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Camilla Roman's New Romantic Comedy |
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Camilla Roman, the Norwegian actress, screenwriter, director and
producer is back with another fabulous short film and one that is very
relatable to anyone who has used social media and also one that is very
funny. The film Fortysomething, centers about ex-spouses,
social media mistakes by Torbjorn and that implicate his wife (Susanne)
and her mother Britt-Eva and develop into a big misunderstanding with
Torbjorn inadvertently inviting Susanne and her mother to his wedding to
Vanessa, which is to take place in Tuscany, Italy.
The film was inspired by a real-life situation experienced by one of
Camilla Roman’s friends and the mishaps and misunderstandings that can
happen on social media platforms.
Camilla Roman explains, “This is based on a true story and what sort of
happened to one of my friends, the character that I play. When her
ex-husband was going to get married there was a lot of confusion and
stuff on Facebook with invitations. He invited her and her mom and that
was a mistake. He deleted them and deleted whole events and people were
what? Is it canceled? All of that happened and then there is a lot of
fiction into the mix (in the film).
After she told me this story, I wrote it down a little bit. I thought
maybe I can do this for something later. I took a year of filmmaking. I
got into the final year and so I got my Bachelor (degree) in one year. I
had to make a film (for my degree). I didn’t know what I was going to
write. There were ten people in the class and my teacher said if some of
you still don’t know what you are going to write and what your film is
going to be about, now is the time to make a decision. You can’t just
sit around and hope for an idea to pop into your head, which is exactly
what I was doing (she laughs).
I thought I have some notes somewhere, let me go and find my notes and I
had this. I wasn’t thinking of writing a Romantic Comedy. I just started
writing the script and using my notes and then I had a meeting with my
screenwriting teacher. I said to him oh my god, I am writing a Romantic
Comedy.”
“It wasn’t deliberate, but I had people come up to me after the
screening. I had a private screening and people said to me they want to
watch more. They want to see what happens next. I sent this to a
producer and I had a meeting with him. He is maybe interested in
pursuing this as a feature, but we decided to go on and do another
project that I had already started to develop. There might be a feature
or something at a later point,” she tells us.
We wondered if that is why some filmmakers write, produce and direct
short films. If it is an opportunity to showcase one’s talent, leading
to a series, feature film or a pilot.
“I think it can be a mix of all of that, depending on the person and the
projects. I want to be making more movies and my own project or to have
someone say hey we have this movie for a tv series and we would love you
to come and direct it.
There is not (much of a monetary return), but there are some rare
exceptions. A short film is also a medium and an artform in itself. It
is not only a way of getting somewhere else. It can be a calling card,
but it can also stand alone. I know there are a lot of directors (for
whom) short films are their love. It is their biggest love and they
don’t have a plan (light laughter). You don’t need a huge amount of
money and a huge crew and time, so it might be something a little easier
to do than a feature film.
One of my friends, was nominated for an Academy Award last year (2024)
for Best Short Film, for Night Ride by Norwegian Academy Award
nominated director Lasse Lyskjaer. Stuff like that happens.
For all of my four short films, I have also had help, and I wouldn’t
have had the skills to produce a feature, because it involves so much
more and so much more money,” says Camilla Roman.
With all the different hats that you wore Susanne….er Camilla…how
challenging was it for you direct Camilla the actress?
“The most challenging part and partly why I have not done it before, is
as the actor I was in makeup and hair and I felt as the director I
should be talking to my crew and planning things with (them). That was
more challenging, because you can’t be one hundred percent in
everything. You get a little bit of a stiff personality when you do it.
I didn’t write it with the thought of being Susanne (her character). It
came after, in the process. It was not a plan I had in the beginning.
It is one thing to ask somebody, because we had very little funding or
budget, so the actors and the crew, all of them were for free. It is
never fun to ask professionals to work for free and to ask somebody to
be on set for three days and to be a lead but not offer them any money.
That was one of the reasons (she cast herself as Susanne). I also know
this character the best, because I wrote her. I thought it was a way for
me to explore doing both. It was kind of an experiment, because I didn’t
know if I would be able to have a chance again to do that, especially,
because I want to be doing bigger projects. At least in starting with a
small project I can see if it is something I want to do again,” she
says.
