Anna Eriksson’s ‘M’ debuts on Thursday

The last film in competition at the 33rd Venice International Film Critics’ Week was the visceral and mysterious experimental horror movie ‘M’ by Finnish artist Anna Eriksson.

Born in 1977, Eriksson in her career as a singer sold nearly half a million records.

Her debut feature film screened on September 6 in Sala Perla, for which she has worked for the past four years, explores the relationship between sexuality and death that appear to be at opposite poles but, in fact, are merged in all of us, disguising the fear of death or the desire to die as the world of Eros.

General Delegate Giona A. Nazzaro described ‘M’ as “the most radical film of the entire selection. A sensorial vortex structured as an industrial symphony. Female iconography is destroyed and reimagined in the debut feature film by Anna Eriksson. In pure L.A. Gothic style, the film is a visionary and performative body-horror in the threshold between life and death, between Jean Rollin and David Cronenberg.”

After the screening, the filmmaker, who also served as the lead actress and curated herself the film down to the last detail, from directing to colour correction and all the different stages of sound mixing, attended an interesting Q&A with the audience and the press.

The critics’ week comprises of seven debut features selected by the Italian National Film Critics Union (SNCCI). The films compete for an audience award worth 5,000 euros and for awards for the most innovative film and for the best technical achievement.

The Venice Film Festival award for the best debut film, Lion of the Future, is worth 100,000 USD.