Synopsis

Caroline joins in the global tidying craze after her relationship falls apart and she is left alone in her house after her partner leaves. She tries to take control of her crumbling emotional life by ruthlessly culling a huge chunk of her belongings. However, fate catches her out when an extreme winter storm forces her to start burning her belongings to stay alive. As the storm goes on, she has precious little left to burn, and what she does have left is extremely meaningful to her. 

Swedish Death is a modern parable, depicting the stunningly ordinary ways in which humans have come to destroy ourselves. 

Director’s Statement

Swedish Death started in the simplest of ways - a conversation with my mother. Ever a tidier, she was telling me about how she had come upon a subset of the trend, Swedish Death Cleaning, in which one either tidies after someone has died or tidies in preparation for one’s own death. 

That conversation got me thinking a lot - about the relationship to our possessions, how we often aim to assert selfhood through objects, and how crisis renders all of that irrelevant. There is a tension in life between chaos and control that I hope Swedish Death has captured in some small way, as well as the love and longing for what really matters when you’re down to your last match. 

Swedish Death is my live action directorial debut. And while it may seem like a relatively simple premise - one room, mostly one actor, a 7-page script - it was a hugely technically complex film. On a shoestring budget, there was a set build, time lapse lighting, animated sequences, a LOT of props, and to cap it all off, I was 7.5 months pregnant at the time of filming. It would not have been possible without the immense skill, talent, and dedication of the crew. I am extremely proud of the finished result and am excited to share Swedish Death with the world.