A FILM BY RONNIE SANDAHLORIGINAL TITLE ”SVENSKJ - PDF document

A FILM BY RONNIE SANDAHLORIGINAL TITLE ”SVENSKJÄVEL” OFFICIAL SELECTION OFFICIAL SELECTION Sweden is more than idyllic red cottages and aordable furniture in at packages. Today it is also a country with a youth unemployment so massive that hundreds of thousands of young Swedes see no other option than to move across the border, toNorway – in the hopes of nding work cleaning toilets, serving food and sweeping litter o the Oslo sidewalks.”Underdog”, the debut feature lm of writer/director Ronnie Sandahl, is anunexpected love story set against the backdrop of a new Scandinavian reality.23-year-old Dino (Bianca Kronlöf) dreams of a dierent life. Like anabundance of Swedes her age, she has ed the mass unemployment ofher home country in search of a more worthwhile existence in a nouveau-riche Oslo. But her new life is caught in deadlock – Dino nds herself stuck in a destructive loop of temporary jobs, nancial trouble and hard partying. A broken arm incidentally leads to a position as a housekeeper in aNorwegian middle-class home. Dino is thrown into a reality very far from her own. During a few sultry summer weeks she ends up in the centre ofan odd love triangle, an unpredictable struggle for aection as well as dominance.”Underdog” is a tender and raw story of privilege and longing, yet at the same time a humorous and unmerciful observation of the shifted power balance between Sweden and Norway – an actuality where Swedes have become the Norwegians’ servants. SwedenNorway have always had a brother/Little brother relationship. Jokes making fun of each other’s countries and cultures, a constant rivalry in sports. And up until recently, Sweden considered itself the obvious Big brother. But then oil was discovered in Norwegian waters – quickly turning Norway into one of the world’s richest countries. Director’s vision: Ronnie SandahlI believe that all political stories must be personal, the same way that all personal stories are, to some extent, political. With that in mind, I would say that this lm has two simultaneous levels: it is a story of longing, and it is a story of power. A rather tender lm about love, with a rather brutal class society roaring in the background. These two levels are tied together, intertwined. What you long for is political, and the position from where your longing originates is political. The power – or lack there-of – you carry with you aects who you are and what you spend your life searching for.In the fall of 2009, the nancial crisis hit. Practically everyone I went to school with lost their jobs. They moved where there was work available – they emigrated to Oslo. Since then, I have wanted to make a lm about them. The rst generation of Swedes in the post-war era who cannot expect a better life than their parents had. The ones whose dreams are forced to revolve around security: a permanent job, a place to live, a sense of belonging. The Swedes who have become the Norwegians’ servants. I have tried to make a lm about power. The power balance between Sweden and Norway, but also between man and woman, employer and employee, middle-class and working-class. But rst and foremost this is a lm of three people who are stuck, whose paths cross – and who, one way or another, change each other’s lives. In every part of the process, I have searched for the true moment. The actors as well as the team have been obsessed with nding the perfect balance between the detail and the bigger picture. Analysis of privilege and power has been a useful tool in deciding on everything from curtains and clothes to cast and crew. In the end I hope we accomplished to make an intimate and physical lm with a bit of dirt under the nails. And just as life itself, I hope it comes across as both pitch black, heartwarming and kind of funny, all at once. A bit political, though most of all personal. Ronnie SandahlRonnie Sandahl and DOPIta Zbroniec-Zajt on the set of ”Underdog”. Ronniewas born in 1984. He is a Swedish director, novelist and journalist. Sandahl has written and directed two shorts: the relationship drama ”Lucky Bastard” and the tragical comedy ”The Route 43 Miracle”. In 2013 Sandahl was picked to be a participant in Nordic Film Lab, stated to be ”one of the most promising lmmakers in Scandinavia”. ”Underdog” is his feature debut.In 2007, at the age of 22, Sandahl released his debut novel ”Vi som aldrig sa hora”. Its dark portrayal of life in a Swedish small town, and a radical take on the male role, made the book one of the most widely discussed Swedish novels of the past decade. Since ten years, Sandahl also writes a weekly column in Aftonbladet, Scandinavia’s largest daily newspaper. ”I have wished to create a character who is more like the women I know and less like the ones you see in most lms. I’m so extremely tired of