Maria Bäck will debut her new feature Brave New Love on Aug. 9, 2026, at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland. The Swedish Danish writer director’s film follows Kate, a mother caught between her husband, Orla, and a secret relationship with Andreas. Starring Kathrine Thorborg Johansen as Kate, Simon Sears as Orla, Anders Danielsen Lie as Andreas and Noemi Carbone Mannov as their daughter Athena, the movie turns a familiar romantic triangle into something far less tidy. Angeliki Papoulia also appears in the cast, while the story leaves viewers to decide whether Kate’s situation is defined by desire, sadness, betrayal or something more complicated. Love Has Rules. Bäck Wants to Know Who Wrote Them. Brave New Love grows out of Bäck’s long-running fascination with the expectations people inherit about relationships. Drawing on decades of observing her own romantic life and those of her friends, Bäck examines how stubborn habits can survive even as modern ideas about love evolve. Bäck describes the film as an exploration of loneliness, shame and the feeling of being fundamentally out of place, rather than an endorsement of open relationships or any single romantic model. Her central argument is messier and more human: people make mistakes, and understanding someone’s inner world can create empathy without turning every choice into a recommendation. Produced by Anna Maria Kantarius, shot by Maria von Hausswolff and edited by Julius Krebs Damsbo, Brave New Love will compete in the main international competition at Locarno’s 79th edition. Reinvent Yellow is handling international sales, giving Bäck’s provocative relationship drama a festival spotlight before its wider release plans take shape.