My Eternal Summer is director Sylvia Le Fanu’s beautiful debut feature, which had its premiere at the San Sebastián Film Festival, and is now screening at the London International Film Festival. It’s competing in the ‘First Feature Competition’ and those covering the festival can catch the film on the exclusive player.

This film is a touching piece that centres on a family who head to a summer house on the Danish coast to spend precious time together, trying to enjoy the normality of everyday life, while in fact nothing is normal. The mother is suffering from cancer and experiencing symptoms that leave her husband and daughter, Fanny, trying to comfort her but feeling helpless.

Fanny is trying to get to grips with a myriad of feelings she is experiencing dealing with her mother’s illness and coming to terms with the end of her life, while being a teenager and trying to forge and look forward to her own future.

The director, Sylvia, speaks to me over a video call from a film festival. The past few days have been pretty overwhelming as she has been experiencing her first festival and everything that comes with it.

“There are lots of firsts happening here: first time being here, first festival, first interviews.”

It has all been worth it as the film has received rave reviews and two sell-out screenings at the London Film Festival.

This story’s starting point is based on a personal one; Sylvia lost her mother as a teenager, and at the time she was battling with those ‘first times’, like being in love and all the emotions that came with that. From these memories, Sylvia’s fictional story was born.

With the story comes a phenomenal Danish cast bringing Maria Rossing (Snow Angels and Carmen Curlers), Anders Mossing (The Bridge and The Rain), along with an outstanding performance from Kaya Toft Loholt (Carmen Curlers and When The Dust Settles). The trio are a dream performing together – were they always thought of as the cast when the film was being written?

“With Kaya’s casting, we had started very early and at the time she was only thirteen so, in a way, time worked well for us as by the time we shot the film she had turned sixteen. Having this long casting process helped her build trust in us – she is in almost every scene of the film so her stamina was very important,” the director explains when it comes to the casting of the daughter, Fanny.

Anders was in the director’s graduation short film playing a similar character as a father figure; “What I love about Anders is that he can just so often do the hardest thing. To do nothing and just read a book or stare out the window – he does this so naturally. He also has a comedic background and though this is not a comedy, he still has this wonderful timing at moments in the film that bring a bit of that warmth and lightness.”

“What I love about Anders is that he can just so often do the hardest thing. To do nothing and just read a book or stare out the window – he does this so naturally”.

Sylvia Le Fanu on Anders Mossing in My Eternal Summer

Then there is Maria Rossing – for many of us, we discovered Maria in the series Snow Angels and those who have watched the series will know how much of an important role she plays in it and how brilliantly it is performed. More recently she has appeared as Axel’s saviour in Carmen Curlers, which has been signed up for a third series. Her ability to play such diverse roles is very special, and in My Eternal Summer, she is incredible once again.

“The mother character, for reasons you can imagine, was hard for me to get my head around. Maria was so nice and so patient, as I had to wait a long time testing with Kaya. Now that she is in the role I can’t even imagine how it could have been without her.”

Much like Anders, she brings this naturalistic feel to the role and also this low-key humour. The pair don’t bring out of place melodramatic performances, something that the director found incredibly helpful: “I could just trust their naturalism.”

And it’s this naturalism that makes us, as viewers, feel comfortable around them. It feels like a hangout film but generates something that feels so much more intimate. A scene in which they go out for a picnic and search for the spot Fanny’s mother wants to sit feels how anyone might have felt going out for a day with the family, just sitting there relaxing with the sounds of nature around them.

Glueing the performances and direction together is some superb work from the cinematographer Jan Bastian Muñoz Marthinsen (and husband to the director).

“We looked a lot at older films from the 70s and 80s such as Romare and French realist cinema. I guess we wanted to have this timeless feel to how it looked, not too modern or flashy or too romantic. The nature and summer play a big role in the film too with most of it being shot in the natural light.”

There are moments of close-ups that are so perfectly done, something that was not planned from the start but rather happened more naturally during the course of filming.

“I’m always a bit scared of getting too close, I like to keep my distance. But then, in some of those moments, you just feel compelled to get closer. This is another one of his (Jan’s) qualities. I think he’s just very intuitive with the camera and suddenly he’ll be right there, showing me the close-up. And I’m like, of course, we need this close-up.”

Discussing favourite directors and influences can sometimes be met with sighs or the abrupt response of not having anyone but Sylvia lights up; “This is a great question!”

“Mia Hansen-Løve, who isn’t Nordic, she is French, when I saw her films for the first time she was the one who gave me the confidence that if she can do this, then maybe I could do it as well. I had this feeling that there was some familiarity in her films. So yeah, I always love to have the chance to say, I love Mia Hansen-Løve.”

The mention of Mia Hansen-Løve makes me think back to the film and how it plays out—almost in a way that is similar to a hangout genre yet softer and quieter. Mia Hansen-Løve takes you on those journeys in her films; One Fine Morning is a great example, and one of my favourites is Eden (as well as Bergman Island). Not a lot feels like it is happening, and sometimes there isn’t, but then something does; quietly, melancholically, or joyfully.

When it comes to Nordic directors Sylvia mentions Dag Johan Haugerud who also has one of his films, Sex, screening at London International Film Festival. The director’s previous work was called Barn (Beware The Children) which has never received a UK release, “I hope this will be his international breakthrough with his trilogy.”

“And Joachim Trier, of course,” the director smiles. Of course, Joachim Trier, who is also a huge fan of Mia Hansen-Løve (watch the fantastic conversation below between them), completes a glorious circle of appreciation amongst these talented individuals.

If Sylvia’s debut is anything go by, perhaps Denmark has finally found their own Mia Hansen-Løve to look out for in the future. The feedback from many has been nothing but positive which we hope will lead to the film getting a UK release next year.

My Eternal Summer premieres at BFI London International Film Festival this month