the male gaze dominating almost all lm – where the sole purpose of the female parts just happens to be to please men.”Sandahl has long carried with him the idea of the tough, independent character of Dino. Mona KristiansenHenrik RafaelsenSteenMona Kristiansen is a young and immensely talented Norwegian rst-time-actress, whose experiences in the acting eld were close to nonexistent when she auditioned for the very dicult part of Ida. The extensive casting process was completed as soon as Kristiansen had nished reading her rst scene.Rafaelsen is one of Norway’s most prominent actors. Educated at Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts, he has played the lead in lms like ”Blind” and ”Happy Happy” – both award winners at Sundance – as well as ”The Almost Man” and ”Limbo”. He won the Amanda Award for best Norwegian Lead Actor 2011. Bianca KronlöfSwedish actress Bianca Kronlöfgraduated from The Academy ofDrama in Gothenburg in 2011. In Sweden she is considered one of her generation’s most interesting names, known for her stand-up comedy and feministic activism, but also for prestigious theatrical parts on the top national stages. ”Underdog” is her rst feature lm. Kronlöf rst made a name for herself in Sweden through her radical, audacious and extremely popular stand-up videos on Youtube, ridiculing sexism, racism and dudes who think they’re God’s gift to women. Ita Zbroniec-ZajtCinematographerBorn in Poland in 1983, educated at The Polish National Film School in Lodz. After a number of successful shorts, she is regarded as one of the most up-and-coming talents in Europe. Her last feature was the Polish ”Little crushes”. Next fall she will have two features in Swedish cinemas: ”Underdog” and Måns Månsson’s ”The Yard”. Åsa MossbergEditorSwedish editor based in Copenhagen, widely regarded as one of the most renowned in Scandinavia. After 20 years as aneditor, her resume contains hit lmslike ”Antichrist” (Lars von Trier),”A soap” (Pernille Fischer Christensen) and ”Beyond” (Pernilla August). In 2011 she won a Guldbagge Award for her”sensitivity and analytical incisiveness”. Annika HellströmProducer, Cinenic, SWEMartin PerssonProducer, Anagram, SWECinenic Film was founded in 2006 and aims to establish long lasting relationships with directors and other talents. Hellström has produced – except for numerous prized shorts – the two features ”Almost Elvis” and ”Flocking” (to premiere in 2015) and the feature documentary ” Shall we dance”. She is also behind the internationally known ”Doris Manifesto”, a feministic initiative to change the gender imbalance within the lm industry.”I have worked with Ronnie Sandahl since 2009 and it’s with great pleasure I have seen him develop into a unique voice”, she says.Hellström is currently co-producing animated documentary ”The Tower” with TenkTV in Norway.Former CEO of Anagram Film. Managing director and owner of Apollon Bild & Film 1986–2008. Member of the Swedish Producers Association board since 2001. Head of development and production of Film and TV at Tre Vänner 1999–2006. Among his latest projects you nd the international success ”Eat sleep die”.Gudny HummelvollProducer, Hummellm, NOGudny, the founder of Hummellm, has over 20 years of experience of producing feature lms, TV, documentaries and shorts. She is currently collaborating with Yellow Bird on the TV-series ”Occupied”, based on an idea by Jo Nesbø. She is also producing the family adventure ”Captain Sabertooth” with Storm Films.Swedish title: Svenskjävel International title: UnderdogCountry of origin: Sweden/NorwayProduction year: 2014Genre: Drama National premiere: Feb 2015 Languages: Swedish/NorwegianSubtitles: Ratio: 1: 1,85Sound system: Original 5.1 Available in 4K and 2K DCPFinancing: The Swedish Film Institute and The Norweigan Film Institute and support from Fixalm, Storyline, Cmore and Sandahlgruppen.Director:Ronnie SandahlScreenwriter: Ronnie SandahlProducers: Annika Hellström, Martin Persson & Gudny HummelvollCinematographer: Ita Zbroniec-ZajtProduction designer: Nina Bjerch-AndresenCasting:Andrea Eckerbom and Lotta ForsbladEditor:Åsa MossbergSound designer:Gunn Tove GrønsbergComposer:Stein Berge SvendsenProduced by:Anagram and Cinenic Film in co-production withHummellm, in collaboration with Fixalm, Storyline, Cmore and Sandahlgruppen with support from the Swedish Film Institute/Suzanne Glansborg and the Norwegian Film Institute/Anne FrilsethCreditsProduction facts Contact informationWorld salesThe Yellow Aair Sweden +46-76-199 31 66 miira@yellowaair.comFestivalsThe Swedish Film Institute gunnar.almer@s.se+46-70-640 46 56DistributorSweden – TriartMattias Nohrborg mattias.nohrborg@triart.seEva Esseen Arndor eva.esseen.arndor@triart.se+46-73-417 65 52Norway – Euforia vibeke@euforia.no+47-943-41 615ContactAnnika Hellström, Cinenic Film+46-70-786 64 16 annika@cineniclm.se