Border producer prepares film about dark side of football

Established Swedish producer Piodor Gustafsson (Border, Moscow Noir) of Black Spark Film & TV told www.nordicfilmandtvnews.com that the project will most probably be very controversial as it raises the question of mental illness among professional footballers. 

Rising talent Ronnie Sandahl, writer of Borg vs McEnroe and writer/director of the film Underdog, has been working three years on the project with Gustafsson. “Ronnie is super-talented and he’s written a fabulous script based on Martin Bengtsson’s book In the Shadow of San Siro, published in 2007,” says the producer. 

The book tells the harrowing experience of Bentgsson whose dream to become a professional footballer came true when he was 17 and signed a contract with Inter Milan football club. However nine months later, he woke up in a hospital in Milan after trying to take his life. 

In the Shadow of San Siro is a behind-the-scene drama of the football world, what happens when your dreams fall apart and how to find your way back to life.

Today Bentgsson is a writer/musician and continues to give lectures to raise awareness on mental illness.  Gustafsson says: “Usually people tell success stories in sport, but some studies have shown that up to 30% of top players in the world suffer from mental illness. It’s just not made public as a lot of money is involved."

The producer says the film will focus on the coming of age story, with the football world as a backdrop. Filming in various locations including in Italy, is set to start late spring. Casting is underway.  The Swedish feature project is co-produced by Denmark’s SF Studios and Italy’s Art of Panic, in association with SVT, RAI, support from the Swedish Film Institute and the Danish Film Institute. Other financing is still in negotiation. TriArt who released Sandahl’s acclaimed feature debut Underdog (Svenskjävel) will handle the Swedish distribution.