We wanted to make a film that felt like an amusement park

in the Year 1923 ushered in a bitter feud on the island of Djurgården in Stockholm. Since 40 years back was the amusement park Gröna Lund at the General alley. On the other side of the street was opened, now the Amusement park. Competition quickly led to pure sabotage. Grönans owners dug a trench around the rivalens storage building, so he could not get off his roller coaster ride after the winter. His antagonist said, to throw a horse head in front of Gröna Lund's entrance.

But fell in love with the two tivoliägarnas children with each other...

act model to the directors Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein's romantic drama ”Fire & flames”, which opens nationwide on valentine's day. The film is set during the 40's and depicts the two heirs, John and Ninnis forbidden love.

– A colleague pulled the story in 30 seconds and we immediately felt: ”this is a movie,” says Måns Mårlind. Early in the process, we met John and Ninnis children, who today are retired. They were absolutely wonderful and very generous with their experiences from their lives.

Björn Stein adds:

" The more we learned, the more we realised how elegant the story was already from the beginning. We had to take some of the secret small letters the lovers wrote to each other. They were extremely romantic. It is also fun that we now have made yet another romantic film which is strongly linked to the city it is set in.

The previous film, he refers to is the ”Feel no sorrow” from 2013, a stand-alone story based on Håkan hellström's songs. The two directors ' common background extends considerably further than that.

each other as children in the late 70's, in the summer city of Hunnebostrand, Bohuslän, where their families vacationed. The boys used to return the empty cans to the local greasers left behind, and spend the money on bio. Many years later resulted in a friendship in a relationship.

– Our first film together, ”Disco kung-fu”, we did in 2002. We received the script to the us from different directions, and when we realized that it was the same text we decided to try to make it together. We agreed to write every other day, and that it not direct is with in the monitor and helps, " says Måns Mårlind.

”Fire & flames” is directed by Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein. Photo: Beatrice Lundborg

Since its working according to the same principle: the preparatory work is done jointly, and just before the first inspelningsdag get the coin toss to determine who starts directing – all to counter that the focus is only directed towards their own scenes.

the advantages of working like this, " says Björn Stein. When we did the tv-series ”midnight sun” this year we had about 100 days. It is always the responsibility of making a exhausted, but you two can stay alert much longer.

another recurring theme in the duo's film is the surreal and fabulous worlds they create. In this sense, it recalls the ”Fire & Flames” to a large extent on the musikalfilmen ”Moulin Rouge!”

" We wanted to make a film that felt like an amusement park. Ding ding here, boom boom bang there there. The writ must be so rich that it visualizes the characters ' emotions. They say sometimes: ”I feel so bad that I want to sink through the ground”, and portrays the risk to end up in Bolibompa, but to succeed it can be extremely poetic and beautiful, " says Måns Mårlind.

the film's lead actress, despite the fact that rollsättningen was everything else than easy.

" We provfilmade all the talented actors who are in this country, and we have a deal. There were very many fine actors who read, but we felt all the time that they are not really suited for these roles, " says Måns Mårlind.

the turning point came when his wife, who works in the advertising industry, told me about a girl she met in her job: model Frida Gustavsson. 25-year-old was discovered by a modellscout of twelve, and moved three years later to Tokyo. Last decade, she has lived in London, New York and Paris, graced the cover of both american and Italian Vogue as well as the agreed views of a number of international fashion brands.

– When we should screen test her, she came in with a unpredictability, and a kind of screwed. Despite the fact that she was new in the film, she had a security that is felt right in front of the camera.

Frida Gustavsson in ”Fire & flames”. Photo: Aril Wretblad

Frida Gustavsson shows how she felt for the provfilmningen by pulling up on the shoulders towards the ears.

" I was inside in a process where I worked towards becoming an actor, but it was still too big for me to screen test for a starring role. It was scary, you come in and don't really know what to do. It is not until kind now that I understand how great this is.

Mårlind and Stein was looking still for a male protagonist.

"Frida is a force of nature," says Björn Stein. It is not easy to stand next to her as a guy. But after a long detour we arrived at the Albin Grenholm, who we worked with in the past. When we tested him, we saw immediately his calm. They were not of the same energy, but found a nice interaction.

Umeåsonen Albin Grenholm, who got his breakthrough as the miner Kimmo in Mårlind and Stein's tv series ”the midnight sun”, says that the role of John at first was foreign to him.

the Lovers in the ”Fire & flames” was played by Albin Grenholm and Frida Gustavsson. Photo: Aril Wretblad

" John is a playboy and I didn't really think I had a natural connection to him. But you're looking for a little input, then you go build on it. It is difficult to explain but somehow you understand after a while how the character reacts to different situations.

appeared ”Fire & flames” at Gothenburg international film festival.

– the First time I saw it, I was so self-critical and it was difficult to see the big picture, " says Frida Gustavsson. But in Gothenburg it felt absolutely amazing: ”Wow, we've really made this movie?”

– It is a lovely film to be a part of, " says Albin Grenholm. It is the opposite of anxious. It feels nice that there is an american romance film that gives such a magical description of how love feels.

”Fire & flames” has also been demonstrated for potential buyers during the cannes film festival in Berlin, which is in progress at the time of writing. According to the u.s. trade magazine Variety, the film has already been sold to seven countries.

– How it go for the movie, it has been so very important for us that John and Ninnis children felt that it was okay, " says Måns Mårlind. When we showed it to them, we were so fucking nervous. ”I'm sorry that we found on a part but we must do so...” I started. I had to reply that everything felt true, even it that was not there. We had received their blessing.