The Kindness of Strangers

Synopsis

At once glamorous, a restaurant in the heart of New York becomes a stage where the characters flip between their personal struggles and, over time, discover that their hope and salvation may lie in the meeting with new people. In uncertain and harsh times, when many live close to despair, it turns out that fleeting encounters and moments of love for one’s fellow humans can have surprising consequences.

A New York saga about the individual difficulties and struggles of five people, and how they change each other's lives through compassion, kindness, and love.

Production Facts

The film, which is Lone Scherfig's tenth, is a Danish-Swedish-Canadian co-production shot in Toronto, Copenhagen, and New York.

The last time Lone Scherfig was in Berlin was in 2016 when she was the scriptwriter for Pernilla August's "A Serious Game," also one of Film i Väst's co-productions, which was then shown in the Special Gala.

The story is based on a script by Lone Scherfig herself. In the cast, we see among others Zoe Kazan, Tahar Rahim, Andrea Riseborough, Caleb Landry Jones, Jay Baruchel, Bill Nighy, Exben Smed, and David Dencik.

Malene Blenkov produced for Creative Alliance and Strada Films with support from The Danish Film Institute and Telefilm Canada. The film has also been supported by DR, Ontario Creates, Copenhagen Film Fund, The Swedish Film Institute, Nordisk Film & TV Fond, Entertainment One, and Ingenious Senior Film Fund/Apollo Media, in co-production with Unlimited Stories in Sweden, Nadcon, D'Artagnan, Film i Väst, Arte Grand Accord WDR/ARTE, and ARTE France Cinema.

The film is the first co-production with Film i Väst to open the prestigious Berlin Film Festival.