In March Danish director Ole Bornedal starts shooting with Gérard Depardieu on "I am Dina" - the Scandinavian-German-French feature film based on Norwegian author Herbjørg Wassmo´s best-selling novel "Dina´s Book". The budget exceeds EUR 14 million.
The French actor Gérard Depardieu has accepted to play a leading part in "I am Dina" - one of the most expensive features ever to come out of Scandinavia. The co-production between five countries - Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany and France - will be shot on location in Northern Norway and in studios in Oslo, with English dialogue. Principal photography starts in Northern Norway on March 7.
Gérard Depardieu has performed in more than 100 features including several international box office hits like "Green Card", "Cyrano de Bergerac", and, at present, "102 Dalmatians". Dina will be played by the Norwegian/Swedish actress Maria Bonnevie, known from Bille August´s "Jerusalem" and "The 13th Warrior". Swedish actress Pernilla August ("Best Intentions", "Star Wars - The Phantom Menace") will be playing the part of Dina´s mother. The remaining cast is not in place, but will come mainly out of Scandinavia and the UK.
"Gérard Depardieu is the only real movie star in Europe and one of the best actors of today. He is very enthusiastic about the project. After our first meeting, I feel that the part suits him incredibly well. Dina´s husband is a playful, almost childish soul in a mature man´s body and Depardieu´s charisma is a perfect match. We are very happy that he wants to participate", says director Ole Bornedal.
Ole Bornedal has directed the American Miramax thriller "Nightwatch" with Nick Nolte in a leading part. Since February 2000 he has been working on the script for "I am Dina" with Swedish dramatist Jonas Cornell.
The Egmont-owned companies Nordisk Film and Northern Lights are co-producing with Gemini Film, the investment fund ApolloMedia from Germany and with the French company Mandarin Film. The film is supported by the film institutes of the three Scandinavian countries, as well as by The Nordic Film and TV Fund, Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen and EURIMAGES. Public service TV stations from all Scandinavian countries are also involved in the financing. International sales and distribution through TF1.
"I am Dina" is based on Norwegian author Herbjørg Wassmo´s best-selling novel "Dina´s Book", published in 16 countries. In Scandinavia the book has been a continuing success for ten years and expectations are high for the film.
Axel Helgeland, Northern Lights, and Per Holst, Nordisk Film, are producing. Per Holst, who has produced several international well-known features like Bille August´s Oscar and Golden Palm winner "Pelle the Conqueror", Lars von Trier´s "The element of crime" and Nils Malmros´s "Barbara", bought the film rights for "Dina´s Book" in competition with Canadian, French and Dutch companies.
Dina is the story of a little girl who inadvertently inflicts a cruel, hideous death on her mother. This event frightens her out of her mind, and isolates her from the rest of the world. She grows up without love, and does not learn how to define love until it is too late. She never turns into a social individual and has to find her own way to cope with the world around her.
Dina is a fascinating character because she is provocative and does all the wrong things in a male dominated society in 1840 - in the remote, rural surroundings of Northern Norway, where rough fishermen, broad-shouldered farmhands and authoritarian governors define the way the world is shaped. Dina flies in the face of all this, following her impulses to the bitter end.
For further information:
Director Ole Bornedal and Producer Axel Helgeland, Northern Lights +47 67 52 53 30.
Producer Per Holst, Nordisk Film + 45 36 18 82 00.
