The debut feature from director Marlene Emilie Lyngstad, titled Cute, made its world premiere in the New Directors section of the 74th San Sebastián International Film Festival this September. The film, which explores the internal psychological struggle of a man grappling with taboo desires, has immediately drawn attention for its provocative premise and the director’s defense of its narrative approach.
The story centers on Richard, played by Jan Gunnar Røise, who abruptly ends his relationship and flees his home after becoming aware of suppressed sexual feelings for his girlfriend’s seven-year-old daughter. In his subsequent isolation, he encounters Stella (Gina Jaqueline), an adult who works as a cam girl. Stella’s online persona involves performing child-themed “Lolita” fantasies, leading to a complex relationship where she serves as a surrogate for Richard’s transgressive fixations.
Addressing the initial reactions to the film’s subject matter at the festival, Lyngstad framed the audience’s discomfort as a reflection of internal psychology rather than graphic content. The director stated that the film remains “never explicit,” choosing instead to focus on the “inner battles” of its characters. In explaining the intensity of the response to this “love story,” Lyngstad suggested that the unease may stem from viewers being “confronted by their own monsters” when faced with the depiction of such suppressed impulses.
The film distinguishes itself by avoiding explicit imagery, focusing instead on the atmosphere of Richard’s moral and psychological decay. By placing the audience in the perspective of a protagonist struggling with a pedophilic attraction he recognizes as destructive, Cute attempts to navigate the boundary between a character study and a transgressive drama.
Supported by the Danish Film Institute through its “New Danish Screen” talent scheme, the project was produced by Nordisk Film Production. The development of the film follows Lyngstad’s previous work in shorts, marking a significant step into feature-length territory with a script that intentionally tests the limits of audience empathy.
Following its festival run in Spain, Cute is scheduled for its theatrical release in Denmark on November 26, 2026. The film is expected to continue generating debate as it moves into wider distribution, particularly regarding its portrayal of the surrogate relationship between Richard and Stella.
