Copenhagen-based sales outfit TrustNordisk has acquired international rights to “Shadow & Light” from acclaimed Danish writer-director Niels Arden Oplev (“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” “We Shall Overcome,”“Flatliners”).
The drama, which just started filming in Denmark, reunites Oplev with Esben Smed, the lead in his Isis kidnapping thriller “Daniel”, aka “Held for Ransom” when released in the U.S. in 2021 via Samuel Goldwyn Films.
Billed as a “a dark and absurdly funny rumination on love and the meaning of life,” pic follows William who’s got a secret, that he can’t share. On the same day he learns about his incurable brain tumour, his best friend dies on his final deployment to Afghanistan. It becomes impossible for William to tell his now heart-broken friends and family that he, too, will soon need a funeral.
“We live in a time when death has become something we hide away,” Oplev said in a statement. “We talk about living longer, but rarely about what it means to die. With “Shadow & Light,” we examine what happens when death suddenly cannot be kept at bay; when it bursts in like a noisy factor and forces us to look at our lives with brutal clarity. This film is about the moment when we can no longer postpone the truth, and when we must choose how we want to live the time we have left.”
Susan Wendt, TrustNordisk managing director, who brokered the U.S. deal with Samuel Goldwyn Films on “Daniel,” said: “We are very excited to be reunited with Niels Arden Oplev on this new project. Niels is a filmmaker with a strong international reputation and a remarkable ability to craft emotionally compelling stories. We look forward to following the film through production, and to introducing it to buyers and audiences around the world.”
“Shadow & Light” is being produced by Thomas Heinesen for Nordisk Film Production, with support from the Danish Film Institute, Den Vestdanske Filmpulje, Hjørring Kommune, Nordisk Film & TV Fond, TV2 Denmark and Nordisk Film Distribution. The local premiere is set for 2027.
In Cannes, TrustNordisk is handling the market screenings of the Sundance selected “Frank & Louis” by Petra Volpe and the upcoming drama “Unraveled” by Pernille Fischer Christensen.
Anticipated titles recently added to their slate take in “My Fairytale Life” about the iconic author Hans Christian Andersen’s formative years, to be directed by Nicolaj Arcel (“The Promised Land,” “A Royal Affair”) and “Mr. Nawashi” by Isabella Eklöf (“Holiday”), first of five pics which form part of the Dogma 25 initiative. Both titles are produced by Zentropa.
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