The iconic children’s book writer will be the central character of two major Scandinavian projects: Astrid (working title) to be directed by Denmark’s Pernille Fischer Christensen (A Soap) and a Swedish documentary feature by the award-winning Maud Nycander (Palme, The Nun).

While some of Swedish author Astrid Lindgren’s (pictured) most celebrated characters are regularly brought to screens and two such projects are in the works - the animation film Emil and Ida in Lönnerberga and Tomas Alfredson’s The Brothers Lionheart - surprisingly her private life remains a mystery to many. The two film projects will use on one side fiction and on the other side archive materials to portray the complex character behind the public figure while focusing on specific events that shaped her writing career.

Maud Nycander’s yet untitled documentary film, produced by Filmlance International’s Francy Suntinger will first reach Swedish screens at the end of 2014. “I had seen Maud’s award-winning documentary The Nun then of course Palme, and I felt that with her documentary craft and integrity she would be the perfect person to get on board this project,” said Suntinger to nordiskfilmogtvfond.com. “We met Astrid Lindgren’s family; they are 100% supportive and will provide us with all kinds of materials - photo albums, diaries, super 8 films etc. The feature film will also be based on archive material and interviews with family members, close friends and other people that in different way can provide insight to who she was.” 

The feature film Astrid by Fischer Christensen is based on a script by her usual collaborator Kim Fupz Aakeson. Lars G Lindström, former Swedish Film Institute Film Commissioner and now in-house producer at Nordisk Film is spearheading the project. “Besides his scriptwriting career, Aakeson is also an established children’s book writer (he is nominated for the new Nordic Council Children and Young People’s Literary Prize). Astrid Lindgren is his idol and he wants to pay tribute to Sweden’s big idol,” said the producer.

Astrid will cover three periods in the author’s life. The biggest part of the storyline will focus on her early adulthood when she became pregnant in Denmark aged 18, then had to leave her child to a foster family in Copenhagen to go to live in Stockholm, and after several years of travels back and forth, she finally managed to bring her son back with her to Sweden. The other two parts will feature Lindgren’s childhood and older years. Filming should start rolling in the fall 2014.

In the meantime, the animation film Emil and Ida in Lönnerberga produced by Filmlance International in co-production with SF Film will reach Swedish screens at Christmas 2013 while Tomas Alfredson should start filming within the next few months The Brothers Lionheart produced by Piodor Gustafsson’s Another Park Film/Brothers Lionheart, in co-production with Norway’s 4 ½Fiction.  

Both feature films have received support from Nordisk Film & TV Fond. 

Lindgren is one of Sweden’s biggest export names and to date her books have sold over 145 million copies worldwide.