Sibling love, neighbors from Värmland and a feud that goes off the rails. In the new comedy Grannfejden, Tuva Novotny and Ida Hallquist meet as sisters in the middle of a rural quarrel.

PHOTO MARTIN KÄLLQVIST

Ida Hallquist and Tuva Novotny play sisters in the comedy Grannfejden. The title is exactly what it sounds like, a feud between neighbors. Kjell Bergqvist plays a former prime minister who has moved to the Värmland countryside and is bothered by his neighbor's messy plot and prickly outhouse. The messy neighbor Flodman is played by Robert Gustafsson. He is a bit of an original in the village and he refuses to change his lifestyle. Emma (Tuva Novotny) works for the municipality and gets involved in the neighbor conflict. Her sister Hanna (Ida Hallquist) is a social media influencer who has fled Stockholm and now lives at her sister's house. She becomes friends with Flodman and tries to mediate between the different parties in the neighbor feud. INRIKES meets up with Tuva Novotny and Ida Hallquist via Zoom. Tuva is sitting at a table in a quiet room in her apartment in Copenhagen, it is just before Christmas and in the window frame you can see a Christmas candlestick and cute Christmas decorations. She points out the window and says:

– Over there is Tivoli, do you see? Ida is in a hotel lobby in Stockholm. At the time of writing, she is working as a substitute teacher but has slipped away on a break to talk
with us.
Tuva: What was it like working with Ulf Malmros again?

– I have been looking forward to working with Ulf again. I have worked with most of the team and actors before. Partly in Smala Sussie, which Ulf Malmros directed and where Björn A. Ling, Johan Östling and Kjell Bergqvist were involved, also in the film Mammas pojkar, so it feels like we are a gang that has a life together in some way. It felt 'at home' to film Grannfejden, like getting on a bike. I
I really enjoy working with everyone in the cast. I think it's mutual, we like each other's
working methods and achievements. We also have a lot of fun together. Ida: – It's very cute to see them all together. You can tell they have a connection, they are so genuinely happy together.

Ida: In the film, you and Robert Gustafsson's character have a great relationship. Tell us a little about what it was like working with him?
– From my perspective, I thought we had a nice relationship outside of our characters too. Robert is
a soft, talented, teasing and slightly offended old man – perfect criteria for a person I feel comfortable with! Haha!

You play siblings in the movie. Are there any similarities between the characters you play and how you are in real life?
Ida: – We found a kind of connection as siblings in the film quite directly, I feel. They are close to each other but also have a certain distance as my character Hanna has lived in Stockholm and Tuva's character, Emma, has
lived in Värmland. Both take their lives very seriously and there is a bit of conflict there, since my character has lived a kind of make-believe life in Stockholm while Emma has responsibilities within the municipality and wants to climb the career ladder. Tuva: – No, there are probably no direct similarities between me and my character. She works at the municipality and has a very problematic relationship with her boss. I would have handled such a situation very differently!

It's terrible for anyone who has experienced something like that.
Did you know each other before filming?
Tuva: – We knew each other, but didn't know each other. Ida: – I had a lot of knowledge about everything Tuva has done. I know Ulf Malmros and his wife Jaana well, when I worked with them on the TV series Ack Värmland, and they have always spoken highly of Tuva. What was the most fun scene to film? Ida: – The crab cake scene was a lot of fun. We filmed it for a whole day. Many other scenes were filmed a little faster, but that particular scene took longer because there were a lot of people and it's a pivotal scene where the story takes a big turn. We had so much fun that we didn't get tired of singing schnapps songs over and over again for eight hours. Tuva: – I was so jealous, I wanted to be in that scene too because it's so funny, but I was in a corner during a phone call.

Tuva: You've directed a lot of film and TV. When you're an actor in other people's films, does the director in you come out and you want to be involved and direct the filming a little?
– No, in such contexts I am very happy to just be an actor and not have to take responsibility. At the same time, I have a certain built-in work routine that is important to me. Thanks to my directorial brain, I have a kind of schedule in my head and it helps to take responsibility, so that the actors, for example, don't get carried away and stay at the coffee table too long. I am always very conscious of keeping to the schedule, I am always ready to film. It probably has to do with the fact that I have an awareness of the large apparatus that a film shoot is.
Ida: – I was very inspired by working with Tuva. She has so much experience and can see the big picture of a project in a way that I can't. When I get a script, I just see it as it is, while Tuva can come up with ideas and tips in a way that I can't.

