Interview with Director John Hellberg (Mousse)

Seeing the people’s reactions and comments on the film from the Toronto audience was a great experience for me and the rest of the crew and cast. I wish more festivals had an event like this as it is the very core of filmmaking. It made the screening of my film at your festival (and the awards) really special and real.

– John Hellberg on the WILDsound Film Festival Experience (Review)

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video:

Interview with Director John Hellberg:

Matthew: Your short film played at our festival in March 2014. How has it done since it screened? Has it played at more festivals? Distribution deal? Can be seen online?

John: After being rejected at all the national film festivals back in Sweden we got a real slow start for the film. Since then Mousse has been shown at 51 festivals, competed at 40 festivals, that it has won 26 awards so far, and that for 2015 it is booked at 12-14 festivals so far. So hopefully there are more awards to come! It is still running on festivals so it´s not available open online. I would be more than happy to send a link and a password if people are interested in watching Mousse online.

Matthew: What motivated you to make this film?

John: To be honest the main motivation for me to in making this film was the humour. I have put a lot of effort to get in different layers in the film as it plays out but the main thing for me is still the type of gallows humour that is the very base of the storytelling in Mousse. I also enjoy twisting the different characters in a way that the audience will have a hard time figuring out a characters next move.

Matthew: From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

John: The idea came to me years before actual shooting. It took over 18 months from preproduction to finished film. We made the actual shooting in six days, but due to lack of money the post production took a long time.

Matthew: What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

John: the biggest obstacle was the vision of getting the surroundings of the set as we wanted. It´s is actually not a big part of the story itself, but for me I was convinced that by releasing the story from a place that is recognizable we could put more focus on the actual story line.

Matthew: What film have you seen the most in your life?

John: Groundhog Day or Deliverance.

Matthew: What is next for you? A new film?

John: I am starting pre production on my next feature film in a couple of months.

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John Hellberg MOUSSE Director’s Statement

Mousse has many dimensions but its first and foremost tribute to the saga. In particular, the joy of storytelling is something I often feel is lacking in the short film format.

It’s all too easy to get lost in the excitement and deliberations of pursuing of the perfect story, losing sight of the value of entertainment as a means of capturing the attention of the audience.

Matthew Toffolo, Interviewer BIO

Matthew Toffolo is the current CEO of the WILDsound Film and Writing Festival. He had worked for the organization since its inception in 2007 serving as the Short Film Festival’s moderator during the Audience Feedback sessions.

Filmmaker of over 20 short films and TV episodes. Took over full reins of the WILDsound Festival in May 2013. From then to the end of 2014, he’s presented over 90 movies at the monthly FEEDBACK Film Festival in Toronto, plus has had over 60 screenplays and stories performed by professional actors at the bi-monthly Writing Festival.

Go to http://www.wildsound.ca and submit your film, script, or story to the festival.

Go to http://www.wildsoundfestival.com and watch recent and past winning writing festival readings.