Film i Väst has presented eight new co-productions at Cannes, including Lone Scherfig’s romantic spy thriller “Honeytrap,” Levan Akin’s next film “Summer in Heat” and “Ruben,” a documentary about Ruben Östlund.
For her 12th film, Scherfig (“Italians for Beginners,” “An Education”) is collaborating with Zentropa on espionage drama set in Sweden. It’s about “seduction, deception and innocently optimistic love in the shadow of the Cold War.”
“‘Honeytrap’ unfolds in the confluence between the most loving intimacy and the most detrimental international politics. The story has strong thriller elements and profound gravitas, but also brightness and humor,” said the director.
“Stockholm and East Berlin in 1968 were two very different hypermodern societies that draw obvious parallels to the times we live in. I’m very much looking forward to delivering a thriller about life and death, while simultaneously delving into the culture shock and the love between the two seemingly innocent antiheroes.”
Sigge Eklund’s documentary about Ruben Östlund will go behind the scenes of his latest project “The Entertainment System is Down.”
“This is his biggest and riskiest project to date, so from a documentarian’s perspective, it makes for a very exciting story. He’s carrying the burden of all that responsibility. I quickly realized that this would be a more suspenseful film than your average documentary about a filmmaker,” Eklund told Variety.
“When a director is stuck inside an airplane for three months, with poor air circulation, a huge team, and 300 extras, it takes its toll. That was a very interesting process to follow.”
Eklund was fascinated by the concept of obsession.
“And Ruben is an obsessed person.”
“I don’t think that side of him has really been portrayed before. In one scene of our film, while he’s writing the script for ‘The Entertainment System is Down,’ his two Palme d’Or trophies can be seen on a shelf above him. Every now and then, he glances up at them. Seeing him handle that pressure and all the expectations is very compelling.”
Their friendship was necessary for the kind of film he wanted to make.
“In my opinion, most documentaries about filmmakers are a little too well-mannered and polite, which makes them somewhat cerebral. I wanted to tell a story that hits the viewer in the gut. To do that, I had to access his most private spaces and get him to truly open up. That would have been difficult if I hadn’t known him so well.”
Levan Akin will follow “And Then We Danced” and “Crossing” with “Summer in Heat,” a drama about four cousins from Europe who arrive in their parents’ hometown for a family wedding, which quickly stirs up tensions.
Noomi Rapace and Maryam Touzani are set to star in “Run, with No Tears” by Nabil Ayouch, a psychological thriller co-written by Maryam Touzani and Ayouch.
Gustaf Skarsgård, making his directorial debut, will offer a “genre-defying story about the possibilities and misadventures of filmmaking” in “The Cannibal,” scripted by Peter Birro. In the film, Ingmar Bergman has a significant role as both “a genius and a demon.”
“I have longed to direct a feature film for many years, but I never came across material that felt exciting enough. When Birro came up with this script, I immediately felt in my gut that’s the one I have to do! It’s a terrifying celebration of creative playfulness,” he said.
Birro added: “I was eight years old when I saw Bergman’s ‘Hour of the Wolf’ and almost died of fright. Many years later, I travelled to Fårö to write a screenplay about Bergman, hoping to find inspiration on the island. But once there, the shadow of the demon director loomed over me and I gave up, went home and started writing a film about a braver writer who actually dares to challenge the Master.”
The event also introduced two exciting new voices: Jakob Marky and Malin Ingrid Johansson.
Johansson is currently in pre-production on feature debut “Ford,” described as “a rural symphony about silence, belonging and the fragile moment where childhood ends.”
“I usually say that the film is dedicated to everyone who tried to ride a skateboard on a gravel road,” she said. “Growing up on a farm myself, I know that where there is a long distance to the nearest city, there is often room for imagination. This is not an outside-in gaze at the countryside, nor a romanticized one. I want the film to feel authentic. It comes from me, and I come from there.”
Marky will make his debut with “Grand Final” – a dark comedy about morality and exploitation in the theatre world.
Henrik Mestad plays the pressured artistic director of Sweden’s national stage, and Joel Spira a retired comedy actor who gets the lead role in “Richard III” due to a misunderstanding.
“‘Grand Final’ is very much an ensemble piece, as much as a comedy of errors. As humans, we are amazing at maintaining the hero part in our own story of self, no matter the cost,” Marky told Variety.
“Rather than admitting to defeat, we cling desperately to versions of reality that allow us to ride off into the sunset with our halo intact. It’s a comedy, but only because of the characters’ desperation. I see myself as being very intuitively stupid; I’m attracted to stupidity, and I think I have a fantastic ensemble that will embody that tone and that universe.”
Finally, the “Johan Falk” franchise will also make a return, with its protagonist setting off a chain of events that threatens to tear apart both his family and the justice system he once served. Old alliances are tested, and the stakes are higher than ever.
The returning film series stars Jakob Eklund and Marie Richardson.
“We’re damn proud to be making three new ‘Johan Falk’ films. This isn’t a soft reboot – it’s an uncompromising comeback at full speed. Falk is an action hero who has always lived in the gray zones, and now he’s been pushed further than ever before, both physically and mentally. As Johan himself would say: What the hell, let’s do this,” said executive producer Jon Mankell.
‘Grand Final’
Hugo Otto-Wallin / Bacon Pictures
“The Cannibal”
Screenwriter David meets his great idol, Ingmar Bergman, and this encounter soon takes over his entire life in a nightmarish way. The story is told on several levels: as a drama about a man’s emotional breakdown after a painful personal loss; as a reflection on the sacrifices we make to create art; as a meta-film about making a film about Bergman; and, last but not least, as a darkly humorous horror film inspired by the master’s cinematic universe.
