We had a brief encounter with the young talented photographer and director Balder Skånström-Bo.
Why do you make movies and take pictures – What is it that draws you?
I want to tell stories, I want to pick brains and hearts and I want the air blown out of me. Taking something familiar and making it into poetry, who wouldn’t want to do that? I’m extremely fascinated by how you can trigger feelings by composing picture and sound into something that people recognize but never have thought of as anything special.
When I first started making films, I started by making surf and snowboard videos, but they always ended up being super gloomy, not having focus on the sport itself, but more on telling some dark tale and then supporting the footage with heavily distorted pictures and super dark music. I unconsciously do this in everything I do, tell stories. And then there is the human contact, I actually I think one of the main things that keeps me in this line of work is the intimacy between the people I work with, the trust relationship you really have to build to bring out the best and most in everyone. I find this just as important as the final product.
What projects are you currently working on?
I have a few different things going on right now. I have a music video for the up and coming Danish band Goldy Golightly coming out the 20th of June. I guess it’s kind of a countryside white trash love story about an old couple and their rusty relationship. As we speak, my friend and editor Anders Skov is sitting right behind me editing it. It’s my second music video where I have worked as both cinematographer and director so I’m very exited to get peoples responses.
Bewilderbeast by Balder Skånström-Bo. It was in competition at Lueven International Film Festival and has been ranked number one at the danish film magazine Ekko’s shortlist over danish short films.
Aside from that I have another music video coming out soon for the multi artist Michael Krogh Caspersen, in this case for his music project CAVIO, of which I’m a huge fan! The video is about an outcast young guy that dresses up as his super hero idol, goes clubbing and tries the best he knows to fit in and impress the people around him. Last I have a small video shoot with the Russian revolutionary art group Voina of which I can’t say too much, since nothing is certain with the Russian authorities being on their backs, wanting to obstruct their every move.
What is your main inspirations?
It’s hard to say, I guess I have to jump straight into a cliché and say that I find my inspiration all around me. I used to work freelance as an assistant director on feature films, but that wasn’t very inspiring, walking around with film crews on film sets, being in this bubble far from the real world. Not full time at least. At the moment I work part time with troubled youngsters and then I’m surrounded by completely common people with common problems and common talents, making every single one of them the antagonist in their own life’s, and in mine. I find a psychologist or a plumber or an artist equally inspiring. It’s not the label of their talent that interests me, it’s them and their story. That’s where I find my inspiration.
What are your favorite movie genres and particular films?
I’ve never really been good at genres, and I’m not much of a movie buff to be honest, so genres, titles, directors, studios and actors don’t really stick. I did an interview with the Danish film magazine Ekko, and the journalist there told me that the genre I described could be called “magic realism”, so I guess that’s where I’m pointing. One of the first films that really caught me was “Lost Highway” by David Lynch. I know that’s kind of a cliché, but it’s a fact nonetheless. When it comes to favorite film I have to mention Donnie Darko and Tekkon Kinkreet. I love when the horrors of our mind is shown in a poetic and curious way.
Which artists are on your radar right now and why?
Shit man, don’t ask me that question, that’s not fair. I buy a lot of photo books and “borrow” a lot of different films from the world wide web, but to be honest, I don’t really stalk any particular artists, I never have. I guess I’m quite a lousy fan. Maybe there is one exception, and that has to be CAVIO. They guy keeps surprising me with his diversity and the depth and quality of his tracks.
Any particular art/books/series/movies you want to recommend?
If I should recommend anything I would tell people to take a look at Francis Bacons paintings, they are dark, horrifying and beautiful. And then I would recommend people to take a look at David Firth’s flash animations at http://www.fat-pie.com/flash.htm
Aside from making movies and photography, are there other things you’d like to do in your career?
I want to do it all, that’s kind of my weakness, I can’t help throwing myself into new things and projects all the time. There must be a song about this…blah blah blah climbing the highest mountains, surfing biggest waves blah blah blah. I would love to get back to playing music again. I used most of my childhood and youth playing music, but after high school I went travelling and I couldn’t bring my drums and I haven’t played since. That sucks! And then of cause I would kill to do a feature film some day.
What’s the last movie/short film you went to see that you really enjoyed?
I’m not sure if I can say I really enjoyed it, but Jonas Grum who graduates from the Danish Film School this summer, directed a truly fantastic and disturbing short film called Tabita. The film itself is about a girl in her end teens or early twenties taking contact to her biological father without letting him know that she is his daughter. The level of destructivity she puts herself through to get his attention is shocking and heartbreaking.
Top 3 favorite places in Copenhagen?
First of all, my bike, not as motorbike, but as bicycle. Copenhagen is a fairly small city if you have a bike. You can go anywhere and it opens up the city so that no part of Copenhagen is more than 30 minutes away.
Hullet, a more or less secret skate pool in the outskirts of Copenhagen. It’s surrounded by trees and grass and a skyline dominated by a horribly ugly and yet beautiful 1957 concrete apartment building.
Home, or maybe just Nørrebro in general. The fact that Nørrebro has been a fairly cheap place to live has caused that there is huge cultural diversity. This part of town has been known for all its immigrants, and that’s exactly why I love it. The clash between the cultures opens up the city space and creates a different kind of energy and activity at all times of the day.
Where are you going for your next holiday?
It’s not really a holiday. Me and my girlfriend are moving to Sydney for a year from the 1st of September. I hope to be able to continue my film and photography work down there, maybe even getting some jobs from Denmark.
Follow Balder Skånström-Bo for more
http://madmanfactory.com
