Saga Becker

Saga Becker (born 1988) is a Swedish actress.[1] Becker is known for her performance as Sebastian in Something Must Break (2014) for which she was nominated for a Rising Star Award at the Stockholm Film Festival in 2014 and won a Guldbagge Award for Best Female Lead Role in 2015.

Saga Becker
Saga Becker in 2015
Born1988 (age 34–35)
Eringsboda, Sweden
NationalitySwedish
OccupationActress
Years active2006–present
Known forSomething Must Break (2014)

Early life

Becker grew up in Eringsboda, Sweden, in a wooded area outside Ronneby. Today she resides in Stockholm.[2] Becker is the eldest child of her parents and has two younger brothers.[3]

When discussing her experience growing up transgender, she said she knew she was different and tried to create a dream world where she saw herself as a girl falling in love with a man. In school, she was bullied and received death threats and as a result of the harassment began to drink alcohol, and both starve and cut herself.[3]

Career

She made her film debut in director Ester Martin Bergsmark's movie Something Must Break (2014) which was based on the novel You Are the Roots That Sleep at My Feet and Keep the Earth in Place by Eli Levén.[4] In April 2014, Becker traveled to New York for the premiere showing at the Tribeca Film Festival.[5] For her role as the character Sebastian/Ellie in the film she won a Guldbagge Award for Best Female Lead Role in 2015 and thereby became the first transgender actress both to be nominated and win a Guldbagge Award.[6][7][8]

Becker was nominated for a Rising Star Award at the Stockholm Film Festival in 2014.[9] In 2015 Becker became the ambassador for the organization Suicide Zero, an organization that works to prevent suicides.[10] Becker had talked about being suicidal before her gender reassignment operation.[10] Becker will, working with Suicide Zero, focus on transgender and gay people at risk.[10]

Becker has demanded that the Swedish film industry give more roles to transgender actors and actresses.[11] In March 2015, Becker became the first person to get tested for HIV at the RFSL's new testing station Testpoint in Stockholm as it had its opening day.[12] Earlier, in February 2015, she had been a guest on the TV4 talk show Malou Efter Tio presented by Malou von Sivers.[13]

On 3 July, 2015, Becker hosted Sommar i P1, broadcast on Sveriges Radio, where she talked about her career and her life as a transgender actress[2] and described her life experience as a transgender person by saying,

Sometimes life has edges, sharp jagged edges that can cut ... and I cut myself all the time for it is difficult to live in a world if one does not exist. To deny oneself to fit in is stressful for both the body and the psyche. Not being able to be [myself] could mean the end. I can not lie anymore. This is my truth.[3]

Awards
Year Nominee / work Award Result
2014 Something Must Break Stockholm Film Festival Rising Star Award Nominated
2015 Guldbagge Award, Best Female Lead Role Won

References
  1. "Saga Becker föddes som man: 'Jag skar mig, hade ätstörningar och ville dö'" (in Swedish). Hänt.se. 16 February 2015. Archived from the original on 2 October 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  2. "Saga Becker" (in Swedish). Sveriges Radio. Archived from the original on 9 September 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  3. "Becker: Det är första gången jag berättar det". Expressen (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 11 August 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  4. "Saga Becker: 'Det där sökandet har jag själv gått igenom'". Sydsvenskan (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 16 September 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  5. "'Something Must Break' Premiere - 2014 Tribeca Film Festival". Zimbio.com. Archived from the original on 30 September 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  6. "De kan vinna årets Guldbaggar". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 8 January 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  7. "2015 års Guldbaggenomineringar". MovieZine (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  8. "Saga Beckers känslosamma tal i Guldbaggen" (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. Archived from the original on 30 September 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  9. "Rising Star Award 2014" (in Swedish). Stockholms filmfestival. Archived from the original on 29 March 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  10. "Saga Becker". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). 18 May 2015. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  11. "Rydhagen: Becker kräver en förändring". Expressen (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 4 September 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  12. "Saga Becker först att ta hiv-test hos RFSL". QX (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  13. "Guldbaggevinnaren Saga Becker om att välja livet" (in Swedish). TV4. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
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