Saara Lamberg and Jayden Denke in Westermarck Effect.

Saara Lamberg’s Westermarck Effect will celebrate a special Q&A screening at LIDO Cinemas in Melbourne next month.

Never one to shy away from controversy, Lamberg’s new film is said to “take on the taboo of genetic of sexual attraction”.

Here’s the synopsis:

Sally (Lamberg) gave her son, Sam (Jayden Denke), up for adoption twenty years ago. When they reunite, they fall passionately in love with devastating consequences.

“I first read an article about a couple like the one in my film a few years back and it piqued my interest,” says Lamberg.

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“Looking into it, I found this study by a US adoption agency that reported that fifty percent of their reunions end up in feelings of attraction. When I saw that figure, I realised we are not talking small numbers. We are talking a wide spread phenomena that isn’t talked about because it’s a taboo. People are scared to tell the world about their love, because they imght go to jail for it. And that’s when I decided to make this film.

“I’m also just bored with mainstream films, that feel overproduced and safe. I seek out interesting films that challenge my imagination and provide me with new information about the human psyche. Those are the films I want to see, and so those are the films I make. I think there is no better subject for a film than a taboo, because how on earth are we supposed to progress as humans unless we can talk about the difficult stuff?”

Westermarck Effect premiered in Cannes 2022, and it won the best film, best director (Lamberg) and best actor (Denke) awards at the Veracruz World Film Festival.

Audiences will get to ask Lamberg, and her cast and crew, more questions about the film when it screens at LIDO cinemas in Melbourne on Thursday, February 2 at 7pm.