“Violence of the Lonely Heart is a journey down the rabbit hole of men who live in involuntary celibacy, also known as incels. They are men who normally hide in dark corners of the internet and only communicate in closed forums,” says producer Ove Rishøj Jensen (Malmö-based Auto Images) about the Nordisk Panorama project directed by Terese Mörnvik and Caroline Troedsson. “But in our film, you get to meet them.”
“Through a very unique access to the characters we have managed to establish in our film, you will get close to a group of incel-men whose longing for love transforms into anger and loneliness.”
Rishøj Jensen points out how Incel is a growing and influential global phenomenon that is fuelling the thought processes of an increasing number of men who feel isolated and lonely. “As some incel men express anger and potential violent behaviour, we need to understand them in order to prevent them from damaging themselves and us,” he adds.
In the film we will meet Rikard who derives comfort from his network of fellow incels who believe that, for them, nothing can ever improve. In the genetic lottery of life, they don’t stand a chance, they believe. Psychiatrist Stefan Krakowski, meanwhile, decides to understand who these men really are and, using a secret profile, learns to navigate the online incel subculture. Then there are potential saviours who are attempting to draw the men back to reality.
“The clock is ticking though, as the further you go down the rabbit hole, the less there’s left of love,” the film’s synopsis warns. “Like many other incels, they are full of despair and anger, mostly directed inwards in the form of self-loathing and attempted suicide. But others go down in history for their acts of terror.”
“Terese Mörnvik and Caroline Troedsson make a powerful documentary duo which we are very happy to collaborate with at Auto Images,” says Rishøj Jensen of his directors on the project. “They have an incredible ability to get character closeness to the people they film, and they have a strong eye for visual storytelling. This is the first film they work together on as co-directors, but we are currently working on other projects where they also work together as a key team. So, there is much from this great creative team to come.”
The producer is looking to shoot much of the project in early 2025, commence editing and post- in the second half of 2025 ahead of a release in the first half of 2026.
“This is our first presentation of the project to funders and distributors outside of Sweden, so we are looking forward to seeing what the Nordic and International reactions will be to the project. For us it important to see how much the project resonates with international funders,” Rishøj Jensen signs off.
