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The final scenes of Joachim Rønning’s “Young Woman and the Sea” are hard to spoil — the film is, after all, based on a true story — and yet, they still surprise. As the film’s own producer, Jerry Bruckheimer, sees it, that’s because the very same history that inspired the Daisy Ridley-starring feature has largely been forgotten. Until, of course: movie adaptation time.

The biographical sports drama follows swimming trailblazer Gertrude “Trudy” Ederle (Ridley), who became the first woman to swim across the English Channel in 1926. Upon the completion of her incredible athletic feat — just one of many we see Trudy tackle in the feature — she was greeted as a hero in her native New York City, care of a ticker-tape parade believed to have been attended by two million people.

“When you see that parade, you can’t believe that you’ve never heard of this athlete,...

Welcome to International Disruptors, a feature where we shine a spotlight on key figures and companies from outside of the U.S. who are shaking up the marketplace. This week, we’re talking to Norwegian director Joachim Rønning, who has worked across projects such as Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and Kon-Tiki. Rønning tells us why he felt compelled to bring the inspirational story of Trudy Ederle, the first woman to successfully swim the English Channel, to life in Young Woman and the Sea and also what audiences can expect with his next project Tron: Ares.

Joachim Rønning has long been fascinated by the sea. Growing up in the small Norwegian seaside town of Sandefjord, his childhood was filled with memories of sailing and being on the open water. “I’m relaxed on the water,” the director tells Deadline. “There’s something so rewarding about being...

“This is a story for the daughters of the world,” declares director Joachim Ronning about honoring the legacy of the young woman at the center of the inspirational story at the heart of ‘Young Woman and the Sea.’ For our recent webchat he adds, “if there’s anything that I am drawn to, it’s true stories and especially true stories that I haven’t heard before. So when I heard this story about Trudy Ederle, I was baffled that I hadn’t heard it before, because it was such a worldwide event when it happened a hundred years ago, and then she’s been forgotten in time. I’m so thrilled that we have been given this opportunity to retell her story for the world. And also I just want to add that I have teenage daughters of my own, and I am always looking for stories for them,...

Beta Film, one of Europe’s biggest and most ambitious independents, has unveiled its Mipcom sales slate, led by 10-part epic “Rise of the Raven,” plus a new pick-up, “Last to Brake,” based on the true story of Finnish motorcycle racing great Jarno Saarinen, and now 288 episodes of Greek daily series smash hit “The Beach.”

Also brought to market are two Eagle Eye Drama shows: singular PBS and Channel 4 procedural “Patience,” starring Laura Fraser (“Breaking Bad”); and “Bookish,” created and starring Emmy Award winner Mark Gatiss, as well as Internet troll redemption’s tale “A Better Man,” from public broadcast powerhouses Nrk and Zdf.

Promising one of Mipcom’s biggest world premieres and billed by Beta Film as one of the most epic European TV productions of all time – which is something coming from Beta, the producers of “Babylon Berlin” and “Swarm” – “Rise of the Raven,” produced by the...

Norway has selected Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel’s Armand, starring Renata Reinsve, to represent it in the Best International Feature Film category at the 97th Oscars.

The drama was selected from a short list of three films that also included Erik Poppe’s psychological drama Quisling – The Final Days and Dag Johan Haugerud’s dark comedy Sex.

Armand is the first feature of Ullmann Tøndel, who is the grandson of Liv Ullmann and Ingmar Bergman. It world premiered in Cannes Un Certain Regard this year, becoming the first Norwegian film to win the Camera d’Or, for best first film across Official Selection and the parallel sections.

Reinsve (The Worst Person in the World) and Ellen Dorrit Petersen co-star as the mothers of 6-year-old elementary schoolboys, called in for a mediation session over whether one of their children abused the other.

The truth of the matter is nebulous, but as the meeting progresses,...

Spoiler Alert: This story discusses major plot points, including the ending for “Young Woman and the Sea,” currently playing in theaters.

While Joachim Rønning read the script for “Young Woman and the Sea,” he made little notes as he went along. When he reached the end, his first thought was, “This is amazing.” His next thought was: How could he possibly capture what he had just read on screen?

“Young Woman and the Sea” tells the story of Trudy Ederle, played by Daisy Ridley, who in 1926 became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. But a case of measles – which nearly killed her and left her with severe hearing loss, stood in her way, along with sexism. Yet, she overcame the odds. Rønning’s challenge was balancing backstory with motivation, going on the journey with the character, and then being there as she achieves that goal.

The filmmaker...

Young Woman and the Sea allowed Norwegian director Joachim Rønning to return to his roots in more ways than one.

As he was helming Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017) and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019) for Disney, Rønning was in development on a biopic about Olympic swimmer Gertrude “Trudy” Ederle, who became the first woman to swim across the English Channel in 1926. What would normally seem like a big left turn for a filmmaker who’d been steeped in fantasy worlds was actually a return to the genre of historical drama that first launched his Hollywood career.

In 2013, Rønning and co-director Espen Sanderg’s Norwegian film, Kon-Tiki, received an Oscar nomination for best foreign language film at the 85th Academy Awards. The picture chronicled Thor Heyerdahl’s 1947 expedition from South America to the islands of Polynesia, as both Kon-Tiki and Young Woman and the Sea are...