The film, starring Ardalan Esmaili and Claes Ljungmark, will have a Swedish premiere in 2027. It’s produced by Martin Persson with Anagram, part of STUDIO TF1, in co-production with Just Republic in Finland and Tall & Small in Denmark, Sveriges Television, Film i Väst, Gotlands Filmfond and with support from the Swedish Film Institute, film consultant Andrea Östlund, and is distributed by Scanbox Entertainment.
“Ford” (working title)
This coming-of-age drama is set in the snow-covered Swedish countryside, where music, silence and physical labor coexist. It follows a 19-year-old boy growing up on a farm, deeply connected to sound, nature and the animals around him. His greatest source of comfort is the place he comes from. Together with his friends, family, and above all, his older brother. But as hidden truths begin to surface within this close circle, he is forced to make the first defining decision of his adult life.
Written and directed by Malin Ingrid Johansson, it’s produced by Joel Rostmark and Adam Meinking for Pine.
“Grand Final”
When the charismatic Stefan (Henrik Mestad) takes over as the new artistic director of Sweden’s national theatre, he promises to reform it. His wife Isabelle has just been diagnosed with cancer, and Stefan has to quickly fill the title role in the upcoming production of “Richard III.” When he sees retired comedian Jakob Mosse (Joel Spira) with his wife’s cancer support group, he realizes he has found the right actor. This unconventional choice surprises Jakob and creates a stir. But Jakob’s illness is of a completely different nature.
The film is produced by Magnus Nygaard Albertsen and Agnes Parkrud at Bacon Pictures STH, with support from SFI’s talent initiative Moving Sweden. It’s a co-production with Film i Väst and SVT, with Nordic distribution by Scanbox Entertainment.
“Honeytrap”
1968. Stockholm is buzzing with vitality and optimism for the future. Max is everything Inger has ever dreamed of – travelled and irresistibly charming. She falls intensely in love. But beneath the passion lurks deception: Max is a Stasi “Romeo” agent, deployed to seduce Inger to extract sensitive information about the Swedish company she works for. What begins as an operation, spirals out of control when Max genuinely falls in love with Inger, leaving the entire mission – and their lives – at stake.
Produced by Lizette Jonjic for Zentropa Sweden AB, in collaboration with producer Rebecka Hamberger, co-producers Sisse Graum Jørgensen, Charlotte Hjordt and Solmz Azizi in co-production with Film i Väst, Zentropa Entertainments5 ApS and Zentropa Berlin GmbH with support from Swedish Film Institute and DR/Danish Broadcasting Corporation. Nordic distribution in collaboration with Nordisk Film Distribution. TrustNordisk handles international sales.
“Johan Falk”
The iconic character returns to a Gothenburg where police work and intelligence operations are complicated by constant threats and dangers from the criminal underworld. Filming will begin at the end of the summer, with a planned premiere in autumn 2027.
The three new “Johan Falk” films are being produced by Bigster for TV4, in co-production with Film i Väst. The producers are Mathias Gruffman and Calle Jansson. The directors are Pella Kågerman, Hugo Lilja, and Richard Holm, while Anders Nilsson is head writer. The screenwriters are Agnes Jeppsson, Richard Holm, Viking Johansson, and Tage Åström. The executive producer at TV4 is Jon Mankell, the executive producer of development at TV4 is Helmi Tolonen, and Johanna Lind as attached as Head of Drama at TV4.
“Ruben”
Over the course of five years, the film follows the making of Ruben Östlund’s new feature “The Entertainment System Is Down”: a project driven by an almost impossible ambition: to become the first filmmaker in history to win three Palme d’Or awards at Cannes. It begins in 2022, just after the premiere of “Triangle of Sadness” – when Östlund is “at the peak of the film world, yet already consumed by the need to create something even bigger, bolder and more uncompromising than before.” Soon, a full-scale airplane set is constructed inside a massive hangar in Budapest, and the production turns into a high-wire act – technically, financially and emotionally.
Directed by Sigge Eklund, it’s produced by Stockholm Syndrome and Tiisch Film in co-production with SVT and Film i Väst. Distributed by SF Studios.
“Run, with No Tears”
Two women travel to Morocco to adopt another woman’s baby. Starring Noomi Rapace and Maryam Touzani, it’s directed by Nabil Ayouch, who co-write the script with Touzani.
Shot in French and English, the film is produced by France (Les Films du Nouveau Monde), Morocco (Ali n’ Productions), Sweden (Rainy Days), Belgium (Velvet Films), and Norway (Staer). Distribution rights are handled by Le Pacte in France, Cinéart in Belgium, and TriArt in the Nordic, while international sales are entrusted to Films Boutique. It’s produced by Nabil Ayouch and Amine Benjelloun, Jean-Rémi Ducourtioux and co-produced by Stella Härnström and Piodor Gustafsson, Sebastian Schelenz and Elisa Fernanda Pirir. Made in co-production with Film i Väst.
“Summer Heat”
Four teenage cousins from Europe arrive in their parents’ hometown by the Black Sea, where a family wedding and the weight of traditions stir up tensions and secret desires when they all fall for the same forbidden young man.
“Summer Heat” is a co-production between Sweden, France, Germany and Denmark, produced by regular collaborators Mathilde Dedye and Ludvig Andersson from RMV Film together with Xenia Maingot from Eaux Vives Productions and Katja Adomeit from Adomeit Film, co-produced by Film i Väst and ZDF/Arte and Tint. It will be distributed by TriArt Film, SVT – Swedish Television, Reel Pictures, DR – Danish Broadcasting Corporation, Alamode, and Haut et Court Distribution.
‘Ford’
Arvid Kornstrand
