Sebastian

If you want to achieve something, you must sacrifice something else. The ambitious and charming Max knows this all too well. He’s willing to do whatever it takes in his effort to make it as a young writer in London – even to live a double life and turn the fictional Sebastian into his alter ego. Guided by the motto "write what you know," he starts meeting clients from erotic dating sites, weaving the story of his novel live and first-hand. And the polished university intellectual soon transforms into a seductive companion at wild orgies. But is this switching between roles even sustainable? And what to do when the boundaries between them start crashing down like a house of cards? The film was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

This Finnish-British director based in London made his feature directorial debut with A Moment in the Reeds in 2017. The film was screened at over 80 festivals worldwide, and IndieWire therefore named Mikko one of the 25 most exciting contemporary LGBTQ+ filmmakers on the rise. Before his feature debut, he directed several music and fashion promo videos and worked as an editor on dramas and commercials. He graduated in English and French literature at the University of Nottingham and University College London.