Maria Bäck on ‘Brave New Love,’ Her Provocative Take on Motherhood, Desire and Modern Romance
Swedish-Danish director Maria Bäck's new film "Brave New Love" explores love, desire and infidelity outside conventional relationship norms, premiering in the main international competition at Locarno Film Festival. The film follows Kate, a mother caught between her husband Orla and a secret relationship with another man, Andreas, prompting the director to discuss why she is drawn to challenging accepted ideas about romance and monogamy.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter ahead of the premiere, Bäck said her interest in questioning relationship norms stems from decades of observing the struggles of her own and friends' love lives, and a fascination with how difficult people find it to confront their own habits and contradictions. The film stars Kathrine Thorborg Johansen as Kate, Simon Sears as Orla, Anders Danielsen Lie as Andreas and Angeliki Papoulia, and is due to have its world premiere on Sunday 9 August at the 79th Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland.
- Maria Bäck's "Brave New Love" premieres at Locarno Film Festival on 9 August.
- Film examines a mother's affair and challenges conventional relationship norms.
- Director says the story reflects universal struggles with love and desire.
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Brave New Love is a new film by Swedish-Danish director Maria Bäck, centring on Kate, a mother whose marriage to her husband Orla is complicated by a secret relationship with another man, Andreas. Rather than treating infidelity as a simple betrayal, the film uses her situation to question widely held assumptions about monogamy and romantic love.
The cast includes Kathrine Thorborg Johansen as Kate, Simon Sears as Orla, and Anders Danielsen Lie as Andreas, alongside Angeliki Papoulia. The film is set to premiere in the main international competition at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland, one of Europe's longer-running film festivals, known for showcasing auteur and arthouse cinema.
Bäck has said her interest in the subject grew out of years observing her own and her friends' relationships, and how hard people find it to face their own contradictions in love. Coverage of the film has centred on an interview she gave ahead of its premiere, explaining the thinking behind the story rather than reviewing the finished work.