First introduced to at this year’s Film i Väst press gathering in Cannes (see our separate story: CLICK HERE), the Swedish suspense thriller Hunters on a White Field (Jakten på ett vitt fält) based on the eponymous novel by Mats Wägeus, is the directorial debut of Sarah Gyllenstierna, Spike Lee’s former assistant director.

The story centres on three men - Alex, Greger and Henrik, who get together to go hunting in the woods during a weekend. An initial spell of hunting success sharpens their instincts and stirs a sense of rivalry. However, one day, all animals vanish and the forest turns eerily quiet. Yet the men are determined to continue the hunt.

In the title roles are Ardalan Esmaili (Snabba Cash, The Charmer), Magnus Krepper (Queen of Hearts, The Unlikely Murderer) and Jens Hultén (Hilma, Partisan).

“I started developing this film two years ago,” said Gyllenstierna who fell in love with Wägeus book and optioned the rights. “It is a suspense, violent story, with major themes of hunters identifying with their prey. I found this fascinating and wanted to explore the erased boundaries between hunters, their prey, fear and courage,” said the director to nordicfilmandtvnews.com.

The film is being produced by Maria L Guerpillon and Charlotte Most of MostAlice Film, in co-production with Film i Väst, with co-financing from SVT and the Swedish Film Institute’s Moving Sweden.

Guerpillon said the film is in the editing stage. “We are currently working with sound and music, two very important elements in this film”, she underlined.

Hunters on a White Field is scheduled to open domestically in October 2023. International sales rights are still available.

The film is among 12 European feature projects competing for three awards including the €10,000 post-production TitraAward, granted in 2021 to Milad Alami’s Opponent and in 2020 to Nathalie Alvarez Mezen’s Clara Sola.

Meanwhile the Icelandic film with the working title Solitude (Einvera) by rising talent Ninna Pálmadóttir, has been selected as an out of competition entry at Les Arcs works in progress session, as it was presented last year at the festival’s Coproduction Village, where it won the ArteKino International Award and sealed a deal with The Part Film Sales.

A graduate from the prestigious NYU Tisch School in New York, Pálmadóttir won many plaudits for her short films Paperboy and All Dogs Must Die.

Her first feature film based on a script by renowned filmmaker Rúnar Rúnarsson, chronicles the friendship between an aged farmer who moves to the city for the first time in his life and a paper delivery boy.

The film is produced by Lilja Osk Snorradóttir of Pegasus Film, with support from the Icelandic Film Centre and Nordisk Film & TV Fond.

Several recent Nordic films will also be showcased at Les Arcs' main festival running December 10-17.

In its ‘Playtime’ section are the 2022 Cannes Un Certain Regard Norwegian entry Sick of Myself by Kristoffer Borgli, set to open in France April 12, 2023, as well as the Danish documentary Into the Ice by Lars Henrik Ostenfeld.

The ‘Hauteur’ section for auteur cinema at its best will present the Danish/Icelandic epic period drama Godland by Hlynur Pálmason, due to open in France December 21 via Jour2Fête.

The festival’s ‘Youth Screenings’ will showcase the Norwegian animated film Titina by Kajsa Næss and Icelandic Raise the Bar by Gudjón Ragnarsson, and the ‘Oscar on skis’ section Iceland’s multi-awarded Beautiful Beings by Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson and Finland’s Sundance winning film Girl Picture by Alli Haapasalo.

For the full festival details, check: www.lesarcs-filmfest.com