Sundance: Director Mikko Mäkelä, Star Ruaridh Mollica On Their Bold New Queer-Themed Film ‘Sebastian’

When we first meet the character “Sebastian,” he is chatting with an unseen older gentleman answering basic questions about himself. A few minutes later they’re having rough sex. Afterwards, the young man appears to be typing the entire experience into his laptop, exactly as it happened.

See “Sebastian” is really Max (brilliantly embodied by Ruaridh Mollica), a 25-year-old freelance writer/novelist wannabe/Master’s candidate moonlighting as an escort so he can write about sex work from first hand experience. Alas, his nighttime exploits begin to affect his survival job. Max’s desire for total authenticity in his writing leads him towards an exploration of identity and queer sexuality that takes the viewer on a complex, nuanced, and unnerving journey that surprises both himself and the audience.

Finnish-British filmmaker Mikko Mäkelä’s sophomore feature is beyond impressive, asking many timely questions about desire as well as authenticity in art and entertainment and refusing to spoon-feed answers.

Mollica captivates and commands the screen as Max/Sebastian. Onscreen for almost all of the film’s running time, this is a performance that should buoy him from unknown to in-demand. Mollica’s credits include the BBC/Netflix series Red Rose, Channel 5’s Witness Number Three, and the feature Tell It To the Bees as well as an astonishing turn in the queer short Too Rough. He will soon be seen in the BBC drama The Jetty.

Mäkelä is a daring and intelligent filmmaker who defies expectation in his narrative arc. The film includes intense sexual scenes and nudity that always feels integral to the storytelling, never gratuitous. His first film, the queer-themed A Moment in the Reeds (2018), screened at over 80 festivals worldwide, including the BFI London Film Festival and Frameline and was nominated for The Discovery Award at the British Independent Film Awards.

Sebastian just had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and should be one of the most significant gay-themed titles of 2024 (currently in distribution “talks.”)

Awards Daily Zoomed with Mäkelä and was (beyond pleasantly) surprised to also have Mollica join the video chat.