So, who were these marvellous actors in the film that Camilla Roman
co-produced with Erik Morales Waage with Sans acting as the executive
producer. Øyvind
Efraimsen
is in the role of
Torbjǿrn, Susanne’s ex-husband, the who throughout the film
proves that his initial mistake on Facebook is just one example of his
overall ineptness when it comes to social media.
Britt-Eva (Anette Hoff), Susanne’s mother is hilarious in her meddling
ways and although some might argue Natasha Malthe’s role as
Torbjǿrn
“She (Britt-Eva) likes to meddle, absolutely. She is played by Anette
Hoff, and she is one very famous actress in Norway. Everyone knows her.
Everybody knows her (she repeats for emphasis). She is a household name,
because she has been on TV so much. She was on a soap, and it ran for
many, many years. She was one of the few people who was on it the entire
time. Everyone knows who she is. She is also very loved.
Being able to work with her and when she said yes to be a part of
the project, was super fun,” recalls Camilla Roman.
Space and time do not allow us to cite by name all of the good actors in
this film, but one we do want to mention is Hilde Almas who in fact is
not an actor and is making her film debut in a small part, with a few
lines. As any good acting coach will tell you, it is not only what you
do with your lines, but how you stay engaged in the scene when you are
not the one talking, that makes for a good actor.
Her facial expressions, her subtle gestures and one line in
particular “You cheated on her!” are delivered with conviction. Instead
of us merely watching the boardroom scene play out on a screen, it is
her unnamed character that draws us into that boardroom. We now become a
part of what takes place between Vanessa and Torbjørn.
We have already mentioned actor Øyvind Efraimsen playing
Torbjǿrn, whose character seems more absent minded, not paying
attention to detail and whose mind always seems to be somewhere else.
“Last year he was in an American action movie called Intercept, that I
think is coming out this year. It was his first Hollywood role. I
thought he would really work for the character of Torbjørn and he did.
As for Natassia
Malthe, who plays the
jilted or was she, fiancé, Vanessa, “Natassia
is a Hollywood actress. She lived there for over twenty years. If you go
on IMDB you will see that she has about sixty credits in Hollywood. She
has lived back here in Norway for the last few years, and she started an
acting school here in Oslo. She has a lot of experience. This is her
first role in our region. She has only done English speaking roles
before,” she says.
Ladies, the handsome guy who ventures into the thrift ship is Eric
Vorenholt, whose character’s name is Martin.
The thrift store scene was filmed in Oslo at Uff Grünerlokka, “I needed
to find a shop that was closed on Sundays, whereas a lot of independent
shops stay open. I wanted to see if it would work. Is it big enough, is
it small enough and can it work for the character? I didn’t know that it
would be a thrift shop, I just knew it had to be something that was a
little unusual, a little quirky. Then I knew I had to find something
like that. I was lucky enough to be able to get into this thrift shop. I
thought it worked really well. It is colorful and it is fun. It was
spacious enough for the whole crew and everyone to be there. That is why
we ended up there. (editor’s note: go visit UFF Grünerlokka and tell
Kristine Granerud, that the cast and crew of Fortysomething
sent you.)
Then we have the Bristol Hotel. We had another hotel that is very famous
in Norway and very posh and we did not get a yes or a no. Then I was
thinking there are so many Hotel Bristols everywhere, and it is
recognizable around the world. My producer went there and talked to
them. The manager, Gunnar Fure Sjølie was super nice and was excited
about having us there. It was not the first time someone had used the
hotel for a film. While he was showing us around, he told us about other
productions that filmed there. He thought it was a lot of fun,” says
Camilla Roman.
To date, the reception for Camilla Roman’s film Fortysomething
has been great and we look forward to her receiving even more accolades
as it makes its way to film festivals worldwide, the first of which will
be the Poppy Jasper International Film Festival in Gilroy, California on
April 13 (2025)
You can watch the
trailer here.
This is not the first time Riveting Riffs Magazine has interviewed
Camilla Roman, and it will not be the last. She is a very talented
director, screenwriter, actress and producer.
#CamillaRomanActress #CamillaRomanDirector #RivetingRiffsMagazine #RivetingRiffs #PeliculaEntrevista #FilmInterview #NorwayFilms #ActrizEntrevista #RomComFilms
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As
short films go, this one could more properly be referred to as a longer
short film, at twenty minutes in length. Without providing any spoilers,
it is fair to say that Fortysomething leaves you wanting more. That is
to say, those watching the film are left asking, what happens next? 