At every step in Joachim Rønning’s gripping old-school adaptation of Glenn Stout’s non-fiction book, Young Woman and the Sea, Daisy Ridley’s based-on-real-life Gertrude “Trudy” Ederle faces a whole host of obstacles, only one greater and more significant than the treacherous 21-mile-long English Channel Ederle hoped to cross almost a century ago: the invisible patriarchal structure that surrounds Trudy, threatening to suffocate her aquatic dreams. When we first meet Trudy, she’s face-to-face with the crashing waves of the English Channel, her body covered in heat-preserving grease, her eyes lingering on the far horizon. Moments later, Rønning deftly hits the rewind button, taking us back to Trudy’s preteen days. The second daughter of...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Director Joachim Rønning talks to us about his new biopic Young Woman And The Sea, Daisy Ridley, Tron: Ares, and filming on the ocean.

Having previously made the period drama Kon-Tiki and the similarly ocean-bound Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Norwegian director Joachim Rønning has again taken to the water with the upcoming biopic, Young Woman And The Sea. Starring Daisy Ridley as pioneering swimmer Gertrude ‘Trudy’ Ederle in her attempt to cross the English Channel in 1926, it’s an upbeat and handsomely-crafted and acted drama.

In fact, the movie was so popular with test audiences that Disney decided to give the film a limited cinema release rather than put it straight on its streaming platform; it’s a deserved bit of early recognition for a movie that has clearly had a lot of care and effort put into its making.

As Rønning himself explained when...

There was a time when Disney made ideal family movies that weren’t animated, or live action reboots of animated films. In fact, there was a time when Walt Disney would take on original live action true stories designed for the whole family to enjoy.

Now, thanks to the efforts of director Joachim Ronning and mega-producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s clout and dedication, the studio has an echo of its past with Young Woman And The Sea, the true biopic and inspiring saga of Trudy Ederle.

In 1926, she became the first woman to swim the English Channel from France to England. Ederle’s remarkable achievement has nearly been forgotten and overlooked in the 100 years since it happened. But thanks to Glenn Stout’s 2009 book, Young Woman And The Sea: How Trudy Ederle Conquered The English Channel And Inspired The World, and A-List screenwriter Jeff Nathanson who discovered the book while rummaging through a bookstore one day and was convinced it would be a great film, the movie’s long journey to the screen is a successful one.

It still took years even for Bruckheimer to convince Disney to make it, and it is getting only a limited theatrical release before streaming. But hopefully, the inevitable word of mouth for this crowd-pleaser will make it more than limited. This is a big screen film that deserves to be seen with an audience, and not lost in the streaming larder. It also proves that they do make ’em like they used to, at least occasionally.

Basically following the linear story of Trudy (Olive Abercrombie plays the young Trudy), we see her early family life, and then her desire to make a difference for girls. The place she could do that was in the pool, an effort supported by her mother (Jeanette Hain), who knew from a previous ocean tragedy that learning to swim was important for her kids. That not only went for Trudy (Daisy Ridley), but also her older sister Meg (Tilda Cobham-Hervey), who would go on to become her sister’s biggest supporter, even on the boat that accompanied Trudy as she took on the English Channel.

Before that happened in 1926, Trudy would triumph and win a gold medal at the 1924 Paris Olympics. But taking on this task thought only possible for the male-dominated society of the time was something she became determined to do. It is no spoiler to say that indeed, on her second try, she did it even when it appeared she might be dead towards the end of the journey when she got lost in the darkness and separated from those keeping track of her. And in so doing this unheard-of feat, Trudy, who was partially deaf due to a childhood illness, beat previous male records by nearly two hours at 14 hours and 31 minutes (it held for 35 years), and this New York native got the largest victory parade ever in the history of the city. Ever.

But the crux of the story is seeing the perseverance it took to achieve this milestone, a belief that you never give up. Ridley simply embodies that spirit of this young woman (who eventually went deaf and died in 2003 at age 98) and delivers a memorable performance, including complete authenticity in her quest. Cobham-Hervey is excellent as well, and the parents are nicely played by Kim Bodnia as Henry, a dedicated German-born butcher and father who feared for his daughter, but then became a #1 fan, and especially by Hain, superb as the wise and determined mother, Gertrude, with a mind of her own and the will to do what is best for her family.

Stephen Graham is excellent and a lot of fun as the most unlikely of coaches, a man who, in 1911, became the second person to swim the Channel, and now is key to helping Trudy make history.

As you might expect with a Bruckheimer production, it looks magnificent, with excellent cinematography both above and below the waves (Oscar Faura was the Dp), production design from Nora Takacs Ekberg, and a sweeping score by Amelia Warner. Pulling all this off with so many water scenes could not have been easy, but Ronning, well-versed in water from Kon-Tiki and Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (which he did for Bruckheimer) was clearly the right choice for the job. It looks sensational.

Producers are Bruckheimer, Nathanson, and Chad Oman.

