Gustav Möller The Guilty

2018 Sundance Film Festival
WINNER: World Cinema Dramatic – Audience Award

Cast: Jakob Cedergren
Director: Gustav Möller
Running Time: 85 minutes

Synopsis: Alarm dispatcher and former police officer, Asger Holm, answers an emergency call from a kidnapped woman. When the call is suddenly disconnected, the search for the woman and her kidnapper begins. With the phone as his only tool, Asger enters a race against time to save the endangered woman. But soon he realises that he is dealing with a crime that is far bigger than he first thought.

The Guilty
Release Date: February 28th, 2019

The Director About His Film

I believe that the strongest images in film, the ones that stay with you the longest; they are the ones, you don't see.

I got the idea for the film when I stumbled across a real life 911 call from a kidnapped woman. The woman was traveling by car, and since she was sitting next to her kidnapper she was speaking in codes. At first I was just gripped by the suspense of the call, as any listener would. But then I started reflecting on what made it so intriguing.

Even though I had just listened to a sound recording it felt like I had seen images. I had seen the woman, the car she was in, the road the car was on, and even the kidnapper sitting next to her. I realized, that every single person listening to that phone call would see different images: a different woman, a different kidnapper, and so on.

I started thinking: What if you used this idea of mental imagery, in film?

My vision with making The Guilty has been to make a suspenseful and character-driven thriller, but more than that to make a film that gives every single audience member a completely unique experience.