Netflix orders Helena Bergström film, Harald Zwart series

Dancing Queens is the sixth feature film by actress-turned director Helena Bergström (Mind the Gap) and Stockholm-based Sweetwater run by Colin Nutley (Oscar-nominated in 2000 for Under The Sun) is producing.

Dancing Queens is co-written by Bergström and Denize Karabuda (Dreaming of England).

The story centres around Dylan Pettersson (Molly Nutley), a 23-year old girl from a small island in the Swedish archipelago with big dancing aspirations, who disguises as a man to perform in at the struggling drag club Queens.

Lina Brounéus, director co-production & acquisition at Netflix said: “We are so happy to work with Helena and Colin in bringing their movie Dancing Queens to our Netflix members. It’s a beautiful story that transcends classical notions of love and friendship. Music and dance will obviously play a big role, all set against a beautiful Swedish backdrop - which makes it a wonderful mix we believe a lot of our members will enjoy."

Next to Molly Nutley (Thicker than Water, Missing) are Marie Göranzon (Beck), Claes Malmberg (Saltön), and choreographer Fredrik Quinones, who makes his acting debut.

Top crew members include Swedish/Polish DoP Peter Mokrosinski (credited for the Oscar-nominated film Evil) and Norwegian composer Gaute Storaas, recent recipient of the Harpa Nordic Music Award for Nutley’s directed series A Wedding, Funeral & a Christening.

Bergström told nordicfilmandtvnews.com: “Dancing Queens is 'Swedish archipelago meets The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert', two opposite worlds that clash. We also play with gender, and tackle the topical issue of representation, and accepting people for who they are. I’m thrilled to have in the cast brilliant actors as well as several members of the drag community to give an authentic insider’s viewpoint.”

Regarding her collaboration with Netflix, Bergström said: “Netflix has been incredibly positive and supportive. The way they are revolutionising filmmaking and green-lighting projects in Sweden is also fascinating. By making foreign-language content available worldwide, they allow filmmakers to reach global audiences and to expand outside the niche market for which foreign language films are often associated with outside their home territory. It [Netflix] is a new way for films to reach out to audiences around the world, not just through festivals or prestigious award.”

Dancing Queens will launch exclusively on Netflix in 2021.

The US streaming giant has also announced yesterday that it has ordered a new Norwegian TV show directed by Harald Zwart (The Karate Kid, The 12^th Man). The six-part thriller marks the third collaboration between Netflix and production outfit Motion Blur after the genre films Cadaver by newcomer Jarand Herdal and Troll by Tomb Raider’s Roar Uthaug.

The untitled Zwart series is written by up-and-coming writer Petter Holmsen (The Oil Fund).

Live Hallangen is declared dead, before waking up hours later on the forensic table, with a new urge for blood. As her blood-thirst soars, she soon realises that she can actually help her brother and family run funeral home deal with a lack of people, dying in the small Norwegian town of Skarnes. Live now has to learn to control her new dark nature and decide if she is willing to sacrifice people’s lives for her own survival and the survival of the family business.

Next to Kathrine Thorborg Johansen (Home Ground, The Quake) who has the titular role as Live, are Elias Holmsen Sørensen (The Ash Lad in the Hall of the Mountain King), Andrée Sørum, Kim Fairchild, Sarah Khorami and Terje Strømdahl.

Zwart said: “I’m excited to be working with Netflix on this truly original story. We have a great cast of young talented actors, who all embody the blend of Scandinavian mystique and dark humour.”

The Norwegian series will launch in 2021.