The whole gang in this year’s Så mycket bättre: Tommy Körberg, Lili och Susie Päivirinta, Jakob Hellman, Silvana Imam, Alexander ”Newkid” Ferrer, Ana Diaz, Tove Styrke, Loreen, Plura Jonsson, Markus Krunegård, Benjamin Ingrosso, Lisa Nilsson and Helen Sjöholm. Photo: Pär Bäckstrand/TV4
Allas 201204
By: MINNA WALLÉN-WIDUNG
After a dizzying spring and autumn with a corona pandemic and canceled jobs, the movie current actor and artist Helen Sjöholm is looking forward to the premiere of the big movie Tills solen går upp (Until the Sun Rises), a little extra. At the same time, the absence from the stage has made her nervous.
– Bit by bit you lose a little of your self-confidence and think “have I ever been on a stage in front of so many people”, she says.
Dreaming is a prerequisite for being able to manage life – if we don´t dream at night we will go crazy and if we do not daydream we will not be able to cope with everyday life. That was Peter Dalles’ starting point when he wrote the script for the film Until the Sun Rises, which premieres in 2021.
And it´s Helen Sjöholm’s character Lena who sows the seed for the dream – or nightmare – that the film revolves around. As a Christmas present, Lena gives her husband Peder, played by Mikael Persbrandt, a very special book that soon turns out to have magical properties (…)
– The course of events really puts everything at its peak, because with the book, Peder gets the opportunity to dream away for real – and he can take others with him. He meets an old youth love, played by Vanna Rosenberg, and that meeting starts something. They meet in dreams, but this also has unforeseen consequences in real life. And here is a twist that I think makes the whole film, Helen says.
Helen Sjöholm about working with Mikael Persbrandt
(…) That she would accept the role was clear almost immediately.
– When Peter Dalle calls, you get happy! He said that he thought I would be a top wife, and I who haven´t filmed so much before was very flattered, of course. Peter is so nice, because he is full of humor but also of blackness and depth. I would call this a relationship drama, but with comic features. I like that you can´t really put your finger on what genre it is.
Playing against Mikael Persbrandt was also something of a dream come true – although Helen admits that she was sometimes a little jealous of Vanna Rosenberg who had a completely different type of scenes with the actor.
Vanna got to go abroad with him and ski, ride a camel, walk on exotic beaches, eat french fries with her whole face and fall in love. I had a few days in a terraced house in a suburb of Gothenburg, where we recorded the boring everyday scenes with silent glances at each other. At the same time, I probably never thought I would get to play everyday with Mikael Persbrandt! He’s a terribly good actor and a very warm person, I really like him.
Helen Sjöholm about the time in So much better
(…)
During the autumn, Helen is, in addition to the film, also relevant in TV4’s So much better where it´s her making music that has been in focus. She describes the stay on Gotland together with the rest of this year’s participants as wonderful – but exhausting.
– I was there for three days, but it felt like a month. I was so tired and full of impressions when I got home. It was a joy to be there, but also hard because I´m not used to expressing my opinion directly in every situation that has to be done there. At the same time, it was so much fun to meet these people and hear everyone’s versions.
Helen Sjöholm pays tribute to Loreen
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– Tove Styrke, Alexander “Newkid” Ferrer and Ana Diaz I didn´t know very well. I was very touched by the dedication with which they made their interpretations, it was nice. And then I fell like a skittle for Loreen, she’s like a performance all over her. To sit four meters away and watch her turn on her on button, it was magical. Jakob Hellman was very exciting too, he´s a mythical person after all these years. I would have liked to talk a lot more with all of them, but just when we got started we would go and pet lamb or something else would happen.
Helen Sjöholm about singing in So much better
In the program we get to see Helen interpret the other artists’ songs. And although she has long experience of performing in front of thousands of people, she admits that it was with some excitement that she sang in front of the other participants.
