BUFF Malmö Film Festival 2022: ‘Sunshine Motel’ | Interview of director Rosita Wolkers

We had the pleasure of chatting with Rosita Wolkers, the filmmaker behing Sunshine Motel, a charming, appealing short film dealing with loneliness, starring talented young actress Lola van Zoggel.

The 2022 edition of BUFF Malmö Film Festival was full of discoveries for us, thanks to a very rich film programme, crafted by head of programming Daniel Lundquist (read his interview). As the most important screening venue for films for children and young people in the Nordic countries, BUFF Malmö Film Festival took place this year as a hybrid event, allowing audiences in person and online to discover titles such as Yuni (dir. Kamila Andini), The Path (dir. Tobis Wiemann), Medusa (dir. Anita Rocha Da Silveira), Shabu (dir. Shamira Raphaëla), Playground (dir. Laura Wandel), Sisterhood (dir. Dina Duma), Olga (dir. Elie Grappe), A Tale of Love and Desire (dir. Leyla Bouzid), or I Am Zlatan (dir. Jens Sjögren), the opening night film.

One of our favourite titles from this year’s short film programme is Sunshine Motel, by director Rosita Wolkers, starring young actress Lola van Zoggel.

While on holiday, seven-year-old Rose has been left alone in her hotel room. She is not allowed to go out without her mother, so she tries to make the best of the situation. All the same, Roos intends to enjoy her day, eat ice-cream, swim in the sea and go to the children’s disco – with or without her mother. Still, it is hard to sustain the holiday illusion. When night falls, Roos makes a radical decision.

We had the pleasure of chatting with director Rosita Wolkers about the genesis and making of Sunshine Motel, as well as her collaboration with the talented Lola van Zoggel.

Film Fest Report: When presenting the film at BUFF Malmö Film Festival, you said that the film was based on a memory. Could you describe it and tell us why and how you turned it into a film? What could the cinematic language bring to this memory?

Rosita Wolkers: Growing up with my mentally unstable mother was at times very stressful. There was this one holiday where she locked me in the hotel room for a couple of hours. I had no idea where she was or if she was coming back. I completely panicked and jumped from the first floor balcony. I wanted to make a movie about this moment, because it left a deep impression on me. But even though the idea for the film came from a traumatic experience I had, and I wanted to make the film to give meaning to what has happened to me, the true reason to make this film is to create awareness on child abuse and mental illness. Behind closed doors there are a lot of family tragedies going on. With no one knowing or noticing. During the pandemic and its lockdowns, children who already had a hard time dealing with an alcoholic or mentally ill parent, were stuck at home. With nobody to see or to help them. That is why I wanted to make the film now.

How did you get to work with young actress Lola van Zoggel? What did each of you bring to the other?
After an online casting call we found the talented Lola van Zoggel. She was seven years old at the time. She just got me laughing from the first take and I knew her energy and personality were precisely right for the part. I invested some time before shooting, in getting to know her and to make her feel comfortable with me as well as with the d.o.p.
Our collaboration on set was very playful and relaxed. We started each day with a dance together. Mirroring each other and having fun. Even though the whole film is scripted, there was some room for improvisation within the scenes. Lola brought her personality and sincerity. I love to work with children because they bring a pure and honest opinion on things. What I brought was the guidance in her acting, making sure that she knew what to do by approaching each scene like a game and making her feel secure to do so on set.

The film is aesthetically very charming, with tantalizing visuals and truly cinematic scenes. How did you create this warm, appealing atmosphere?
Thank you for the compliment! I think that first of all the choices made for the production design and costume played a big part in accomplishing the nostalgic and summertime vibe. Using colors and patterns from the eighties and nineties helped to create that look. The 16mm stock establishes a style that is both realistic and stylistic in nature. Because the colors and grain of the 16 mm film stock are associated with the past and nostalgia, using this was, for me, the best way of creating the atmosphere I was looking for. The same as my memory. But the process itself and the concentration that shooting on film entails, were challenging at times. We had a certain amount of stock to film on, so we couldn’t endlessly do takes. That is something I learned from.

What is your favourite scene from the film?
My favorite scene of the film didn’t make the final edit. It was actually the first scene that we had to take out. In this scene Rose is imagining that she is at the childrens disco. She is dancing and having fun. It’s my favorite scene because there was colorful lighting and lots of silver garlands and the scene portrays the energetic personality of Rose. But by showing this scene, we solved the character’s problem, so we had to cut it out.

As I watched the film, I felt that the combination of your strong visual instincts and the talent of your magnetic young actress could lead to more projects in the future. And maybe a longer film. Is that something you have in mind?
Well I’m very driven to write and direct more films in the future. And at this moment I’m developing my first feature film script. The story follows the same character on a holiday with her mother, who falls into a psychosis along the way. As the collaboration with Lola was very good, I’m hoping to do this feature film with her. But let’s see if we can! The film will probably take a few years to make. And Lola’s growing up so fast, I’m not sure if she’s young enough to do the part by then. I truly hope so.

Many thanks to the team of BUFF Malmö Film Festival for having us in Malmö, Sweden, to cover the festival.