Something Must Break elevates young love to liberating new heights. A spectacular visual storyteller, director Ester Martin Bergsmark finds honesty in the lead characters and beauty beneath the dark grit of Stockholm’s edges.

Alienated and lovelorn, Sebastian (Saga Becker) longs for intimacy and genuine connection. Hesitant to explore a feminine side, Sebastian embraces broader terms when it comes to gender identity, sometimes preferring to be called Ellie. However, being Ellie presents a challenge in some situations. Enter Andreas (performance artist Iggy Malmborg), a straight-identified punk who rescues Sebastian from a violent assault. Slowly, the two commence a dark and tumultuous relationship and Ellie rushes to the fore.

Bergsmark is best known for the documentary She Male Snails, an artistic portrait of Eli Levén. That film garnered flattering comparisons to Derek Jarman. Drawing once again from Levén’s award winning novel for Something Must Break, Bersmark seems poised to earn more effusive praise.

Vancouver International Film Festival

 

Please note that the festival is over 18s only