Can you tell us about the various Icelandic folktales that you drew inspiration from for Lamb<\/em>?<\/h2>\nVJ:<\/strong> It was not a specific story, because Ada is something that we came up with. It is more for instance, on Christmas night in Iceland in folktales usually something strange happens at Christmas. So we took a small element from that. We are both fans of mythical stories. Ada was just something I started drawing, it\u2019s probably more from spending so much time with lambs. Lambs are amazing creatures.<\/p>\nNR:<\/strong> Iceland has millions of lambs and 350,000 in population, so humans are the minority.<\/p>\nVJ:<\/strong> What is strange is that I feel like people talk about sheep like they are stupid, and I think that\u2019s not right because they are clever animals. In Iceland we have a book that is written about sheep that have saved many lives. There\u2019s a special breed that know when there is bad weather coming. They have a lot of talent.<\/p>\nNR:<\/strong> And they\u2019re good actors!<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/LAMB_Still_02-300x180.png\")
<\/p>\n
Talk us through the logistics of shooting with a creation such as Ada. How did that all work?<\/h2>\n
NR:<\/strong> We started with puppets and then we shot we real lambs and real babies. So the scene where I\u2019m dancing with Ada, we would do me holding a real lamb, wrapped up in a blanket, so I needed to keep her legs really firm, and then we switched to a real baby with the same blanket around them. We would shoot one version with the lamb and then one with the baby.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s quite an emotional role, so when shooting did you find yourself more connected to the baby or the lamb?<\/h2>\n
NR:<\/strong> I do think I felt more connected with the lambs. In one scene, with the flower crown, the connection was amazing. She just became so still and her face was really close to me and we started breathing together, it was this really magical, eerie, intimate moment. And he didn\u2019t say cut! We were rolling for about ten minutes. It felt like forever. Time stood still. She really took me in, it was this strange moment of a deep connection.<\/p>\nWhat is your relationship like with animals?<\/h2>\n
NR:<\/strong> I grew up on a farm and we had lots of different animals. It was a small farm, but we had lambs. Lambing season in Sweden would be April and May, and there were always a few lambs that the mother sheep would push away, and me and my sister would feed them so they would follow us everywhere. Then in September it was slaughter time. That was the circle of farm-life. We ate meat. For Christmas you would have lamb soup or lamb shank. It became very normal that you are very close to the animal and then when the time comes you just have to say goodbye. Because I was a child, you don\u2019t really reflect that much on it, it\u2019s just the way it is. It\u2019s the same for Valdimar.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/LAMB_Still_04-300x180.png\")
<\/p>\n
The isolated farm where you filmed is so eerie, especially as it makes you think so much about the film\u2019s timeless theme of the power of nature.<\/h2>\n
VJ:<\/strong> Nature was almost a character in the film. This location, we were very lucky to find it. We had been looking for it for many years. I had been drawing the farm, and made it also out of clay, and I was sending photos to farmers to see if they had a farm like this. When we found this farm, we realised we could shoot 360 degrees out of every window. The mountains looked amazing.<\/p>\nNR:<\/strong> It\u2019s also a place where time doesn\u2019t exist. We shot in the middle of summer, and at the beginning of summer in Iceland it never gets dark, so we\u2019re shooting in the middle of the night. It could be two in the morning or two in the afternoon, so you move into this strange haze of \u2018what is real?\u2019 Or \u2018what is imaginary?\u2019 It\u2019s eerie.<\/p>\nWas the way the film approached the subject of grief from a unique angle what initially attracted you to the role?<\/h2>\n
NR:<\/strong> It gives you an opportunity to talk about grief and explore grief from a different angle. What is grief? Everyone reacts differently, and there\u2019s no right or wrong. There are many ways to see this film but after you watch it, you could see it as a symbol for a new chance or a possibility to heal. It\u2019s like soul medicine. Maria is in that part of grief, that compact space, where you shut down your emotions because it\u2019s too much to handle. It\u2019s almost like a cramp inside. Then Ada comes and she\u2019s alive. I feel like grief is deeply personal, it\u2019s a dark hole and it\u2019s really hard to get out of it. With Ada as a symbol it allows us to put a body to it.<\/p>\n