Title: Young Woman And The Sea

Distributor: Walt Disney Studios

Release Date: May 31, 2024

Director: Joachim Ronning

Screenplay: Jeff Nathanson

Cast: Daisy Ridley, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Stephen Graham, Kim Bodnia, Jeanette Hain, Christopher Eccleston, Glenn Fleshler, Sian Clifford, Olive Abercrombie

Rating: PG

Running Time: 2 Hours and 9 Minutes...

To celebrate the release Young Woman and the Sea, the anticipate true story of the first woman to swim across the English Channel, we had the pleasure of chatting to the film’s leading lady, legendary producer and acclaimed director to find out more.

Young Woman and The Sea is a biopic that tells the incredible story of Trudy Ederle (Daisy Ridley) who, back in 1926 was the first woman to swim the English Channel at a time when sports were not inclusive of or welcoming to women.

Related: Our red carpet premiere interviews for Young Woman and the Sea

Chatting first to Ridley, we speak about swimming, her fear of the open oceans, early childhood memories of winning strange prizes for big feats, training compared to her arduous work on Star Wars and, of course, her return as Rey in the upcoming film and why it fan reactions to the news means so much.

“They don’t make ‘em like this anymore,” we wistfully say these days when praising skillful mainstream movies, ones that remind us of a past when Hollywood used to stir us more regularly through moving original films.

There is truth in that overused nostalgic acclaim, even though few movies actually deserve it as much as Joachim Rønning’s (“Kon-Tiki”) classically glorious “Young Woman and The Sea,” a defiantly big-screen, consistently enthralling biopic that both earns one’s genuine tears, and inspires everyone of all ages to dream a little bigger, go a little further.

For the film’s wondrous rebel Trudy Ederle, who became the first woman to swim across the treacherous 21-mile English Channel in 1926, that big dream at first wasn’t even becoming a legitimate athlete, let alone a history-making pioneer. Born to German immigrant parents of modest means in the Coney Island of 1905, Trudy just wanted to swim,...

Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges is set to return for Tron: Ares, his third film in the long-running sci-fi franchise from Disney, sources have confirmed to Deadline.

The actor revealed the news in a recent appearance on the Film Comment podcast, stating, “I’m heading off this Saturday to play a part in the third installment of the ‘Tron’ story. Jared Leto is the star of this third one. I’m really anxious to work with him; I’ve admired his work.”

Entering production in Vancouver in January, Tron: Ares follows Leto’s highly sophisticated Program, Ares, who is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first encounter with A.I. beings. Also starring Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Hasan Minhaj, Jodie Turner-Smith, Arturo Castro, Cameron Monaghan, and Gillian Anderson, pic’s director is Joachim Rønning, who helmed both Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales...

"C'mon girl, kick your feet!" Disney has revealed an official trailer for their summer movie Young Woman and the Sea, based on the true story of the first woman to ever swim across the English Channel. It's set to open at the end of May and we've been waiting to finally see a trailer. "21 miles and a nice day for a swim." Daisy Ridley stars as Trudy Ederle, an American woman who grew up in Manhattan and learned to swim in New Jersey. After winning a gold medal at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, she eventually made the incredible English Channel swim from France to England in 1926 at the age of 20. This also co-stars Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Stephen Graham, Kim Bodnia, Christopher Eccleston, and Glenn Fleshler. It's directed by Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Rønning (of Kon-Tiki and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales), adapted from Glenn Stout's book,...

You know what I miss? Disney's inspirational true story dramas and sports movies. As easy and often valid as it is to poke holes in their predictable narrative structures and complain about them reducing even the most unbelievable real-life events to a cookie-cutter formula, we could do with some earnest, uplifting pictures about marginalized people defying the odds to realize their dreams right about now. We got some pretty good -- not to mention culturally sensitive -- ones in the '10s, too, including "McFarland, USA" and "Queen of Katwe." Sadly, however, modest to disappointing box office returns have since led to those types of offerings being relegated to streaming only (see also: the underappreciated Willem Dafoe adventure film "Togo").

That was also the original plan for "Young Woman and the Sea," a biographical swimming drama anchored (no pun intended) by none other than Rey Skywalker herself, Daisy Ridley. Luckily,...

Disney on Thursday unveiled the first still from Tron: Ares, the third film in the Tron sci-fi franchise, which went into production in Vancouver in January. Check out the pic below.

Starring Jared Leto, the film follows a highly sophisticated Program, Ares, who is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first encounter with A.I. beings. It’s directed by Joachim Rønning, who helmed both Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil for Disney following his breakout with 2012’s Kon-Tiki, with Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Hasan Minhaj, Jodie Turner-Smith, Arturo Castro, Cameron Monaghan, and Gillian Anderson rounding out the cast.

Jesse Wigutow and Jack Thorne wrote the script, with Sean Bailey, Jeffrey Silver, Justin Springer, Leto, Emma Ludbrook and Steven Lisberger producing alongside executive producer Russell Allen. The film is slated for release...

Exclusive: Double Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress Gillian Anderson has signed on to join the cast of Tron: Ares, the third film in the Tron sci-fi franchise from Disney.

