Milad Alami’s Opponent, Isabelle Carbonell’s Dogborn to be pitched at les Arcs

The two Swedish films are among 15 works in progress selected for the industry sidebar of Les Arcs Film Festival, set to open December 11 with Valdimar Jóhannsson’s Lamb.

The coveted works in progress session of the French Les Arcs Film Festival curated by Frederic Boyer, has traditionally been a prime spot for some of Europe's most anticipated projects in post-production, looking for sales agents and distribution. Iceland’s supernatural drama Lamb for instance, was among Les Arcs’ works in progress 2019.

This year’s two Swedish works in progress are intense dramas with strong socio-political threads.

Opponent is the sophomore feature from Iranian-born Milad Alami, behind the acclaimed Danish drama The Charmer and TV series When the Dust Settles. The film tells the story of an Olympic wrestler, who in the aftermath of a devastating rumour in Iran, has fled with his family to Sweden, where he takes up wrestling again. But when the reasons behind the rumours surface, his past catches up with him.
“I wanted to tell a story that could challenge the stereotypical images of Middle-Eastern men that we are used to seeing. It led me to make a psychological drama set in the wrestling community where masculinity, intimacy and violence are present,” said Alami to nordicfilmandtvnews.com. “I was intrigued by the possibility of portraying the physical arena of wrestling, but also by following a person evolving into someone else.”

Alami goes on: “It is the story of a man who has lived in a society without freedom, and who even after coming to a place where he can be free, realises that the lack of freedom has become a part of who he is. I hope this [story] will encourage young people who feel marginalised for being who they are. This is a film for them!” he said.

Producer Annika Rogell (Aniara, My Skinny Sister) said filming was badly impacted by Covid-19, which ‘sneaked’ into the production, forcing it to shut down for 10 days, even if necessary measures were taken to protect the cast & crew. The seasoned producer managed to lock the shoot, with two extra shooting weeks and vital financial support from the Swedish government’s Covid-rescue package.

Opponent is produced by Tangy in Sweden, in co-production with Norway’s Ape&Björn, Filmpool Nord, Film i Väst, SVT, in association with Film i Västerbotten, DR, support from the Swedish Film Institute, the Norwegian Film Institute and Nordisk Film & TV Fond.
TriArt will release it in 2022 in Sweden.

Dogborn is the long-gestated project by debut filmmaker Isabella Carbonell, winner of the Grand Jury Award at AFI Fest for her short film Boy.

Pitched at Haugesund’s Nordic Co-production Market in 2020, Dogborn was voted Best Project. The raw and intense thriller follows two homeless refugees, twin brother and sister, who turn to the criminal world in order to survive. Things take a radical turn when the goods they are paid to transport turn out to be two young girls.

In the title roles as the twin siblings are Swedish rapper Silvana Imam, in her first screen appearance, and Philip Oros (Blinded, Dough).

The project in post-production is being produced by Momento Film’s David Herdies, Farima Karimi and Erik Andersson, with support from the Swedish Film Institute’s Moving Sweden, co-financing from SVT, Norrköping Film Fond and NonStop Entertainment who will handle the domestic distribution, slated for the fall 2022.

Herdies said he will show a couple of strong scenes at Les Arcs’ Industry Village, where he hopes to attract interest from sales agents and festivals.

The Swedish producer will also present at Les Arcs’ Co-production Village the feature project The Swedish Torpedo by Frida Kempff (Knocking), a biopic about swimming champion Sally Bauer, known as the first Scandinavian to swim across the English Channel in the fall 1939.

Two other Nordic titles by rising talents are among 18 European feature projects at development stage, looking for co-production partners at Les Arcs:

• Sweden-Finn by Johanna Pyykkö, produced by Verket Produktion.
  Swedish/Finnish born Oslo-based Pyykkö has directed the multi-awarded short film The Malina Lover, selected at the 2019 Cannes Critics Week and winner of an Amanda-Best Short Film 2020. She was episodic director on the NRK series Home Ground and Joachim Trier’s assistant on Thelma.
• Solitude by Ninna Pálmadóttir, produced by Iceland’s Pegasus Pictures and Croatia’s MP Film Production.
  Writer/director Pálmadóttir graduated from NYU Tisch School of the Arts in 2019 and holds a B.A in film studies & literature from the University of Iceland. She won numerous awards for her short films Paper Boy and All Dogs Die.

Meanwhile the 13th Les Arcs Film Festival unspooling until December 18, will be screening three Nordic Oscar contenders: Iceland’s Lamb (French premiere December 29, The Jokers/Les Bookmakers), Denmark’s Flee (French premiere June 15, 2022, Haut et Court) and Sweden’s Tigers.

Also slated for the festival’s hauteur section is the Directors Fortnight’s selected Clara Sola.

For the full programme, check: https://lesarcs-filmfest.com