One of the most successful novels in Fossum’s series featuring inspector Konrad Sejer, The Indian Bride won the 2008 LA Times Book Prize and the Norwegian crime author has sold over 4 million copies in Europe, including Scandinavia, the UK, France, Germany and Spain.
The feature film adaptation will be produced by Helen Ahlsson (pictured) who has supervised the making of the Camilla Läckberg Fjällbacka Murders series for Tre Vänner.
Ahlsson told nordiskfilmogtvfond.com how she approached Motlys with the project: “Back in 2002, Motlys had co-produced my film The Armwrestler from Solitude. I had kept a great memory of our collaboration. With The Indian Bride, our idea from the outset was to do a joint-venture with a Norwegian partner who would share our vision on the project to combine our passion for crime together with this beautiful and tragic love story, and help raise the financing. We found the perfect partner in Motlys and our companies also nicely complement each other. “
Motly’s producer Yngve Sæther says The Indian Bride project will be his company’s new major foray into the mainstream. “We had been looking forward to taking our know-how in quality artistic filmmaking into a more commercial direction and had been trying to develop this with children’s films. When Helen approached us with the idea to have a new take on Karin Fossum’s crime novel, it first intrigued us. Then we were convinced by the possibility to develop a psychological drama and to focus on the characters’ existential dilemma.”
“What we also found appealing was the opportunity to make a 50/50 Norwegian-Swedish production,” continues Sæther. If you find the right project, this type of production partnership in the small Nordic territories is the perfect set up to allow films to cross borders.”
The tentative budget for The Indian Bride is SEK 30-35 million. The crime project will be shot in Norway and in India and a top Norwegian director will shortly be announced.
Motlys and Tre Vänner have also entered a ‘traditional’ co-production partnership on the Norwegian project Wait, Blink, (Vente, blinke) to be directed by newcomer Yngvild Sve Flikke based on Gunnild Øyehaug’s eponymous novel. Main producer Sæther describes it as quirky comedy about finding oneself. Wait-Blink will be the first feature project ever to be shot in Trondheim.