“Three Pills” By Christian Wenger
In the year 2050, the system provides three pills to every elderly person, to be taken on their 70th birthday.
Be sure to check out Christian’s inspiration and insight into production below!
Credits
Story by Veronika Herren
Written, Produced & Directed by Christian Wenger
Director of Photography - Matti Immonen
Music Composer - Aki Silventoinen
Production Manager - Markus Mutanen
1st Assistant Director - Markus Palmen
Production Designer - Heidi Wenger
Set Designer & Props Master - Markus Mutanen
Set Decorator - Minna Lilja
Rear Projection Designer - Teemu Åke
Make-up & Hair - Sanna Liljamo
1st Assistant Camera - Pauli Boström
Gaffer - Santeri Siirtonen
Best Boy - Joonas Kohonen
BTS Videographer - Vili Lehtisalo
Editor - Christian Wenger
Music & Sound Design - Aki Silventoinen
Colorist - Sarrah Wilkman
Graphic Design - Heidi Wenger
“Three Pills” Logo Design - Joonas Kohonen
Camera Equipment - Canon Finland
Light & Grip Equipment - Kinos Rentals
Color Grading Services - Grade One
Emotional Testing - Affectiva
Special Thanks:
Joonas Schwartzberg, Matias Boettge, Mikko Savinainen, Matthew Strafuss, Harriet Kollanus, Sami Mutanen, Helena & Jukka Pihko, Jokke Heikkila, Donal Crotty & The City of Helsinki Rescue Department, Harri Koskimaki & Colleagues
Production:
Christian Wenger & Smak Film
Finland Helsinki 2020
Beyond the Short
The idea of our short came about last summer during a phone call with my mother, Veronika Herren. At the age of 74, she is still an active actress, hungry for the next big thing. During our phone calls, we talked about all kinds of film ideas. Most of them never see the light of day, but this one was different. We had this grotesque vision of how our overpopulated and aging world could look like in 2050. Would our system be able to support all of us? If not, would an elderly person’s life be equally valuable as that of a young person? I could literally see the film in front of my eyes, my mother playing the lead role.
After that magic phone call, the screenplay came together quickly and we were positive to shoot our short in October 2019. Unfortunately it turned out to be impossible to find a shooting location matching both vision and budget. I also had other work, so I couldn’t spend as much time on the project as I would have needed and wanted to. However it was
the best thing that could have happened as it gave the opportunity to rethink and simplify the screenplay.
It wasn’t until December 2019, when I first met DoP Matti Immonen (Smak Film), when things started to really happen. Matti’s unique style and fearless approach to experiment with our vision convinced me right away.
When we finally shot the film in January 2020, we had gathered an amazing team of professionals. Starting from the production design team with Heidi Wenger (Production Designer), Markus Mutanen (Set Designer/Props Master), Minna Lilja (Set Decorator), Teemu Åke (Rear projection designer), to the production team with Markus Palmen (1 st AD), Pauli Boström (1 st AC), Santeri Siirtonen (Gaffer), Sanna Liljamo (Make-up & hair), Joonas Kohonen (Best boy), Vili Lehtisalo (BTS videographer) and last but not least Aki Silventoinen (music composer/sound design) and Sarrah Wilkman (Colorist).
Demographic transition is happening and it threatens to divide our society into young and old, with elderly automatically labeled as burden to society. As a director, I wanted to throw light on this problem by creating a subtle sci-fi short, that gets under your skin, mentally challenges you while feeling present and real. It should captivate with strong visuals and story rather than try to impress with effects. But ultimately, I wanted to create nostalgic timeless experience that reaches people in a digital connected world.
“Three Pills” was submitted to us by Christian Wenger. Have a film of your own you’d like us to check out? Click here!