Anderson joins a buzzy cast that includes Jared Leto, Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim), and Past Lives breakout Greta Lee. Details of Anderson’s character and the film’s wider plot are currently under wraps, but Disney has confirmed the pic will follow Leto as Ares, a fictional character who crosses over from the world of videogames to planet Earth.

Directing Tron: Ares is Joachim Rønning (Kon-Tiki), who helmed both Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil for Disney following his breakout with 2012’s Kon-Tiki. Evan Peters, Cameron Monaghan, and Sarah Desjardins round out the cast. Jesse Wigutow and Jack Thorne wrote the script, while Emma Ludbrook, Jeffrey Springer, and Leto are producing, with...

Filmmaker Joachim Rønning took to Instagram to let followers know that Monday was supposed to be the first day of production for his upcoming Disney movie, Tron: Ares, however, “we are shut down with over a hundred and fifty people laid off,” he says due to WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

“It’s indefinite, which makes it exponentially harder for everyone,” he adds.

Rønning then urged, “The AMPTP, SAG-AFTRA and WGA need to speed up the negotiating process and not leave the table until it’s done.”

“This is Hollywood. We close deals for breakfast. Why do we suddenly have all the time in the world when every day is so precious? These tactics are extremely frustrating. It’s time for diplomacy so we can get back to work – under conditions that are fair to everybody #amptp #sagaftra #wga,” he added.

Deadline sources inform us that production on Tron: Ares...

Exclusive: Shameless alum Cameron Monaghan has closed a deal to join Jared Leto and more in Tron: Ares, the third film in the Tron sci-fi franchise from Disney. Details as to Monaghan’s character are under wraps, though the film will follow Leto’s computer program Ares on a journey from the digital world to that of humans.

Directing Tron: Ares is Joachim Rønning (Kon-Tiki), who helmed both Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil for Disney following his breakout with 2012’s Kon-Tiki. Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith and Greta Lee round out the cast of the pic penned by Jesse Wigutow and Jack Thorne, which is reportedly eyeing an August start, should a SAG-AFTRA strike be avoided. Emma Ludbrook, Jeffrey Springer and Leto will produce, with Russell Allen serving as executive producer.

The Tron film series launched with a 1982 title starring...

Viaplay Content Distribution has closed the first raft of deals for its ambitious action drama film “Stockholm Bloodbath” directed by Mikael Håfström.

Ahead of Viaplay’s official streaming premiere in 2024, “Stockholm Bloodbath” will be distributed in the Nordics by Scanbox Entertainment. It will roll out in Denmark on Jan. 18th and in Sweden and Norway on Jan. 19. Splendid Film, meanwhile, has acquired all rights for Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland.

“Stockholm Bloodbath” is part of Viaplay Content Distribution’s roster which will be unveiled at the Cannes Film Festival to international buyers. The company will present new and exclusive material from the film.

Set in 1520, “Stockholm Bloodbath” explores a dark chapter in Sweden’s history, which saw the infamous massacre of nearly 100 nobles and civilians in the Swedish capital. The film follows Anne (Sophie Cookson) and her foster sister Freja (Alba August) as they seek revenge on the men who...

With the Academy Awards just a month away, it’s the perfect time to look at fun facts, trivia and tidbits for both this year and historically.

John Williams, who just turned 91, reaped his 53rd Oscar nomination for scoring Steven Spielberg’s movie memoir “The Fabelmans.” Three of his five Oscar wins are for Spielberg films. His first Oscar nomination was for Best Music for 1967’s “Valley of the Dolls” and his first win was for Best Music (scoring adaptation and original song score) for 1971’s “Fiddler on the Roof.” And what was the first film he scored? The long-forgotten 1958 Aip release 1958 “Daddy-o.”

In terms of nominations, Williams is second only to Walt Disney. During his 40-plus year film career, he received 26 Oscar — 22 of those were competitive — and a staggering 59 bids. At the 5th Oscars, he won an honorary Oscar for creating Mickey Mouse, while winning the Academy Award for...

Korslund is leaving Nordisk Film after 18 years.

Lone Korslund is leaving Nordisk Film after 18 years to become creative director of Scanbox Entertainment Productions as of September 1.

Korslund had most recently served as vice president for acquisitions, co-productions and creative partnerships at Nordisk Film, where she worked on projects like The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Kon-Tiki, A Man Called Ove, Snabba Cash and Beck.

Scanbox is ramping up in-house productions, both films and series, alongside its long-running pan-Nordic distribution business.

Scanbox is headquartered in Copenhagen with branches in Stockholm, Oslo and Helsinki.

17 films to watch from the summer festivals...

Korslund is leaving Nordisk Film after 18 years.

Lone Korslund is leaving Nordisk Film after 18 years to become creative director of Scanbox Entertainment Productions as of September 1.

Korslund had most recently served as vice president for acquisitions, co-productions and creative partnerships at Nordisk Film, where she worked on projects like The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Kon-Tiki, A Man Called Ove, Snabba Cash and Beck.

Scanbox is ramping up in-house productions, both films and series, alongside its long-running pan-Nordic distribution business.

Scanbox is headquartered in Copenhagen with branches in Stockholm, Oslo and Helsinki.

