Mads Mikkelsen (The Hunt, Hannibal) is leading the cast of Scandi pic Riders Of Justice, the latest feature from Oscar-Winning Danish filmmaker Anders Thomas Jensen.
Jensen is a noted screenwriter with more than 30 feature credits; he has collaborated with the likes of Susanne Bier and Lone Scherfig. As a director, he helmed a trio of Oscar nominated shorts in 1997, 1998, and 1999, winning for the latter. His features, characterized by their dark humor, include 2005 comedy-drama Adam’s Apples, 2003 pic The Green Butchers, and 2015 film Men & Chicken, all of which also starred Mikkelsen and screened at Toronto.
His latest film follows Markus, who has to go home to his teenage daughter, Mathilde, when his wife dies in a tragic train accident. It seems like an accident, until a mathematics geek, who was also a fellow passenger on the train, and his two colleagues show up saying they are convinced someone is behind it.
Cameras rolled on January 13 and the pic’s budget is $5.9m (€5.3m). Also starring are Nikolaj Lie Kaas (The Department Q film series), Lars Brygman (That Time Of Year), Nicolas Bro (Nymphomaniac), Gustav Lindh (Queen Of Hearts), Roland Møller (Papillion), and Andrea Heick Gadeberg (Daniel).
Producers are Sisse Graum Jørgensen and Sidsel Hybschmann for Zentropa Entertainments, the Danish outfit founded by Lars von Trier.
Co-producers are Film I Väst and Zentropa Sweden with support from the Danish Film Institute/ Market Scheme, FilmFyn, Nordisk Film & TV Fond, The Media Programme of the European Union, in collaboration with YouSee, TV 2 DENMARK, YLE and SVT.
Nordic major TrustNordisk has boarded sales rights to the pic, continuing a long-standing relationship with director Jensen.
TrustNordisk CEO Susan Wendt said: “We are really excited to be on board this Zentropa production and look forward to diving into the quirky universe, which Anders Thomas Jensen has created in this brilliant script. We still remember the huge success we had with Green Butchers and Adam’s Apples and we are confident that Riders Of Justice will exceed the international success of these titles. Anders Thomas Jensen’s unique talent for storytelling is something that continues to attract people of all nationalities.”
