Nina Holmgren

Apparently you were one of Denmark’s most talented tennis players when you were younger.

I absolutely love the sport and the time I spent on the court practicing it. It was my world when I was younger. Today my little brother is one of the best in my country, and I feel very lucky that I get to follow his exciting journey of turning pro up close.

Funny enough, I will say that I have found several similarities with tennis and filmmaking, and recently read that 94% of female CEOs are all former or current athletes. That statistic makes a lot of sense to me.

What made you decide to become a filmmaker?

I have always been drawn to fine art, and I love to work across different mediums. When I began to explore the film medium it made a lot of sense, and in many ways filmmaking felt like the perfect match, because it’s a mix of so many different elements of craft, all of which I had practiced prior.

Naomi Osaka

We absolutely love the latest work you did for Beats By Dre, starring Naomi Osaka, Kaia Gerber, Vince Staples & Quenlin Blackwell. It has a very strong visual poetry, and just such astonishing cinematography.  How was it to work with that level of talents for the spot?

They were all really great and collaborative to work with, but especially Naomi Osaka I will say, she was the one that had the most challenging scenes. She agreed to let us lift her high up in the air, flying around and being acrobatic. It’s really not an easy thing to do. It was clear to see what a truly creative individual she is, and what an incredible work ethic she has.

The film is an instinctual and movement-filled piece set around visually heightened worlds, all of which is set to Vince Staples track “Magic.” How was it working with Vince Staples and his music like this? 

Vince Staples was really cool and is a creative genius if you ask me, so it was really inspiring to work with him and his music for this spot.

The concept was very dependent on the track and what the tonality of it would be. Since music was going to be the backbone of the spot. We wanted to capture how music can take your mind somewhere else when you’re listening to a great track. You know that feeling where you can’t help to move, or bob your head to the beat.

Beats By Dre

In your work, you have also explored themes we don’t often come across so much, like old age (Club 99.7), and the climate crisis (I Want You To Panic). What made you interested in those topics and how do you decide on an approach?

I love to explore themes almost in a sociologically way. So when I get the opportunity to dig into subject matter through that approach or work on something that has that quality, I always find it exciting.

“I Want You To Panic” is very much a piece of fiction but with visceral elements of reality.  I wanted the film to have the quality of something you could also show at an art gallery or museum. It was intentionally thought of as not-your-typical-climate-film, or visuals viewers are used to seeing when talking about the topic.

“Club 99.7,” is a project I did together with my granddad who also is featured in the film. It was a film I did for my friend’s streetwear brand and Nowness premiered it.

I wanted the film to be a tribute to old age in a playful and honest way and show up close what often gets hidden away in the media.

Beats By Dre

What does this year look like for you? Any interesting new projects in the pipeline? 

At the moment, I’m working on a project about tennis which will highlight some elements of the sport you might not see traditionally. In a way, it’s a film for tennis fans I would say, hopefully also for future tennis fans.

INFO:

@nholmgren

@smugglersite

@anorak_film

@diplomats.tv