17 films to watch from the summer festivals...

Joachim Trier now holds the personal record for the most Amanda wins.

The Worst Person In The World was the big winner of Norway’s Amanda Awards last night, winning five prizes at the ceremony held during the Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund.

Worst Person took home the best film title as well as best actress for Renate Reinsve, best supporting actor for Anders Danielsen Lie and the people’s choice award. Joachim Trier shared the best screenplay prize with his longtime co-writer Eskil Vogt, which means Trier now holds the personal record for the most Amanda wins.

The Innocents,...

Joachim Trier’s Oscar-nominated smash “The Worst Person in the World,” about a young woman trying to figure out what – and who – she really wants in her life, won big at Norway’s Amanda Awards on Saturday night, scooping five statuettes, including one for best film.

Trier, who now holds the title for most Amanda Awards, also won for best screenplay with his long-time collaborator Eksil Vogt. The film’s breakout star Renate Reinsve, already awarded at Cannes, picked up her first Amanda for her portrayal of Julie, with Anders Danielsen Lie named best supporting actor.

Back in February, Reinsve – who will be next seen in “A Different Man” alongside Sebastian Stan – opened up about her work with Trier, which started in 2011 on “Oslo, August 31st,” her very first feature film.

“I was an extra with one line. I had nothing to compare it to – it was my first movie set.

For its 50th edition unspooling Aug. 20-26, Norway’s top film event, the Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund, will be treating its 400-plus international guests and local audiences with a beefed-up onsite program of 72 feature length films and 19 shorts.

“We’ve had more films to choose from than ever before, “says festival honcho Tonje Hardersen about her non-competitive program, put together in close collaboration with local distributors and exhibitors. “We can still see the post-covid effects on distribution as many titles were delayed. We have therefore slightly older films – from 2020 up to 2022 – which is unusual. But this makes for an exceptional program, hopefully for all tastes,” she adds.

World premieres take in the blockbuster Norwegian opener ‘War Sailor’ by Gunnar Vikene starring Kristoffer Joner (‘The Revenant’), Pål Sverre Hagen (‘Kon-Tiki’), and Ine Marie Wilmann (‘Homesick’), about Norwegian war sailors’ heroic efforts during WWII. Prolific outfit Mer Film (‘The Innocents’) is producing,...

Variety has been given exclusive access to the first teaser for Norwegian drama “War Sailor,” which follows two Norwegian sailors whose merchant ship is attacked by German submarines at the outbreak of World War II. Beta Cinema will be selling the film at the Cannes Market.

The film centers on Alfred Garnes, a working-class sailor, who has recently become the father of a third child, and his childhood friend Sigbjørn Kvalen, known as Wally. The men are working on a merchant ship in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean when World War II breaks out. The two men struggle for survival in a spiral of violence and death, where at any moment German submarines may attack their vessel.

Meanwhile, Alfred’s wife Cecilia struggles through the war alone in Bergen. When British aircrafts attempt to bomb the German submarine bunker in Bergen, they instead hit the elementary school at Laksevåg and civilian homes at Nøstet,...

The Worst Person in the World a Norwegian saga of a young willy-nilly woman who finds peace with herself directed by Joachim Trier,

The final film in Trier’s Oslo trilogy, The Worst Person In The World earned its star Renate Reinsve the best actress prize in Cannes, and she went on to a European Film Awards nomination. Reinsve stars as a young woman navigating the troubled waters of her love life and her struggles to find a career path. Trier’s Reprise and Thelma were both submitted for this category — but neither made the shortlist. Norway did make the shortlist last year with Maria Sødahl’s Hope, and was last nominated in 2012 with Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg’s Kon-Tiki.

After its Cannes premiere it went on to play in Serbia at the European Film Festival Palic),Karlovy Vary, Jerusalem, Deauville American Film Festival), Toronto, New York Film, Hamptons, Woodstock and BFI London Film Festivals.

This was emotionally complex and satisfying but in that it was more personal vs. universal I don’t think it will win the Oscar, though it deserves to be nominated and in a different line-up would win.

Watch the trailer here.

Isa MK2 has licensed the movie to Neon for USA, Madman for Australia/ Nz, Cineart for Benelux, Camera for Denmark, Memento for France, Mozinet for Hungary, Gaga for Japan, Front Row for Middle East and Africa, Sf Studios for Norway, M2 for Poland, Alambique for Portugal, Independenta for Romania, Anticipate for Singapore, Elastica for Spain, Triart for Sweden, Frenetic for Switzerland, Hooray for Taiwan, Arthouse Traffic for Ukraine, Mubi for France, Germany, Latin America, Turkey, India.

TrustNordisk has sold “Nothing to Laugh About,” Petter Næss’s Norwegian drama comedy which played at the Zürich Film Festival in 2020. Næss is best known for his Oscar-nominated film “Elling” and has been working in TV and theatre in recent years.

Set in Oslo, Norway’s capital, the heartfelt dramedy is about a 40-year-old stand-up comedian who has the worst day ever: he loses his job and his girlfriend, and is diagnosed with a cancer. He learns to cope with his illness and somehow finds laughter again. The cast is headlined by “Kon-Tiki star Odd Magnus Williamsom, who also wrote the script.

