Marko Kattilakoski

In 1986, Gävle, Sweden, I was riding my bike in the rain. A week later I learned the rain came from a cloud that had traveled straight from Ukraine and the Chernobyl disaster. Due to radiation we still, 25 years later, can't eat mushroom or berries from the forests around Gävle.

In 2006 it was pure luck that prevented a nuclear meltdown in Forsmark, a nuclear power plant only 70 km from my home.

In 2010 I took a beating by a street gang while I was walking home from a pub.

In my mind I connected these very different occasions and I started to write a script that circled around fear.

And I realized that what I fear, is what I can't see. Radioactivity and lack of empathy is similar in that way. You can't see that a mushroom is radioactive by just looking at it. And you can't see if a person is empathic or not. He, or she, may tell jokes and be friendly, but what hides behind the mask?

In 2011 the script was written with, for me, a rather surprising comic touch, and I started planning the movie.

I gathered a talented team of friends and independent filmmakers, where I would like to mention Daniel Morin who did a great job on editing and sound design, Ronny Rasmusson who did the wonderful music, and the two leading actors Dennis Åhs and Henning Larsson Müller.

The result is Coffee Break, a comedy/thriller.

Marko Kattilakoski

Director and screenwriter of "Coffee Break"