The Opening Night film of the 2020 Göteborg Film Festival, Psychosis in Stockholm is a surrealist and deeply moving drama that celebrates motherly love in sickness and in health.
A mother (Josefin Neldén, The Restaurant) and daughter (Josefine Stofkoper) are on their way to Stockholm to celebrate the daughter’s 14th birthday. On the train, the mother begins to act strangely. Despite the symptoms, they try to continue the vacation as planned. When the mother’s condition worsens, the daughter is left by herself and sets off to explore Stockholm on her own for a few magical solo days and nights.
This striking film is visually brilliant, creating a suggestive atmosphere of paranoia, as the mother’s delusions become heightened. Based on debut director Maria Bäck’s own experience of growing up with a mentally unstable mother, Psychosis in Stockholm is a delicate drama about a complex mother-daughter relationship and unconditional love.