By the Shimmering Sea (Klipporna Vid Havet)

​

"How sad can a boy be in a beautiful world?"

​

For seventeen-year-old Patryk, the rugged cliffs and rolling fields of the Åland Islands feel like an alien landscape. Returning to his father’s farm after a childhood spent in Poland with his mother, he finds his dream of reconnection fractured by the presence of a new family: his father's partner, Camilla, and her son, Niko.

​

Patryk feels his place has been stolen by Niko, who embodies everything he is not. Yet, an insistent, unspoken connection to him begins to grow. When Patryk rekindles a friendship with his childhood companion, Ville, an unexpected tension develops between the three boys. Their days become a blur of farm work, nocturnal swims off the cliffs, and intoxicating parties beneath the midnight sun. Friendship bleeds into desire, and on a magical midsummer’s night, the three find themselves entangled.

​

As the summer unfolds, Patryk is torn between a desperate longing for his father’s approval, a growing attraction to both Ville and Niko, and the universal ache to belong. Jealousy and rivalry begin to poison their bond. With the summer's inevitable end approaching, Patryk must learn how far he is willing to go to feel loved for the first time.

​

By The Shimmering Sea is a sensual, impressionistic portrait of youth, where the intoxication of first love meets the heartbreak of growing up. It is a story about finding one’s place in the world and perhaps in the arms of another. A love letter to the beauty of the Nordic summer.

​

Status: In development, with the support of the Swedish Film Institute (Svenska Filminstitutet) and Konstsamfundet in Finland.

​