Private Project

Just like me

The movie is about the somewhat peculiar but spontaneous Maria (28) who wins 250,000 SEK on a scratch-off lottery ticket on TV. She dreams of a typical "Svensson" life, which refers to a common, ordinary Swedish family, but she's not quite sure how to get there. So, when the TV host asks her what she will do with the money, she says, "Anyone who wants to have coffee with me will receive 1000 SEK." Her calendar quickly fills up with people who want to have coffee with her, and one thing leads to another, and somewhere over there, perhaps that ordinary life she desires exists, or maybe not.

  • Andreas Bjarne Fredrik Thelander
    Director
    https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8818089/?ref_=ttfc_fc_dr1
  • Andreas Bjarne Fredrik Thelander
    Writer
    https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8818089/?ref_=ttfc_fc_dr1
  • Andreas Bjarne Fredrik Thelander
    Producer
    https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8818089/?ref_=ttfc_fc_dr1
  • Cecilia Falkebring
    Key Cast
    "Maria"
    https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7099405/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t27
  • Lukas Larsson
    Key Cast
    "Calle"
    https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2110334/?ref_=tt_cl_t_9
  • Jannika Strååt
    Key Cast
    "Mom"
    https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2269879/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t10
  • Joel Santos
    Composer
    Alien: Alone https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6849201/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cr5
  • David Marquez
    Cinematographer
    https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5835743/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cr6
  • Patrik Sterner
    Editor
    https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0827962/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cr7
  • Yinong Xia
    Editor
    https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8247907/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cr8
  • Camilla Frick Isberg
    Production Design
    https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8926921/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cr9
  • Ronja Reuber
    Production Design
    https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10951675/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cr10
  • Reny Kim
    Costume Design
    https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10415468/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cr13
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Precis som jag
  • Project Type:
    Feature, Student
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 13 minutes 34 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 27, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    100,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Sweden
  • Country of Filming:
    Sweden
  • Language:
    Swedish
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - UCLA Graduate MFA Filmdirecting
Director Biography - Andreas Bjarne Fredrik Thelander

Andreas Thelander is a Swedish film director based in Los Angeles and Stockholm. He is a Graduate MFA Director at UCLA and Just like me is his first feature film he has written, produced and directed.
2002-2003 he went to Stockholm Film School and his short film “Old in Sweden” was screened on the Swedish film channel TV1000 for almost 1,5 years. In 2010 he was part of the location team of David Fincher’s Girl with the dragon tattoo.
Andreas has written and directed over ten short films, and in 2004, he directed his first commercial for SF Bio, which is Sweden’s largest cinema chain.
He has been awarded The Charles & Lucille King Family Foundation Fellowship (2019), The Motion Picture Association of America Award (2018), The UCLA TFT Executive Board Scholarship (2019), and The Paulson Award three times (2019, 2018, 2017).

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

In 2006, I met Maria at a theater event. She was someone who didn't fit in. Someone who stood out. She tried her best, but people rejected her. They thought she was strange, and the things she said and did were odd. You could almost see that it made her sad, that no matter what she did, it was wrong.

That encounter with Maria stuck with me. I thought about how much she tried and attempted to be herself, but still, it went awry. I started to think that we've all been Maria at some point, and we all are at times. Just like her, we've been told to be ourselves, that's when we're at our best. That's when we become true to everything we do, the person we want to be, and how we want to live.

But how do you know that, when everyone keeps rejecting you? When nothing you do is ever good enough? When all your attempts turn out wrong? When you see a goal but don't know the way to get there? When everything you desire is right in front of your eyes, but you can't reach it? No one lets you in, and that panic rises as you are so close, yet you see it slipping through your fingers. It's right there in front of you, and you can't afford to fail, because this might be your last chance. You've never been this close in your entire life and now it's all going wrong. This feeling, this struggle, is what I wanted to convey through Maria to all the boys and girls out there, and let them know they're not alone and it won't be forever. One day they will reach their goals. One day they will be loved. One day they will be let in. One day their dreams will come true.