lot before and everyone was prepared for the scene. I mean, the character’s intentions weren’t bad. He was just in this place where he felt rejected from this girl [The Daughter, played by Þuríður Blær Jóhannsdóttir] who is pregnant with what might be his child, and she has an abortion. It was kind of a way to make himself feel..

Accepted. Right. And yeah, I didn’t feel like the kiss was menacing, as in, I didn’t feel like he was going to do anything worse than that, but it was still like…

Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir: Yeah, it may not have been exactly the right thing to do, but the character doesn’t mean any harm by it. And obviously this is a very serious movement at the moment, what with “Me Too” and everything, of course we take it very seriously.

Right, of course. It definitely wasn’t the brightest move, but you feel some sort of sympathy for the character. And he obviously knows that this little girl has a crush on her, which makes it kind of worse. When he says like, “when you’re older and in a relationship you don’t want and are too tired to cheat, you’ll remember my tabaco kiss.”  I mean, she likes him now because she’s a child, but she may not remember that kiss as fondly as he thinks!

Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir: Right!

Another thing I thought was that a lot of this seemed like a bit much for a nine-year-old to handle. When The Daughter explains to The Girl that she had an abortion, she uses some harsh words: “you get an abortion when there’s no love or room for it in your life.” That line really stuck with me. Do you think this will impact The Girl very negatively when she’s older? Scar her?

Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir: Yeah, she says some things that my she shouldn’t say to a child, but I don’t think it’ll harm The Girl as much as The Daughter will regret saying it later in her life. A lot of people had trouble liking this character at first.

Yeah, if I’m being honest, I didn’t like her much! So, are there any future projects we can look forward to from you?

Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir: Yes, I’m hoping to start another feature. It’s an American movie; we’re just waiting on the funding right now.

Film Inquiry would like to thank Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir for taking the time to speak with us.