Tuva Novotny’s debut feature Blind Spot won the New Talent Grand Prix award – at Copenhagen’s CHP PIX festival. Shot in a single take the film details the real-time effect of tragedy on its characters. Following its world premiere in August in Haugesund, Norway, its participation in Toronto and its best actress prize in San Sebastian, the film – and the director – are on a roll. We met Swedish Tuva Novotny at the film festival in Copenhagen.

You call your film Blind Spot … without revealing anything – what does the title indicate?

Blind Spot refers to what we don’t see in our everyday life. Where we can be surprised about what is going on in people’s lives. Where they go around smiling and pretending that everything is fine and they are actually having a very difficult time. That is the blind spot that I am referring to.

The film has participated in quite a few festivals. Now also CPH PIX where you won an award – New Talent Grand Prix. How significant is this for you as a first-time director?

We have received much more attention than we could ever have dreamed of. Personally, I feel that I will continue to do my job as always. But it does help create attention to your film. It might also help get distribution so that it will reach a broader audience – and I truly want my film to be seen by as many people as possible, so we need the attention. And going to a festival as a director is a great way to meet possible distributors and get a sense of whether your movie will work outside your own country. In this case Norway, where we shot the film. We are still negotiating with international actors. It means a lot for small movies like this to be at a festival.

What makes CPH PIX special?

I was in the jury a few years ago and I really like it because like San Sebastian they have a very clear profile. However, it has grown, so it has a lot more movies now. What I really like is that they want to encourage new filmmakers, and even the jury said that they don’t want to premiere the best film, we want to premiere a director whom we want to see more work from. That is a really nice policy to have.

The founder of CPH PIX sais that this is a great venue for filmmakers to meet their audience. Were you in the audience when they screened your film and how important was this for you?

Yes. It is interesting with this one because it is such an interesting subject and the reactions we have had in Norway have been overwhelming. Positive – but also overwhelming. So it was interesting to see whether it would translate into other cultures. The reactions have been the same all over. There has been a lot of respect for us bringing this subject to the surface. It has been emotional but very focused. Very interesting.

You are a very well known actress in Scandinavia and you have made a few international films too. What made you want to explore directing?

I always knew I wanted to direct but I wanted to make sure that I was dressed for it. 10 years ago some friends of mine asked if I could direct a few episodes of a Norwegian TV-series and they brought me on to their next project. This was very good as a self-esteem enhancer, and after those TV-series, I decided that either I do TV for the rest of my life or it is now that I decide to do my own things. I took a year off an started writing a couple of scripts and wrote a series for a Norwegian channel so it kind of happened organically but also at a point where I felt it was the right moment.

There is a lot of talk about it being difficult for women in the business but in Scandinavia, it does not seem to be as big of an issue as in the US for instance. Do you think it is easier for women here?

I don’t know. I am worried that I might sound arrogant when I say that I do not feel there is a gender-related problem. I know there are a lot of women who struggle and I know that there are a lot of locked doors for women. At the same time, I think that a big part of this fight is that we as women also need to go to work with a sense of trust that it is natural for us to be there. And I think that we need to let go of a historically low self-esteem as women. Obviously, it is easier in Scandinavia because we have a political landscape that actually uses quota to enhance female participation in our business.  But at the same time too, I think that we need to change our mindset. Like: ‘why would I not be able to do a movie?’ The next movie I am making is a DKR 35 million super commercial film – and why should I not be able to do that? Of course, I am. But every time I negotiate a deal, I have to bring up that my male colleague, who has done less than me is actually making more money, so it is still an issue.

The film is shot in one single take and the pacing is slow. You also wrote the script. When did you decide to make the movie like this?

I knew it from the first page that I wrote. I knew I wanted to do it in real time. I did not want to make an exciting movie. I did not want to dramatize it more than necessary because it is a touchy subject. If you want to communicate preventive methods then you do not want to show method or romanticize or glorify so for me the one take format was helping me to just be a fly on the wall and a sober gaze.

The actress Pia Tjelta won the Silver Shell award in San Sebastian for her portrayal of the mother in the film.

She has a lot of theater experience and I talked to her about it as a play, because the first thing Pia said to me was: “I cannot do this. I am sorry.” I said: “You have to do it because there is no one else.” When we talked about it, we talked about it as a theatre play and then she got more comfortable with it. As actors we are used to working with cameras and we are used to reset or we cut and we are used to knowing where the camera is and knowing our better side and here she has to forget every bit of camera technique that she had used before and just basically be in good old style Stanislavski tradition – just being her character for more than one hour. She just had to be in it. I think that was also rewarding for her.