Göteborg Film Festival has a history of standout campaigns. In 2021, during lockdowns when it was forced to go digital, it dared a film fan to try watching in total isolation on a rock far out at sea – for a week – with film as his or her only companion. Now it is challenging film enthusiasts to pay for their ticket with the truth.

As truth becomes increasingly negotiable in public discourse, Göteborg Film Festival and BBDO Nordics are testing what honesty is actually worth. With the live experiment, Truth Tickets, visitors can earn festival tickets by passing a real lie detector test. Inside a purpose-built interrogation room, members of the public undergo a polygraph examination conducted by a specialist. Those who tell the truth under pressure are rewarded with a Truth Ticket – paid for not with money, but with honesty. 

“Truth has become strangely negotiable in our time. By turning truth into a currency, we assign it a tangible value that is rarely emphasised. We want to create an experiment where lying has consequences,” stated Pia Lundberg, artistic director of Göteborg Film Festival. 

The campaign idea introduces the festival’s 2026 theme, Focus: Truth. The promotional film stars Alexander Karim and David Dencik, two of Scandinavia’s most internationally renowned actors, is directed by Mats Udd, and explores the value of truth itself, establishing a conceptual framework that will be tested in the live experiment Truth Tickets.

“This year’s theme immediately stood out as something that could be explored beyond the screen. It raises fundamental questions about the value of truth, which led us to ask whether honesty could be treated as something concrete – even priced. Truth Tickets turns that question into a real-world experiment,” commented Mikael Andersson, copywriter at BBDO Nordics. 

Credits:
Creative Agency: BBDO Nordics 
Art Director: Alexander Skoglund 
Copywriters: Mikael Andersson & Karan Arun Nair 
Craft Director: Oskar Ferm 
Design Director: Andreas Silverblad 
Graphic Designer: Sara Helsén 
Executive Creative Director: Malin Wikerberg 
PR Lead: Linnea Nordström 
PR Specialist: Hanna Sandström 
Business Director: Jenny Wikman 
Project Lead: Oliva Olsson 
 
Production Company: Slutet Är Nära 
Director: Mats Udd 
Director of Photography: Jonas Alarik 
Executive Producer: Alexandros Bakos 
Producer: Rima Kassar 
Production Coordinator: Taylor Sipes 
1st AD: Martin Grimlund 
Editor: Simon Pontén 
Colourist: Sofie Borup @ Company 3 
Sound Design: Jacob Felixson 
Online: Dilsah Kavas & Slutet Takeout 

Huge thank you to Annika Dahl and Storyline for gear, the team at Company 3 and Jessica Mittelton at Main Character. 
 
Stills Production: Studio Mint 
Senior Retoucher: Karl Vestklev 
Digital Artist: Anton Forsberg 
 
Client: Göteborg Film Festival 
CEO: Mirja Wester 
Artistic Director: Pia Lundberg 
Head of Marketing and Communications: Erik Toresson Hellqvist 
Head of Event Management: Emma Rygielski 
Head of Sales: Kim Nilsson 
Production Manager: Cali Karlberg 
Event Producer: Edit Larsson 
Set Designer: Agnes Langert 
Content Manager: Sandra Fogel