ANIARA (2018)
Emelie Garbers and Bianca Cruzeiro star in Pella Kågerman & Hugo Lilja’s 2018 sapphic sci-fi film ANIARA. Today’s post was selected/written by QCA guest writer Jenna Miller.
ANIARA
2018. Sweden/Denmark.
Director: Pella Kågerman & Hugo Lilja
Screenplay: Pella Kågerman & Hugo Lilja
Based on: “Aniara” (1956) by Harry Martinson
Starring: Emelie Garbers, Bianca Cruzeiro, Arvin Kananian & Anneli Martini
ANIARA is a stunning existential Swedish-Danish sapphic sci-fi masterpiece centered on Mimaroben, a bisexual woman aboard a luxurious future spaceship. As the vessel embarks on a permanent relocation to Mars from an eco-ravaged Earth, disaster strikes. Mimaroben navigates the chaos and gradually develops a relationship with Isagel, the ship’s only female pilot. Their same-sex courtship unfolds naturally against the backdrop of space travel, avoiding sensationalism or spectacle, and normalizing queerness as a source of connection, hope, and solace amidst despair in the unimaginable vast emptiness of space.
ANIARA weaves together three distinct narratives: a gripping sci-fi disaster story grounded in human psychology rather than action; a nuanced, relatable sapphic romance with familiar beats; and a mind-bending existential horror tale that transcends mere astrophobia to explore apeirophobia — the profound fear of boundlessness and the infinite nature of existence. After watching ANIARA, you may find yourself with new feelings for the lead and supporting actresses Emelie Garbers and Bianca Cruzeiro, but are equally likely to have new feelings of dread about the inescapable boundlessness of space and time.
This film is adapted from the 1956 Swedish book-length epic poem of the same name by Harry Martinson, which won the Nobel Prize in Literature and has been translated into 20 languages. It was adapted into an opera by composer Karl-Birger Blomdahl in 1959. In 2019, the extrasolar planet HD 102956 b was named Isagel, and its star was named Aniara.
ANIARA won four Guldbagge Awards, the Cineuropa Award, Best International Film at the 2019 Trieste Science Fiction Festival, and nominated for a European Film Award. It was co-directed by a woman, Pella Kågerman, with Hugo Lilja. ANIARA premiered at the 2018 TIFF, and was released by Magnolia Pictures.
ANIARA is streaming through Prime, Hulu, Tubi, Roku (USA), Arrow & BFIplayer (UK), for rent/purchase through AppleTV, and also available on DVD/Blu-ray.