TrustNordisk has sold the film to Switzerland (Ascot Elite), Estonia (Estin Film) and Czech Republic and Slovakia (Pilot Film)

“Nothing to Laugh About” was produced by Gudny Hummelvoll and Eleonore Anselme at Hummelfilm alongside, Rikke Ennis for REInvent Studios, in co-production with Aihl Films, with support from the Norwegian Film Institute,...

Robsahm will move from Motlys and Oslo Pictures where he presently works.

Norway’s Thomas Robsahm, Joachim Trier’s producer on The Worst Person in the World, Thelma and Louder Than Bombs, has joined Nordisk Film Production as producer.

He leaves the two production outfits which are his current homes, Motlys (since 2013) and Oslo Pictures (since 2018).

Robsahm is also a director, most recently of the music documentary a-ha: The Movie, which premiered at Tribeca 2021. He has more than 50 film credits as a producer, including Margreath Olin’s Self Portrait, Emil Trier’s Trust Me and Maria Sodahl’s Hope.

The Worst Person in the World,...

The movie awards’ season is in full flower with such films as Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog”; Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story”; Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast,” Guillermo Del Toro’s “Nightmare Alley” and Joel Coen’s “The Tragedy of Macbeth” among the favorites for top prizes. But one thing we know for certain is that there is no sure thing when it comes to the Oscars. Consider the case of seventy years ago. Not only were there surprises among the nominees, but there were also some shocks when it came to the winners of the 1952 Oscars.

Let’s revisit the 24th Academy Awards, which took place March 20, 1952 at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood and were hosted by Danny Kaye. This was the last time the ceremony was presented on radio. The show moved to television the following year. Among the presenters that evening were Lucille Ball,...

Norway has selected Joachim Trier’s Cannes hit The Worst Person In The World as its submission to the Oscars’ International Feature Film category. The choice was made by the Norwegian Oscar Committee which had earlier shortlisted three pictures, opting for Trier’s third installment of the Oslo Trilogy which the committee believes “has a unique opportunity to reach all the way to an Oscar for best international film.”

Committee chief, Kjersti Mo, who is also Director of the Norwegian Film Institute, called the movie a “tribute to film art in the form of a drama comedy that conveys deep seriousness with playful lightness and elegance.” This is Trier’s third time repping his home country.

The Worst Person In The World debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in July, winning the Best Actress prize for lead Renate Reinsve. It later went on to play myriad festivals including Karlovy Vary,...

After a stellar year picking up awards at Berlin, South by Southwest, Edinburgh and Melbourne, “Ninjababy” continued its prize-winning streak at Norway’s top plaudits for national movies, the Amanda Awards. Their prize ceremony kicked off the Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund on Saturday night.

The second feature from TV-film director Yngvild Sve Flikke (“Women in Oversized Men’s Shirts”), the ebullient comedy-drama film won out in four major categories: director, actress (Kristine Kujath Thorp), supporting actor (Nader Khademi) and screenplay.

Flikke’s sophomore feature is based on the graphic novel by Sætre, The Art of Falling,” which itself won numerous youth literature awards in 2012 for the Norwegian illustrator. The film follows aspiring artist Rakel, 23, who unexpectedly discovers she is six months pregnant and that the father is not her boyfriend, The story then pursues a series of comedic, yet grounded, twists and turns.

“I’m a restless person,...

Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Rønning to direct based on story of ’70s glam rock band

A music biopic called “Shout It Out Loud” about legendary rock band Kiss is in the works, and Netflix is nearing a deal to acquire the film package, an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap.

Joachim Rønning, the Norwegian director behind “Kon-Tiki,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” and “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil,” will direct the film. Kiss’ Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley will collaborate on the project, which spans the band’s story on stage and off. Ole Sanders wrote the latest draft of the script, with a previous draft coming from W. Blake Harron.

Netflix had no comment. A rep for the band said there are ongoing conversations with Netflix but no agreement has been signed.

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The famed Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen led the first expedition to reach the South Pole, so when you watch “Amundsen: The Greatest Expedition,” you may think you’ve got a good idea of the movie you have in store: an adventure at once exciting and treacherous, set in the frozen wilderness, with a stoic Nordic hero at its center — the kind of man who might have been played a few decades ago by Max von Sydow. “Amundsen” has scattered moments of tense physical drama, set against glacial Arctic vistas of fantastic authenticity. You really feel like you’re there.

The movie opens with two men in a propeller plane conking out in the middle of the icy nowhere. One of them is the aging Roald Amundsen (Pål Sverre Hagen), who reveals a hawkish profile of calm, imperious, almost sneering indomitability; the other is a man who can no longer feel his feet.

The performances in Maria Sødahl’s stunning piece of auto-fiction are superb. Oscar-shortlisted Hope (Håp) hopes to become the sixth film from Norway (joining Arne Skouen’s Nine Lives; Nils Gaup’s Pathfinder; Berit Nesheim’s The Other Side of Sunday; Petter Næss’s Elling; Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg’s Kon-Tiki) to be nominated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in what is now called Best International Feature Film. Nicole Kidman recently bought the rights for Hope to star in a series adaptation of the director’s story.

