Sweden, Denmark

Synopsis

ANIARA is the story of one of the many spaceships used for transporting Earth's population to their new home-planet Mars. But just as Aniara leaves the ruined Earth, she collides with an asteroid and is knocked off her course. Aniara's passengers slowly realise that they'll never be able to return; they will continue onwards through an empty and cold universe forever.

Director's Statement

The Swedish Nobel prize winner Harry Martinsson wrote "Aniara" in 1956. The novel has been translated into a number of different languages, including Danish, Finnish, English, Russian, Czech, Arabic, Japanese and most recently Chinese. It has been staged as an opera and several theatrical productions, but has never before been filmed. In Aniara's inexorable journey towards destruction there is a warning that cannot be emphasised enough. There's only one Earth. We have only one life. So, we have to take responsibility for our actions and constantly guard our environment and our humanity. If we don't, Earth will soon be a ...

Director's Biography

Pella Kågerman, educated at the Royal Institute of Art, and Hugo Lilja, educated at the National College of Film & Television, have collaborated since 2009 and together they have made Hugo’s graduation film THE UNLIVING (2010), which demonstrated their unique ability to make arthouse sci-fi on a small budget, thus attracting huge interest from Hollywood, British Film4 and European arthouse producers who developped it into a feature. The film won numerous awards world-wide - amongst other places - Berlinale, Stockholm and Clermont-Ferrand.

Selected filmography:
2014 - STORMAKSTIDEN, short
2014 - VÄKTARE. short
2011 - SUPPORTERN, short
2010 - EN DAG PÅ LANDET, short
2010 - THE UNLIVING, short
2009 - ALTONA. short
2009 - BODY CONTACT, short
2008 - HOME SERVICE, short
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Cast & Crew

Directed by: Pella Kågerman, Hugo Lilja

Written by: Hugo Lilja, Pella Kågerman

Produced by: Annika Rogell

Cinematography: Sophie Winqvist Loggins

Editing: Pella Kågerman, Björn Kessler, Michal Leszczylowski

Production Design: Linnéa Petterson, Maja-Stina Åsberg

Costume Design: Ellen Utterström

Make-Up & Hair: Tuija Valén

Original Score: Alexander Berg

Sound: Calle Wachtmeister

Visual Effects: Andreas Wicklund, Per Jonsson, Arild Andersson

Cast: Arvin Kananian (Chefone), Leon Jiber (Daisi Doody), Bianca Cruzeiro (Isagel), Anneli Martini (The Astronomer), Jennie Silfverhjelm (Libidel), Peter Carlberg (Chief Engineer), Emma Broomé (Chebeba), Dakota Trancher Wiliams (Tivo), Emelie Jonsson (Mimaroben), David Nzinga (Mima Host)

Nominations and Awards

  • European Discovery - Prix Fipresci 2019