London-based sales and impact outfit Together Films has picked up international rights to the Swedish love drama “Lisa & Lilly,” produced by Fifth Season’s Scandi production powerhouse Nordic Drama Queens.
The project, due to start lensing in August, marks the feature length debut of helmer Julia Lindström, credited for Netflix’ “Young Royals” Season 3, “The New Force” and the 2020 Göteborg Festival best short film “Daddy’s Girl.” Top crew attached include Norwegian cinematographer Cecilie Semec (Dag Johan Haugerud trilogy “Sex-Dreams-Love”) and Estonian production designer Jaagup Roomet (“Never Alone,” “The Invisible Fight”).
Heading the cast, to be officially announced May 13 in Cannes, are Bianca Delbravo, the revelation of the 2023 Venice Horizon multiple winner “Paradise is Burning,” newcomer Lina Betnér, as well as Norwegian star Ane Dahl Torp (“The Ugly Stepsister,” “Charter”) in a supporting role. |
Billed as a ‘Romeo and Juliet for our time’, the feature is penned by seasoned writer Veronica Zacco (“The Bridge,” “Top Dog,” “Burn All My Letters”) in collaboration with Palme d’Or nominee Julia Thelin (“Push It”), from Mian Lodalen’s acclaimed novel “Lisa & Lilly: A True Story.”
Inspired by real events, the story is set in 1910s Stockholm. During one summer night, “two young women sneak out to a forbidden dance, where a single kiss ignites a love that will change everything,” reads the logline.
“When author Mian Lodalen sent me the book before it was released [in 2020], and after reading it, I instantly knew this was a film I had to make,” Nordic Drama Queens co-founder and producer Josefine Tengblad told Variety.
“The story of Lisa and Lilly affects us strongly as the story about Romeo and Juliet, only this time, it is based on real people and events,” she underscored, before adding: “Until this day, the majority of LGBTQ+ films that are made are told from the perspective of gay men, ignoring the women who have played a large part in changing our history,” she added. “Since my first movie ‘Kiss Me,’ partly based on my own life, I have been seeking for the right project with an LGBTQ+ angle and this story has everything and more. The film about Lisa and Lilly will be as relevant tomorrow as it will be in 100 years.”
Lindström added. “It’s an important and beautiful love story about the right to love, whoever you want. About love in life and death.”
Regarding the key cast, the helmer said: “The first time we brought together Lina [Betnér] and Bianca (Delbravo] together, there was pure magic in the room. Their chemistry and unique talent completely blew me away. Beyond that,” she added, “I’m incredibly excited to work with Ane Dahl Torp who, ever since my time at the Norwegian Film School, has been a personal favorite of mine. She moves me deeply in every role she takes on, and early in the process, she became our first choice for the part of Lisa’s mother.”
Together Films’ CEO Sarah Mosses, who came on board at an early stage, told Variety: “’Lisa & Lilly’ is exactly the kind of film we exist to bring to the world. It’s a true story; two young women in 1910s Stockholm who chose love when their love was considered a crime, and paid the ultimate price. Director Julia Lindström has found a way to make this feel viscerally present: the visual language is bold, intimate, and contemporary. Think the emotional heat of ‘Euphoria’ alongside the period beauty of ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire!’”
“At a moment when homophobia is rising globally and the rights so many of us take for granted are being openly challenged, this film is a reminder of what’s at stake: that young love, in all its intensity and vulnerability, should be equal for everyone. We are honored to be bringing it to international audiences,” she added.
The €4 million ($4.7 million) project is being co-produced by Estonia’s Allfilm, Swedish pubcaster SVT, Film Stockholm, Scanbox Entertainment, in collaboration with Norway’s Motlys, Finland’s Bardy Studios, DR and Yle, with support from the Swedish Film Institute, Nordisk Film & TV Fond, and Creative Europe MEDIA, which provided development coin.
The six-week shoot between Stockholm, Sweden and Tallinn, Estonia is due to begin mid-August, with a local release via Scanbox Entertainment penciled for the fall 2027.
“Lisa & Lilly” is the second feature produced by Nordic Drama Queens, which has delivered since 2021 the high-end series “Cry Wolf,” “Blind Spot” and “The Scarab Flies at Dusk.” The banner’s first venture into feature film, “Will You Care if I Die?” helmed by Rojda Sekersöz, will be released this fall.
The Scandi production house, backed by the U.S. global entertainment group Fifth Season, is also co-producing Alexander Payne’s first European film, “Somewhere Out There,” currently in production for Scanbox Entertainment.
