Or did it actually ever exist? I was looking for a new project to do after my series "How Soon Is Now. Her poignant story about two young girls in a juvenile home reminded me of Truffaut's The Blows except that it was also set in late 70s Stockholm. It explored the morals of a period when Sweden was considered a socialistic Utopia with an ultraliberal view on sexuality—only it showed the other side of the coin.
As far as I know, the film has been very well received abroad. In Sweden we got fantastic reviews, but it enraged a lot of people that we based the film very closely on an actual event: the brothel scandal. They related to Call Girl like it was a documentary and not a work of art, as if we were telling our own alternative truth of the past. For us the 60s and 70s period is still very glamorized, almost sacred. I just wanted to make a good film about people from different layers of society; a film that asks questions.
Its a statement, of course. Call Girl is told from the point of view of two young girls, Iris and Sonja. It's their story. Am I a feminist? I think men and women should be treated equally and have the same chances in a democracy. If that makes me a feminist, then yes, I am a feminist. Despite the fact that prostitution is illegal in Sweden, would such a story be possible today?
Then he got caught as part of a ring of men that exploited very young girls quite brutally. So I don't really know. The fact that prostitution is now illegal has not changed anything. Young girls and boys in juvenile homes are still prostituting themselves, and with the explosion of internet, I think the problem is even harder to tackle today. Do you consider that image still relevant?
I like and believe in that image, but as I mentioned before, good and bad coexist. Its always been like that, and will never change. Its the story of mankind. Sweden is a paradise with dirty spots, just like everywhere else in the world. Is the social system, which provides foster care for Iris—however well-intentioned—not to be trusted? In the film the caretakers try the best they can to keep the youngsters from running away, and are unduly soft. But that was the period—the belief in being sweet, understanding, and liberal was their way of educating.