Anja (Andrea Bræin Hovig) returning home to Oslo from directing a successful stage production abroad, is greeted by her youngest child, 10-year-old Isak (Daniel Storm Forthun Sandbye), on the staircase of their building. He is wearing a pig...

REinvent International Sales has closed Germany on Charlotte Sieling’s anticipated epic period drama, “Margrete – Queen of the North,” starring Trine Dyrholm (“The Commune”), licensing the film to Splendid Film.

The film stars Dyrholm, the award-winning actress of Thomas Vinterberg’s “The Commune” and May el-Toukhy’s “Queen of Hearts,” as Margrete I of Denmark, who is considered the most powerful ruler in Scandinavian history, as she gathered Denmark, Norway and Sweden into a peaceful union.

“Margrete· brings a fascinating “royal” and internationally hardly-known story to the screen, in an equally fascinating historical setting,” said

Rainer Flaskamp, head of acquisitions and sales at Splendid Film.

The historical drama has “a deep emotional angle and a lot of female power and involving some of Scandinavia’s best talent,” he added.

Helene Aurø, sales and marketing director at REinvent said that the company was “thrilled that Splendid has come onboard at an...

Nordic production and distribution powerhouse Sf Studios and sales agency REinvent International Sales have revealed a sneak peek of Charlotte Sieling’s epic period drama “Margrete – Queen of the North,” starring Trine Dyrholm, a Berlin Silver Bear winner for best actress with Thomas Vinterberg’s “The Commune.”

Dyrholm, whose credits also include Susanne Bier’s Oscar winner “In a Better World” and May el-Toukhy’s “Queen of Hearts,” toplines as Margrete the First, who is considered the most powerful ruler in Scandinavian history, as she gathered Denmark, Norway and Sweden into a peace-oriented union.

With a big budget by Scandinavian standards, “Margrete – Queen of the North” marks the first biopic movie about Margrete the First, a woman ahead of her time who sacrificed herself completely for her vision and for her countries. “Margrete -Queen of the North” is one of the titles set to be presented in the work in...

Exclusive: Disney+ is negotiating for Daisy Ridley to star and Joachim Rønning to direct Young Woman and the Sea, a Jeff Nathanson-scripted drama based on the book by Glenn Stout that chronicles the daring journey of the first woman to ever swim across the English Channel. Gertrude “Trudy” Ederle made the 21-mile swim in 1926.

Jerry Bruckheimer and Chad Oman are producing.

Pic brings all of the participants back into the Disney fold. Ridley starred in the three Star Wars films, episodes VII through IX. The project came to Disney out of turnaround at Paramount, and Bruckheimer brought it to the studio where he produced the Pirates of the Caribbean films. Rønning directed 2017’s Pirates of the Caribbean; Dead Men Tell No Tales, and Nathanson wrote it. Rønning has further experience shooting on the water with another true story, 2012’s Oscar nominated Kon-Tiki. He most recently directed Maleficent: Mistress of Evil for Disney.

Bookmark this page for all the latest international feature submissions.

Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2021 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.

Scroll down for the full list

The 93rd Academy Awards is set to take place on April 25, 2021. It was originally set to be held on February 28, before both the ceremony and eligibility period were postponed for two months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Submitted films must have been released in their respective countries between the expanded dates of October 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020. (Last year it was October-September.

Norway has selected Maria Sodhal’s Hope as its submission to the International Feature Film Oscar race. The drama world premiered in the Discovery section of the 2019 Toronto Film Festival and was screened in Panorama at Berlin this year. There, it took the Europa Cinemas Label Award and earlier this week garnered two European Film Awards nominations, for Sodhal in the European Director category and for star Andrea Braein Hovig in European Actress. Stellan Skarsgard also stars.

Hovig plays Anja, a 43-year-old woman who receives a terminal brain cancer diagnosis the day before Christmas. Together with partner Tomas (Skarsgard), they live in a large combined family, but for years, the couple has grown independent of each other. When Anja is given three months to live, their life breaks down and exposes neglected love.

Says Sødahl, “What a week! Two European Film Awards nominations and the Norwegian Oscar candidate. I’m overjoyed.

Bookmark this page for all the latest international feature submissions.

Submissions for the best international feature film award at the 2021 Academy Awards have started to come in, and Screen is keeping a running list of each film below.

Scroll down for the full list

The 93rd Academy Awards is set to take place on April 25, 2021. It was originally set to be held on February 28, before both the ceremony and eligibility period were postponed for two months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Submitted films must have been released in their respective countries between the expanded dates of October 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020. (Last year it was October-September.

Exclusive: Joker and The Matrix co-producer Village Roadshow Pictures has optioned and is looking to fast-track The Prize, a spec feature written by Buried and Greenland scribe Chris Sparling with Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales co-helmer Espen Sandberg aboard to direct.

The conspiracy thriller follows an American private investigator who travels to Stockholm after the suspicious death of an old friend, a ranking member of the Nobel Prize selection committee, only to become entangled in a dangerous web of corruption and crime that exists beneath the surface of the powerful and rarefied circle.