Tuva: You don't speak Värmland in everyday life. What was it like to return to the dialect from where you grew up?
– The first days on Grannfejden were a bit tough. It had been twenty years since I spoke Värmland so it was a bit difficult to get back to it. Värmland and Norwegian are so close to each other that I switched to Norwegian the first few days of recording.
Tuva: Do you speak all the Nordic languages?
– Not Finnish and Icelandic, but I speak Swedish, Danish, Norwegian fluently.

I think that no matter what happens with acting in the future, I want to continue to have a foot in the world of school. I enjoy being a schoolmistress immensely.

Ida: Tell us about how you balance your work as a teacher and an actor.
– I work as a math teacher and then I'm studying to be a teacher. I'll graduate in May. I also have small children so I'm always busy. It's going to be a lot of fun when Grannfejden comes out and then I hope to strike while the iron is hot. It would be fun to do more acting, but I'm pretty bad at elbowing myself. Tuva: – You never need to elbow yourself. I've lived in this world for a very long time and as long as you do a good job and are nice, you don't need to elbow yourself. Ida: – I think that regardless of what happens with acting in the future, I want to continue to have a foot in the world of school. I'm enjoying it immensely
being a schoolmistress. I think my strength is that I am good at reading people. I work mainly with primary and secondary school children and I feel that I can see them and understand them. For me, it is nice to work with others where the focus on myself disappears. I can imagine that focus can be stressful if you are in a Tuva Novotny life where you are constantly in the spotlight. Tuva: – But I am not a good example of that, because I stay away as much as possible and play as little as possible, says Tuva with a big smile. I have never been interested in being a medium or that it should be
be the focus around me.

Tuva: You're very good at being private and anonymous about your private life. Is it difficult to keep the right balance?
– No, it's my choice. I like to leave work at work, and I care about the freedom I think private and leisure time can provide.

What do you hope and believe they will do in the next ten years, career-wise?
Ida: – I'm going to finish school and work at school while doing fun projects in entertainment. According to Robert Gustafsson, I'm going to get married and have another child.
after the film has been released, but I find that hard to believe. Haha! Tuva: – No idea. I've never had
no career plans, but I hope I've renovated my basement and had time to grow
and preserve food in large quantities.

FAVOURITE PLACES IN SWEDEN:
Tuva Novotny
“I love the nature around Arvika where I grew up, there is a kind of wild nature there that I love.”
“I also love the West Coast, the area around Kungsbacka by the sea. There is untouched nature there that is very appealing. There are simply not that many people, I don’t like it when it’s
is too many people.” “Stockholm archipelago, because it is beautiful
– but there are actually an incredible number of people there.”
Ida Hallquist
“Edlunda in the Stockholm archipelago. It's a small island outside Vaxholm. My friends have a place there. There aren't many people and no cars. There I feel like I can relax and feel good.”
“I feel great where I live in Bromma, by the water.”
“I really like my mom and dad's house in Kil. It's a big garden that looks out onto a ravine. I like people, but like Tuva, I also like it when it's quiet and I appreciate alone time.”

TUVA NOVOTNY
Age: 46 years old.
Occupation Actor, screenwriter, director.
Bor Copenhagen.
Family Three children, boyfriend Alexander Skarsgård. Background in brief: Debuted as an actor in the TV soap Skilda världar which was followed by films such as Tic Tac and Jalla Jalla! Tuva played the lead role in Ulf Malmro's film Smala Sussie in 2003. Over the years we have seen her in a long line of notable films
and television series, including Mom's Boys, Borg, Nobel and Avgrunden. She has also directed television series and films, including the acclaimed feature films Britt-Marie was here and Diorama.
Currently In the film Grannfejden, which will be released in cinemas on February 20, as well as the Danish film Nyårsfesten so

IDA HALLQUIST
Age: 31.
Occupation Actor, songwriter, artist and teacher.
Bor Stockholm.
Family Two children. Background in brief: Breakthrough as an actress in Ulf Malmo's TV comedy series Ack Värmland in 2015. Seven years later she participated in Idol, where she came sixth. Trained to be a teacher and works in a high school.
Currently In the film Grannfejden, which will premiere in theaters on February 20