Swedish filmmaker Björn Runge, best known for his acclaimed English-language drama The Wife, is turning his attention back to his homeland with the emotionally charged romance-drama Burn All My Letters (original Swedish: Bränn alla mina brev). According to a report by Variety, Runge teased the stars-packed film at the Göteborg Film Festival, describing it as “a passion drama … a fire no one tried to get control of, until now.” (Variety)
Based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Swedish author Alex Schulman, the story charts a secret love affair in 1930s Sweden and its ramifications through decades. As explained by the news site Nordic Film & TV Fond, Runge says the narrative “moves between different times, the momentary deceit evolves into the backbone of the story.” (Nordisk Film & TV Fond)
Runge’s involvement marks a homecoming of sorts: after garnering international recognition with The Wife, where his direction helped lead lead actress Glenn Close to a Golden Globe, he now returns to Swedish-language cinema to explore intimate emotional terrain. (Wikipedia)
Production of Burn All My Letters is spearheaded by SF Studios under the oversight of producer Annika Sucksdorff, who noted that Schulman is “one of the strongest writers of our time” and that the filmmaking rights had attracted fierce competition. (Nordisk Film & TV Fond)
For Runge, the appeal lies in the emotional depth and complexity of relationships: “people who in different ways, at different times, relate to an emotional trauma,” he says. (cineuropa.org) With its interplay of past and present, guilt and desire, Burn All My Letters promises to be a haunting study of secrets, memory and the lives shaped by them—anchored by a director whose sensibility already brings subtle power to character-driven drama.
