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CARLO & ESTER blev til efter en ide jeg fik en dag. Jeg ville lave en film om en stor forelskelse og en stor kærlighed. Den skulle rumme ingredienser vi kender i en gængs love story, men i modsætning den evindelige historie om to der vil ha hinanden skulle hovedpersonerne ikke være unge, de skulle være gamle, rigtig gamle.

Det er min overbevisning at vi i bund og grund ikke mister lysten til livet, gnisten, medmindre livet har været så hårdt ved os at vi selv har mistet evnen og lysten til at leve fuldt, og bliver til bitre og arrige gamle mennesker uden gnist, uden lyst, uden energi, uden håb. Sådanne sure gamle mennesker ser jeg mange af. Verden bliver mindre, alt går langsommere og der er gigt, brok, svagsyn og dårlige rygge.. ja, men livet er der stadig.

Og det er nedværdigende at være gammel i dagens samfund, hvor ældre mennesker ikke regnes, hvor mennesker med en enorm erfaring behandles som idioter.

I øvrigt ser jeg unge mennesker der er totalt stivnede i konformitet - og jeg ser ældre og gamle der er spillevende.

Jeg begyndte at researche blandt gamle mennesker og så det.. så de udslukte, vrede og bitre – og så de der stadig var spillevende.

Så jeg ville lave denne film som en hyldest til lysten og livskraften.

Da jeg fik ideen til filmen var jeg i gang med et yderst problematisk filmprojekt, To Cairo With Love. Jeg blev var viklet langt ind i psykosen omkring den film, da denne ide kom. Jeg fik konverteret filminstituttets støtte til dette projekt, og filmen kom på benene i en fart som er helt uhørt i denne branche hvor behandlingsprocesserne er så lange, tunge og komplicerede at man ofte går mere eller mindre død inden filmen kommer i gang.

Det var en stor glæde at møde disse gamle skuespillere, der udviste en absolut lige så stor entusiasme, udholdenhed og mod som de gode af de unge, og jeg er dybt imponeret over både Axels og Gerdas accept af mit ønske om at de optrådte upåklædt i et par scener, for det var grænseoverskridende for dem.

Carlo og Ester er skrevet sammen med Sven Omann.

DK-side-----

CARLO & ESTER, was born when I got an idea one day. I wanted to make a film about falling in love and about love.. great love. It should deal with the aspects we know from ordinary love stories, but the characters should not be young, they should be old, real old.

My conviction is at we do not loose the spark unless life has been too hard with us, so we have lost our ability and lust for life, and turn into bitter and angry old people without the spark, without desire, without energy, without hope. I see too many sour old people.

The world may become smaller, everything slow down, there is rheumatism, hernia, bad eyes, bad back.. but life is still there.

And its humiliating to be old in todays society where older people are not counted, where people with a huge life experiece are treated as idiots.

By the way I see young people totally stiffened in conformity.. and I se old people perfect alive.

I began to research among old people and saw it.. saw the burnt-out ones, saw the angry and the bitter ones.. and saw those who were still very much alive humans.

So I wanted to make this film as a tribute to lust and life force.

When I got the idea for the film I was entangled in a most complicated film project, To Cairo With Love. I was deeply entangled in the psychoses connected to that film, when this idea came. I managed to have the financial support from the Film Institute converted to this project, and the film stood on its legs within a time spand unheard of in this line of business with its otherwise horribly long and heavy procedures before a film can get going.

It was a great pleasure to meet and to work with these old actors, who showed absolutely as much enthusiasm, endurance and courage as the good of the young ones, and I was deeply impressed by both Axels and Gerda’s acceptance of my wish to have them perform without clothes in a couple of scenes, which for them was most barrier-breaking.

Carlo & Ester is written in collaboration with Sven Omann