CHINA Edition
Hungarian Edition
Ruben Östlund has offered new insights into the production of his upcoming feature The Entertainment System Is Down, which recently wrapped filming after a 70-day shoot that included a major studio component in Budapest.
The film, set entirely aboard a long-haul flight where the in-seat entertainment fails, features a stacked international cast including Keanu Reeves, Kirsten Dunst, Daniel Brühl, Nicholas Braun, Tobias Menzies, and Julie Delpy. While much of the narrative unfolds in the same confined setting, Östlund explains that the challenge lay not just in the repetition, but in working with 150 extras, all of whom had to remain seated throughout for continuity.
“It was a tough shoot,” Östlund said. “We’re going to the same set every day, and with so many people in every shot.”
To bring realism to the aircraft setting, Östlund and his producers purchased and dismantled a retired Boeing 747, which was then shipped to Hungary and reassembled inside a Budapest studio. The film’s tight quarters prompted Östlund and cinematographer Fredrik Wenzel to rely on a programmable robotic arm—controlled via a PlayStation controller—to navigate angles too small for human operators.
“This robot helped us a lot,” Östlund said, noting it allowed for inventive coverage in narrow spaces.
Despite the intensity of the production, Östlund reported that things went smoothly from a technical perspective. “Technically and production-wise, everything worked very well,” he said.
Post-production is now underway, with Östlund editing on location during his appearance at Slano Film Days, a gathering hosted by the Sarajevo Film Festival in Bosnia and Herzegovina. While his stay on the island of Lopud provided scenic tranquility for editing, Östlund emphasized his goal for the film: a provocative Cannes premiere. In his words, he hopes to cause “the biggest walkout in the history of Cannes” with one scene involving a 15-minute standoff between a young girl and a withheld iPad.
Östlund also weighed in on broader European film policy, expressing concern that state-funded safety nets in the region discourage risk-taking: “We have to consider ourselves more like a live act today.”
World sales for The Entertainment System Is Down are handled by Coproduction Office, with A24 holding U.S. rights.