– I’m never satisfied, that’s how I am. But I felt happy for the songs I was given the opportunity to interpret and I think I managed to make versions that I can stand for. But it was much more nervous than I thought to stand five meters away from the original artist and perform.
A positive experience from the stay on Gotland that Helen brings with her is the respect for different genres she feels exists between artists today.
– Before, it was almost legal for Plura to dislike the music that, for example, Lili and Susie made. But that mentality does not exist at all today. I would have liked to talk more about that, but we did not have time, because then we would go and look at the chickens or something. It may be another program.
This is how Helen Sjöholm has been affected by the corona pandemic
(…) For Helen and thousands of other cultural workers, the prevailing circumstances, with severely limited audiences and demands for social distancing, have been nearly devastating.
– It has affected me a lot, of course. All live jobs have been canceled. I was cut from a big show and two tours. Then I have a man who is a sound engineer and has worked with live sound on Hamburger Börs for 30 years. He has been very committed to bringing the industry together and making it act as one. All actors must stand united in this, and it´s often only the artists who are visible, but it takes so many actors to put together a performance. Now many are handcuffed and have lost everything. So the pandemic has affected me both professionally and privately, you could say.
Despite canceled gigs and nightmarish headlines about the cultural industry’s situation, Helen has nevertheless had a productive year. In addition to filming, she has also released a studio album with only newly written material – something she, despite her 25 years in the industry, hasnt done before.
All autumn she would have toured with her new songs from the album, which has been named En ny tid ( A New Time). Now it won´t be like that.
And the absence from the stage affects her.
– Bit by bit you lose a little of your self-confidence and think “have I ever been on a stage in front of so many people? Can I do it again? ” It’s a feeling of unreality – or like a dream, speaking of the film. The worst thing is that it´s so uncertain, you are used to knowing what to do in the near future but now you know nothing. There are many dreams that fall apart and don´t come true.
Helen Sjöholm in the TV series Thunder in my heart
(…) For now, we have to content ourselves with seeing her on the movie screen – and the TV screen. For those who have access to Viaplay, there will be more of Helen Sjöholm at the beginning of next year when the TV series Thunder in my heart premieres. The script is written by Amy Deasismont, also known as the artist Amy Diamond. The series is described as a drama comedy about love, identity seeking and being an adult on paper but still feeling like a child.
– Amy plays the main role and I play her mother. Amy is incredibly talented and it has been so exciting to work with her, Helen says.
(…)
What are you dreaming of right now?
– About a big Christmas with the family. To be able to hug mom and dad, take the train down to Europe, that Trump should stop golfing and realize that it’s time to leave. But I also dream of continuing to work and that the cultural jobs and entertainment industry will survive, also for a not quite young woman like me who wants to continue to sing and shout, create and be heard.
Tills solen går upp, the movie premiere was scheduled for Christmas Day, December 25, but due to the corona pandemic, the premiere has been postponed to an indefinite date 2021.
5 quick questions to Helen Sjöholm
How’s your morning mood?
– Fairly good. Or great indeed! I can kind of refurnish a room and wash the windows before breakfast. I’m just going on.
Which song do you prefer to sing in the shower?
– I can find myself singing a vignette from Bolibompa sometimes. But otherwise I shout anything, often what I’m repeating at the moment. Right now there are some songs from the new album I have to set.
Are you a bad loser?
– No, I’m actually a good loser. I always assume that I will lose and then I´m a bad competitor instead – I start giggling and lose focus. Competing is really not my thing.
What are you most proud of?
– I´m most proud of my children, they are cool. I have Ruben who is 13 years old and the twins Samuel and Johanna who are nine.
How are you as a mother?
– I’m probably a mix of confident and neurotic. I can get a little chickeny and always have to prepare everything so heavenly carefully. I think it has to do with the fact that I´m sometimes away in the evenings and work, but I forget that they are older now and can fix a lot themselves. I must probably get better at leaving them alone.
(The entire report is not reproduced for copyright reasons)