Thom's
Corner
"Gubbhöst" (Autum Leaves) was originally conceived as a feature film about two elderly gentlemen who spend an autumn weekend winterizing their summer cottage. They have been doing this for almost 40 years, so everything is a well-established routine. However, this year their "Gubbhöst" becomes anything but what they had planned when they receive an unexpected visit from a couple of suited gentlemen who claim to be from the "Bureau of Internal Security" (BFIS) with the authority to question the men about their identity and presence on the site.
This is the prelude to an eventful weekend where an old betrayal is revealed, while the friendship is put to the test by the uninvited guests. The fact that the project did not end up as a feature film but as a play is explained by the difficulty of financing a feature film in Sweden today if you are an independent producer who does not belong to the "inner circle", i.e. is "above" the glass ceiling.
Instead of letting this wonderful story go to waste, I chose to turn it into a play, which it eventually became. What makes it a bit unusual is that the play used the already filmed material, which gave the audience a different experience than a traditional play.
On this page you can see a selection of scene photos from the production on the Main Stage in Eskilstuna in the autumn of 2023. If you want to see the whole performance, it is available as a YouTube video that can be viewed by clicking here:
Additional details:
Genre: Comedy-drama
Written and directed by: Bernt Johanson / Thom Britten-Austin
Running time: 90 minutes
Language: Swedish
10 years earlier:
Olsson and Lindberg, two old friends, are preparing for the annual "Gubbhöst"
On the Way to the Cottage:
Lindberg complains about Olsson's casual downloads and all of his TV subscriptions.
Finally arrived at the cottage for the weekend
After a not-so-strenuous day at the cottage, the guys relax with singing and some 'home brew'
Fueled by even more home brew, the guys' conversation turns to more serious topics of death and tax evasion
Saturday morning and an emergency visit to the toilet for Lindberg, but Olsson is already there and has locked himself in.
Jimmy's psychotropic drugs and a few glasses of home brew lead to an even more threatening atmosphere.
Faced with the existential threat from the BFIS man, the guys are forced to come to terms about the betrayal and other old grudges.