During Film i Väst’s press conference in Berlin, Saturday 18 February, three new co-productions were presented, together with the talents from the productions. The triple is a spy thriller series, The Doctrine, directed by Jens Jonsson and Johan Lundin, Apathy by the Greek director Alexandros Avranas and the second film in the family series about the popular figure Håkan Bråkan, directed by Ted Kjellson.

The Doctrine
Josefin Neldén, August Wittgenstein and Anna Sise and  star in new spy thriller The Doctrine, a political thriller from TV4. The series is based on Magnus Montelius’ acclaimed suspense novel Eight Months (Åtta månader). The main roles will be played by Josefin Neldén (The Restaurant, The Head, Missing People, Border, Anna Sise (Thin blue line, Hamilton, Bäckström) and Swedish-German actor August Wittgenstein (The Crown, Hidden – Firstborn, Professionals etc).

Johan Lundin will direct together with Jens Jonsson, who also wrote the screenplay for this political drama, about a Russian influence operation directed against Sweden.

– With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and strained negotiations on NATO membership, Sweden finds itself in a completely new security situation. I think TV4 is very brave and shows its ambition as a platform by ordering a series that is so realistic and extremely contemporary, says director Jens Jonsson.

In The Doctrine, the viewer is cast into a world of intrigue and internal conflicts, in a nerve wracking and terrifying drama that places the viewer in the middle of the action at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Fast paced, the viewer is subjected to intimate drama, big politics and espionage at the highest level.

The Executive Producer at TV4 will be Lisa Dahlberg and the Producer at Anagram Sweden will be Erik Magnusson. The Doctrine is a co-production between TV4, Anagram Sweden, Film i väst and Beside Productions. With investment from the Finnish Impact Film Fund and with support from the Nordic Film and TV Fund. Newen Connect is the international distributor.

Håkan Bråkan II
The first film about Håkan Bråkan is a success story in the cinemas, and today the most seen Swedish film in the Cinemas since 2019. Next winter (2023/2024) the follow up, Håkan Bråkan II, will have its premiere.  Silas Strand is again starring as little brother Håkan and Ted Kjellsson is back as director with a script by Thobias Hoffmén together with Christoffer Sandler. Malin Söderlund at Unlimited Stories is producing in co-prodution with Film i Väst, Nordisk Film and SVT, and with support from SFI.

The little brother in the Andersson family, Håkan Bråkan, really wants a pet, but first he has to show that he really is mature and responsible enough. First: a week at a scout jamboree – can he handle it without causing chaos? Especially as there are thieves in the camp and he finds a treasure map to dangerous caves.

 

Apathy

Apathy is the Greek film maker Alexandros Avranas (Miss Violence, Love me not) fifth feature film and it’s about Sergej and Natalia, political refugees, coming to Sweden together with their two daugters, searching for a decent life. When their application of a residence permit is rejected, their youngest daughter falls into a coma, a condition known as apathy syndrome or apathy.

Original script by Alexandros Avranas and Stavros Pambalis. The feature takes place in Sweden. The main actors are Grigorly Dobrygin and Chulpan Khamatova.

Apathy is produced by Les Films du Worse och Elle Driver in co-production with Fox in the Snow (Sweden) Olivier Guerpillon and Frida Hallberg, Amrion, Asterisk/Playground, Senator and Film i Väst, with the support by Swedish Film Institute.