Kevlar Soul
Kevlar Soul is a 2025 coming-of-age drama film directed by Maria Eriksson-Hecht in her directorial debut from a screenplay written by Pelle Rådström. It stars Josef Kersh and Rio Svensson as Alex and Robin, respectively, two teenage brothers whose relationship drifts apart after finding love. It is an international co-production between Sweden, Norway, and Finland.
It had its world premiere at the Gothenburg Film Festival on 29 January 2025, competing at the Nordic Competition. It received seven nominations at the 61st Guldbagge Awards, including Best Film.
Premise
A close relationship between two teenage brothers drifts apart after the older brother finds love and the younger one becomes involved in a conflict.Cast
- Josef Kersh as Alex
- Rio Svensson as Robin
- Adja Sise Stenson as Ines
- Jonay Pineda Shellac as Dennis
- Torkel Petersson as Bo
- Tyrone Michele as Nabil
Production
In an interview with Cineuropa, Eriksson-Hecht stated that the main focus of the film was "children who take on huge responsibilities because there's no adult around to do it". She also noted that the film was partly inspired by the 2000 song of the same name by Swedish alternative rock band Kent. The project was first showcased at the 2019 Stockholm Industry Days at the STHLM Debut initiative. In November 2020, the project participated at the Baltic Event Co-Production Market, held during the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. It was chosen by the Baltic Event to be presented at the 2021 Marché du Film. In March 2022, it participated at the m:brane Pitch Days. It received a €150,000 production grant from the Finnish Film Foundation in March 2023. In July 2023, Eurimages awarded the project a €350,000 production grant. In August 2024, it took part at the New Nordic Films.Principal photography took place in August 2023 in Norrköping. A casting call for the film was issued in September 2021.