First Danish film set during the Great War.

Sebastian Jessen (While We Live), Thure Lindhardt (The Bridge 3) and Rosalinde Mynster (Worlds Apart, Badehotellet) co-star.   Based on real events, In War & Love (I krig og kærlighed) produced by Fridthjof Film, has just been greenlit and will start filming in January 2018 in Sønderborg, southern Jutland.

Jessen plays Danish soldier Esben who fakes his own death in an attempt to flee the war and reunite with his beloved wife Kirstine (Mynster) and their son Karl after being apart for three years. However, everything has changed while he has been away. A charming German officer (Lindbardt) has taken over the role as the family’s father and is courting Kirstine. While hiding in his own attic, Esben witnesses this very real nightmare and must do everything in his power to survive, win back the love of Kirstine and save his family. Other actors include Natalie Maduenõ (Follow the Money) and Ulrich Thomsen (Banshee).

Writer/director Kasper Torsting (behind the TV series Ø for Studio Plus in France) says the film’s universe will be ‘epic realism’, grounded in closeness and authenticity. “That choice feels right in a story about a human being who is deeply torn between his traditional ideals and a modern reality that constantly presses on. I’m deeply grateful for the goodwill and the interest that movie has already garnered and I’m looking forward like crazy to getting started with the shooting.”

Producer Ronnie Fridthjof, associated to some of Denmark’s biggest local hits including this year’s top Danish selling film All for Three, said his goal is to give audiences a ‘strong and entertaining movie experience’. “The movie is set in a fascinating historical context, but WW1 is only the background. The love drama is the core of the film,” he noted.

Nordisk Film’s co-owned Fridthjof Film has partnered with the Czech Republic and Germany for its largest film project ever of DKK 35m (€4.7m). Through Czech co-producer Rick McCallum of Film United, In War & Love is the first Danish film to access support from the Czech Film Fund.

In Germany, the film received co-financing from broadcaster NDR, Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein (FFHSH);  Danish backers include the Danish Film Institute, DR, the Mads Clausen Foundation, the municipalities of Sønderborg and Tønder and FilmFyn.  The film was pre-sold to Norway’s TV2 and received further support from Creative Media.

The film’s world premiere on November 11, 2018 in Sønderborg will coincide with the 100th anniversary of the end of the Great War.