The Entertainment System Is Down

[Cremildo]

Ruben Östlund: My next project is called “The Entertainment System Is Down.” It takes place on a long haul flight. And quite soon after take-off, the crew of the flight is telling the passengers that the entertainment system is down. They are now stuck on a 15 or 17 hour-long flight without any digital entertainment. They don’t have the screens that we are so used to in our contemporary world. So it’s going to be like a study of how human beings interact in this little laboratory that is a plane. It will look at how modern human beings are wrecked under these circumstances.

Variety: Sounds promising! So it’s about air rage.

RO: Yes, air rage is a term that is used when a passenger becomes so violent that they have to proceed with an emergency landing of a flight. I read a study about it and they found out that when economy passengers are boarding through business clause or first class, the risk of average is increased by four times. It’s super interesting fact because it says so much about something that is true, that inequality is provoking us, inequality is making us frustrated. And if we see if you are confronted with inequality, I think also there’s a risk in our society that it will provoke rages.

Variety: Are you looking to make it in Sweden or abroad?

RO: I haven’t decided yet. Once again, it’s a possibility to have an international cast because these long-haul flights always have international passengers.

Variety: Do you have a script?

RO: I will start working on it now after Cannes. [+]