NR:<\/strong> Iceland has millions of lambs and 350,000 in population, so humans are the minority.<\/p>\n VJ:<\/strong> What is strange is that I feel like people talk about sheep like they are stupid, and I think that\u2019s not right because they are clever animals. In Iceland we have a book that is written about sheep that have saved many lives. There\u2019s a special breed that know when there is bad weather coming. They have a lot of talent.<\/p>\n NR:<\/strong> And they\u2019re good actors!<\/p>\n NR:<\/strong> We started with puppets and then we shot we real lambs and real babies. So the scene where I\u2019m dancing with Ada, we would do me holding a real lamb, wrapped up in a blanket, so I needed to keep her legs really firm, and then we switched to a real baby with the same blanket around them. We would shoot one version with the lamb and then one with the baby.<\/p>\n NR:<\/strong> I do think I felt more connected with the lambs. In one scene, with the flower crown, the connection was amazing. She just became so still and her face was really close to me and we started breathing together, it was this really magical, eerie, intimate moment. And he didn\u2019t say cut! We were rolling for about ten minutes. It felt like forever. Time stood still. She really took me in, it was this strange moment of a deep connection.<\/p>\n NR:<\/strong> I grew up on a farm and we had lots of different animals. It was a small farm, but we had lambs. Lambing season in Sweden would be April and May, and there were always a few lambs that the mother sheep would push away, and me and my sister would feed them so they would follow us everywhere. Then in September it was slaughter time. That was the circle of farm-life. We ate meat. For Christmas you would have lamb soup or lamb shank. It became very normal that you are very close to the animal and then when the time comes you just have to say goodbye. Because I was a child, you don\u2019t really reflect that much on it, it\u2019s just the way it is. It\u2019s the same for Valdimar.<\/p>\n VJ:<\/strong> Nature was almost a character in the film. This location, we were very lucky to find it. We had been looking for it for many years. I had been drawing the farm, and made it also out of clay, and I was sending photos to farmers to see if they had a farm like this. When we found this farm, we realised we could shoot 360 degrees out of every window. The mountains looked amazing.<\/p>\n NR:<\/strong> It\u2019s also a place where time doesn\u2019t exist. We shot in the middle of summer, and at the beginning of summer in Iceland it never gets dark, so we\u2019re shooting in the middle of the night. It could be two in the morning or two in the afternoon, so you move into this strange haze of \u2018what is real?\u2019 Or \u2018what is imaginary?\u2019 It\u2019s eerie.<\/p>\n NR:<\/strong> It gives you an opportunity to talk about grief and explore grief from a different angle. What is grief? Everyone reacts differently, and there\u2019s no right or wrong. There are many ways to see this film but after you watch it, you could see it as a symbol for a new chance or a possibility to heal. It\u2019s like soul medicine. Maria is in that part of grief, that compact space, where you shut down your emotions because it\u2019s too much to handle. It\u2019s almost like a cramp inside. Then Ada comes and she\u2019s alive. I feel like grief is deeply personal, it\u2019s a dark hole and it\u2019s really hard to get out of it. With Ada as a symbol it allows us to put a body to it.<\/p>\n<\/p>\nTalk us through the logistics of shooting with a creation such as Ada. How did that all work?<\/h2>\n
It\u2019s quite an emotional role, so when shooting did you find yourself more connected to the baby or the lamb?<\/h2>\n
What is your relationship like with animals?<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\nThe isolated farm where you filmed is so eerie, especially as it makes you think so much about the film\u2019s timeless theme of the power of nature.<\/h2>\n
Was the way the film approached the subject of grief from a unique angle what initially attracted you to the role?<\/h2>\n