Beta Cinema has sold political thriller “Hammarskjöld — Fight for Peace,” which is a box office hit in its home territory Sweden, to multiple key territories.
Sales include Italy (Rai Cinema), France (Swift Prods.), Spain (Twelve Oaks), Portugal (Outsider Films) and former Yugoslavia (Discovery). A U.S. deal is in negotiations.
“Hammarskjöld” is directed and co-written by Per Fly and stars Mikael Persbrandt.
The story, based on actual events, is set in New York City in 1961. At the peak of the Cold War, the charismatic diplomat Dag Hammarskjöld has reached the pinnacle of his power, serving as Secretary- General of the United Nations. He takes it upon himself to bring peace to the African countries after decolonization, thwarting plans to further exploit African countries’ resources of both powerful entrepreneurs and world leaders. Just when his old friend Peter shows up in New York, turning his life upside down, Dag boards a plane toward the Congo, in a final attempt to negotiate a cease-fire, where he dies in a plane crash under clouded circumstances.
“Hammarskjöld” was released in Sweden on Dec. 25 and has sold more than 260,000 tickets so far — making it the most-seen film of the year — and grossing more than $3.45 million. The drama had its international premiere at the Rotterdam Film Festival, where it was in the top 10 of the Audience Award ranking.
Fly wrote and directed the feature film “Backstabbing for Beginners” (2018), produced by A24, with Theo James and Ben Kingsley in the leading roles. In 2022, he directed the BAFTA-winning TV series “Borgen.” He is in preproduction with the Nordic crime series “Reservatet” for Netflix.
Persbrandt’s credits include “In a Better World,” “Everlasting Moments,” “The Hobbit,” Netflix’s “Sex Education” and Lars von Trier’s “The Kingdom Exodus.”
“Hammarskjöld” also features Francis Chouler (“Dam,” “Eye in the Sky,” “Troy: Fall of a City”), Cian Barry (“Nina Forever,” “Doctor Foster”), Colin Salmon (“Resident Evil,” “Arrow,” “East Enders”), Sara Soulié (“Nymphs,” “The Guardian Angel”), Hakeem Kae-Kazim (“Hotel Rwanda,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”), Thure Lindhart (“Flame & Citron,” “Keep the Lights On,” “Into the Wild,” “The Bridge”) and Richard Brake (“Batman Begins,” “31, Mandy”).
“Hammarskjöld” is produced by Patrick Ryborn of Unlimited Stories — Beta Nordic Studios’ Swedish production house — in co-production with Nordisk Film, SVT, Film I Väst, TV4, Nordsvensk Filmunderhållning, Maipo Film, meta Film, Per Fly APS and Cambo Prods. The movie is supported by the Swedish Film Institute, the Nordisk Film & TV-Fond and the Norwegian Film Institute, in association with Beta Film, Do Prods. and DR.
Beta Cinema will host two market premiere screenings for “Hammarskjöld” at Berlin’s European Film Market: on Feb. 15 at 5 p.m. at CinemaxX2 and on Feb. 17 at 9.10 a.m. at CinemaxX1.
