A stellar cast and crew including actors Michael Nyqvist, Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, Academy-award winning production designer Anna Asp have joined Pernilla August’s drama The Serious Game. Filming just started for Swedish production house B-Reel.
Set in Stockholm in the early 20th century, the love story adapted by Lone Scherfig from Hjalmar Söderberg’s 1912 classic novel co-stars Sverrir Gudnason as journalist Arvid Sjöblom and his object of desire, the young Lydia Still played by newcomer Karin Franz Körlof. The rest of the Scandinavian ensemble cast announced yesterday includes Liv Mjönes (Kiss Me), Richard Forsgren (Jordskott), Sven Nordin (Lilyhammer) and Göran Ragnerstam (Jordskott). “We’re extremely pleased to have reunited some of Scandinavia’s most prominent actors. Everyone wanted to work with Pernilla who is such an amazing actor-director,” said producer Patrik Andersson.
August has also brought in several crew members who collaborated on her acclaimed feature debut Beyond, cinematographer Erik Molberg Hansen, costume designer Kicki Ilander, editor Åsa Mossberg. They are joined by music composer Matti Bye (Guldbagge winner for Faro) and production designer Anna Asp who won an Oscar for Fanny and Alexander in 1984. “Pernilla felt that she wouldn’t have dared touching that period film without the collaboration of Anna Asp”, stressed Andersson.
The SEK 46m/€5m) film was produced by B-Reel’s Andersson and Frida Bargo and co-produced by Denmark’s Nimbus Film and Norway’s Motlys, with co-financing from Film i Väst, SVT, Filmregion Stockholm-Mälardalen, Bonnier Books, Reel Ventures, Nordsvensk Filmunderhållning, support from the Swedish, Danish and Norwegian film institutes, Creative Europe and Nordisk Film & TV Fond.
Shooting wraps on May 23 and the premiere in Sweden via Nordisk is set for September 2016. TrustNordisk will kick start pre-sales at the Cannes Film Festival.