Sparling and Zach Studin (McCarthy) will produce. Jillian Apfelbaum will oversee for Village Roadshow. UTA Independent Film Group will handle U.S. sales.

Sparling script Greenland, the action-thriller starring Gerard Butler, is currently on release. Contained thriller Buried with Ryan Reynolds was a breakout hit in 2010. Sandberg is well known for projects including Max Manus,...

Dcm Film, the German distribution and production outfit with credits including Quartet and Kon-Tiki, has bought into Zurich-based cinema group Arthouse Commercio Movie (Acm).

The chain, set up in the 1970s, operates seven theaters in the Swiss city and also has eight restaurants, with a ninth soon to open. As of July 15, Dcm will take over programming, communications and marketing for the venues.

Arthouse Commercio owners Hans G. Syz and Nicolas von Graffenried said, “Dcm is not just a distributor of films, but a producer too – and the name stands for hand-picked tales of high quality. The enterprise benefits from both a wealth of interdisciplinary expertise and an international network. They also have a stake in the Metrograph in New York. The insights Acm will be given into other markets and business models in the competitive film-viewing environment can only be to Acm’s advantage. What’s more, Dcm demonstrate a real spirit of innovation,...

Rakuten and The H Collective have set Deadpool and Homeland star Morena Baccarin to lead survival thriller Beast for Oscar nominated Kon-Tiki co-director Espen Sandberg. Beast is the first film under the Rakuten H Collective Studio joint venture that was launched last August. Principal photography will begin in late March in New Zealand.

The story is based on Aaron W Sala’s Blacklist script, and is described as the hard-hitting tale of a woman who survives a plane crash and is stranded on a seemingly deserted island in the South Pacific. She must fight to get back to her children, face her inner demons and a real threat of unimaginable proportions.

Sherryl Clark and Kenneth Huang are producing for The H Collective alongside Rakuten Chairman and CEO Mickey Mikitani.

Sandberg, whose credits also include Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, says Beast merges horror, thriller, action and dramatic elements,...

“Deadpool” and “Homeland” actress Morena Baccarin will star in the survival thriller “Beast,” to be directed by Espen Sandberg, who co-helmed Oscar-nominated “Kon-Tiki” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.”

Based on Aaron W. Sala’s Blacklist script, “Beast” is about a woman who survives a plane crash and is stranded on a seemingly deserted island in the South Pacific. “She must fight to get back to her children, face her inner demons and a real threat of unimaginable proportions,” according to a statement from the producers.

Sherryl Clark and Kenneth Huang are producing for The H Collective alongside Rakuten’s Mickey Mikitani. Shooting will begin in late March in New Zealand. “Beast” is the first film under the joint venture between Rakuten and The H Collective, who first partnered in August.

Sandberg said: “For me ‘The Beast’ is a story about a woman who is forced...

The upcoming survival thriller The Beast, co-produced by Japanese internet giant Rakuten and Los Angeles-based film outfit The H Collective, has found its director and star.

Norwegian filmmaker Espen Sandberg, best known for Kon-Tiki and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, has signed on to direct, while Morena Baccarin is set to play the lead. The casting was announced Wednesday in Berlin ahead of the start of the Berlin International Film Festival and European Film Market. Christine Crokos was previously attached to helm The Beast but has left the project.

Described as a "hard-hitting survival thriller," The Beast ...

The upcoming survival thriller The Beast, co-produced by Japanese internet giant Rakuten and Los Angeles-based film outfit The H Collective, has found its director and star.

Norwegian filmmaker Espen Sandberg, best known for Kon-Tiki and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, has signed on to direct, while Morena Baccarin is set to play the lead. The casting was announced Wednesday in Berlin ahead of the start of the Berlin International Film Festival and European Film Market. Christine Crokos was previously attached to helm The Beast but has left the project.

Described as a "hard-hitting survival thriller," The Beast ...

Principal Photography set for late March in New Zealand.

Tokyo-based internet services company Rakuten and The H Collective have hired Morena Baccarin to star in the survival thriller Beast for Espen Sandberg.

Beast marks the first film under the joint venture between Rakuten and The H Collective after the parties announced their partnership in August.

The H Collective president of production Sherryl Clark and chairman Kenneth Huang are producing alongside Rakuten chairman and CEO Mickey Mikitani. Principal Photography is scheduled to begin in late March in New Zealand.

Based on Aaron W. Sala’s The Black List screenplay, Beast is...

The big-budget production will start shooting on March 2, with a premiere planned for spring 2021.

Award-winning Queen Of Hearts actress Trine Dyrholm will play a different kind of queen in Charlotte Sieling’s historical epic Margrete – Queen Of The North.

The Danish actress plays Margrete I, who gathered Denmark, Norway and Sweden into a peace-oriented union. In 1402, a conspiracy threatens to ruin her.

The film’s budget is larger than typical Scandinavian productions, at $9.4m (8.7m Euros).

The cast is a who’s who of pan-Scandinavian talent, also including Søren Malling (The Killing), Morten Hee Andersen (Ride Upon The Storm), Jakob Oftebro...