We are proud to announce that TrustNordisk will handle international sales on the upcoming feature HONEYTRAP by acclaimed Academy Award®-nominated director Lone Scherfig.
With HONEYTRAP Scherfig returns to Scandinavian cinema and presents a thrilling espionage drama set in Sweden about seduction, deception and innocently optimistic love in the shadow of the Cold War.
Director Lone Scherfig states about her upcoming project:
“HONEYTRAP unfolds in the confluence between the most loving intimacy and the most detrimental international politics, I myself love to watch in films. The story has strong thriller elements and profound gravitas, but also brightness and humor. Stockholm and East Berlin in 1968, two very different hypermodern societies, draw obvious parallels to the times we live in. I look immensely forward to delivering a thriller about life and death and simultaneously delving into the culture shock and the love between the two - seemingly innocent - antiheroes, Swedish Inger and East German Max”.
“It feels incredibly exciting that Lone Scherfig is returning to Scandinavian cinema. Her experience, versatility, and ability to balance humor and emotional drama whilst connecting with a broad audience give HONEYTRAP a unique depth. I look forward to bringing the project to life together with her”, says producer Lizette Jonjic from Zentropa Sweden.
“We’re absolutely thrilled to be working with Lone Scherfig again and to welcome her back to the Nordics. HONEYTRAP is a standout project - an irresistible page-turner with clear international appeal. We can’t wait to share this remarkable project with the world,” says Susan Wendt, Managing Director at TrustNordisk.
SYNOPSIS
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 lures 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.
From the 1950s to the end of the Cold War, Stasi deployed “Romeo” agents across Europe as honeytraps. The agents - carefully trained by psychologists in techniques of emotional manipulation - would cultivate intimate relations with secretaries in high-ranking positions with access to classified information. It is within this setting that Scherfig’s upcoming film unfolds.
With a directorial career spanning more than 3 decades, Scherfig has consolidated her position as a masterful storyteller of engaging, character-driven and entertaining stories balancing both emotional depth, authenticity and warmth. Following the international breakthrough of the multiple award-winning dogma-film ITALIAN FOR BEGINNERS, Scherfig rose to further international acclaim with WILBUR WANTS TO KILL HIMSELF. In 2009 she directed AN EDUCATION which was nominated for 3 Academy Awards® and 8 BAFTAs and took home multiple awards including 3 awards at Sundance Film Festival and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Foreign Film. The film also earned actress Carey Mulligan numerous nominations and awards. Since then, Scherfig has directed several feature films such as ONE DAY, THE RIOT CLUB, THEIR FINEST and THE MOVIE TELLER to name a few.
HONEYTRAP is based on an idea by Pelle Rådström. It will be Scherfig’s 12th feature film.
The project is currently in later stages of financing and development.
HONEYTRAP is written and directed by Lone Scherfig. Produced by Lizette Jonjic for Zentropa Sweden AB, in collaboration with producer Rebecka Hamberger, co-producers Sisse Graum Jørgensen, Charlotte Hjordt and Solmaz 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.