More than half a million Nordic cinema-goers have seen Hammarskjöld

Hammarskjöld has attracted over 500,000 cinema-goers so far across the Nordic countries. The Swedish film has this spring been shown in cinemas in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland, following its festival premiere at the IFF Rotterdam in January.

The biopic with Mikael Persbrandt in the lead is based on the final weeks of Swedish diplomat Dag Hammarskjöld, the second UN secretary-general and posthumously Nobel Peace Prize-winner. The film follows Hammarskjöld in his last year as secretary-general as he tries to make peace in the Congo. The film is supported by Nordisk Film & TV Fond.

The feature film climbed to the top of the box office in Denmark very quickly. “A rare achievement for a Swedish production”, according to the Swedish Film Institute.

Producer Patrick Ryborn of Unlimited Stories spoke to the Fund on the audience hit.

Why do we in the Nordics currently need to understand our history in the form of political fact-based biopics as the successes of the film Hammarskjöld or the series Power Play (Makta)?

“The fact that Hammarskjöld wanted to create a better world, stood for an ideal, fought for it and went so far to achieve his cause that it even cost his life, makes Hammarskjöld very relevant today in our world of crazy politicians who only think of themselves. The world needs a Dag Hammarskjöld today more than ever.”

How did the collaboration with Danish director Per Fly start and how did he bring the film to its high level?

“More than 10 years ago I decided to make a movie about Hammarskjöld, and when I heard that Per Fly also wanted to do one, I contacted him. We found each other and decided to make it together. Per is fantastic at finding the dramaturgy of the characters. He makes us feel with Dag and be close to him and understand him. But Per also, of course, was fantastic during the entire script process together with Ulf Ryberg. On top of this, Per is an incredibly good director on location and when working with the actors. All in all, Per Fly is one of Scandinavia's best directors.”

Official trailer: