Writer-director Mikko Makela and actor Ruaridh Mollica I don’t care if the public seeks out his new film, “Sebastian,” for its abundance of passionate love scenes ― as long as those people are also willing to invest in the film’s coming-of-age story.
“Sebastian,” which hit theaters on Friday after being screened in the Provincetown Film Festival in Massachusetts and the Sundance Film Festival Set in Utah, it follows Max (played by Mollica), a 25-year-old journalist working at a London fashion publication who is enjoying a streak of professional success. After landing a dream interview with the author of “American Psycho,” Bret Easton EllisMax is ready for his next big project: a novel set in the underworld of queer sex workers.
When an editor suggests the book would work better as a first-person narrative, Max throws himself into first-person sex work, working as “Sebastian,” an escort on a gay hookup app.
To his surprise, Max enjoys his new side job and forms a tender friendship with Nicholas (Jonathan Hyde), an older client and retired professor. But as Max adjusts to a life of late-night dating, he finds it difficult to maintain his serious personality during the day.
“Sebastian” is Mäkelä’s second feature film and hits theaters about seven years after “A moment among the reeds.”He wrote the script for the film after moving to London from his native Finland.
Settling in the British capital, Mäkelä noticed the ways in which sex workers thrived in the so-called gig economywith its new ability to connect with customers on subscription-based apps and sites like OnlyFans.
“There’s a misconception that sex workers are always victims of exploitation, that no one can truly feel liberated or in control of their life and that they can’t truly enjoy their work,” she told celebrity.land in an interview. “I wanted to create a character for whom sex work was an empowered choice rather than a last resort.”
Watch the trailer for “Sebastian” below.
“Of course, there is always the risk of exploitation,” she added. “But I wanted to work against these outdated prejudices.”
It wasn’t long before Mollica signed on. The actor, who is Italian and Scottish, saw the film as an opportunity to play a character experiencing a “moment of change and identity transformation” that mirrors his own.
“I had just moved to London and found it to be a place where I could freely embrace my homosexuality and discover who I am,” she said. “I love that the film is a story of self-acceptance and overcoming fears, whether they are fears imposed on you by your own psyche or fears from outside.”
When it came time for the movie’s sex scenes, Mollica worked closely with an intimacy coordinator. Still, she said the “choreography” to heat up those sequences was all there in the script.
“You’re pretty much naked the whole time, so feeling comfortable in your own skin is a hurdle you have to get over quickly,” he said. “But they ended up being a lot of fun and some of the easiest scenes to film. You get into a zen state, your breathing gets synchronized. [with your co-star] and you get lost in the moment. Everything felt very safe.”
Whether “Sebastian” resonates with audiences remains to be seen. Early reviews have It has been mixedStill, the film is set to boost the Hollywood profile of its lead star and director. Mollica already has a number of upcoming projects lined up, including the HBO comedy “The franchise” and “A thousand blows”, a Disney+ drama.
As for Mäkelä, she plans to start working on a film The writer David Turpin Next Year is set in 1980s London, at the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
“I’m really interested in queer history and uncovering stories that couldn’t be told at the time,” she said. “I never want to start with a thesis statement, but I want to [viewers] “Discovering that today we have the same fears and passions as at other times in our history.”
‘This article may contain information published by third parties, some details of this article were extracted from the following source: www.celebrity.land’
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