The Danish film That Time of Year (Med hensyn til Julen) produced by Nordisk Film will start filming in November.

The Christmas comedy drama will be Steen’s third film as a director after her award-winning debut Aftermath (2004) and With Your Permission (2007). That Time of Year is based on a script by Danish playwright/author Jakob Weiss who collaborated with Steen on the acclaimed play Toves værelse, staged at Copenhagen’s Folketreatret last year.

The film is about how to survive a Christmas eve with siblings, spouses, children, grandmothers and…dogs! "It is best described as a dramatic family comedy”, said Steen who will play the hostess. “The film is a portrayal of the double moral rule, prevailing at Christmas. Everything has to look like something from the past and be eco-friendly, but in the brown paper with twine around is an iPhone.”

Nordisk Film producer Michael Rieks (Land of Mine) says the story will be recognizable to all those who resent spending Christmas eve with children, parents, grandparents, ex-children, step-children and various in-laws, but still do year after year. “When you talk about this film project, it doesn’t take long before people begin to share their own absurd Christmas eve stories,” he noted. The film co-financed by Film Fyn region received support from the Danish Film Institute. Delivery is set for end of 2018. Nordisk Film will handle distribution across Scandinavia and TrustNordisk world sales.