Star ensemble in SF Studios’ new family film A Swedish Christmas Tale
14 October 2020 - Last updated 19 October 2020
Copyright: Photo credit: Særún Hrafnkelsdóttir Norén
SF Studios will produce internationally acclaimed director Hannes Holm’s (A Man Called Ove, Ted – Show Me Love) upcoming feature film adaptation based on Tage Danielsson’s beloved Christmas tale, Sagan om Karl-Bertil Jonssons julafton (A Swedish Christmas Tale). The film stars 14-year old Simon Larson in the leading role as Karl-Bertil Jonsson. Jonas Karlsson (Quick, The Snowman) will play his father Tyko, Jennie Silfverhjelm (Beck, I’ll Be Home for Christmas, Aniara) will play his mother Marianne and Sonja Holm (Underbar och älskad av alla) will play the poor girl Vera. The film starts shooting in October with a planned cinema release in November 2021.
”It will be a real pleasure to work with such talented actors as Jennie Silfverhjelm, Jonas Karlsson, Vanna Rosenberg, Peter Dalle and other children and adults who are part of the exciting film adaptation of Tage Danielsson's now immortal story. I would especially like to mention Simon Larson as Karl-Bertil! My work will mainly consist of leaning back in the director’s chair and enjoy the scenery”, says Hannes Holm, director.
The star ensemble also includes several well-known actors such as Vanna Rosenberg, Filip Berg, Ingela Olsson, Claes Månsson, Adam Pålsson, Peter Dalle, Josefin Neldén, Carla Sehn, Dag Malmberg, Lotta Ramel, Josephine Bauer, Jesper Malm , Ruben Lopez and Sigrid Johnson.
The film will be a dramatized live-action adaptation based on legendary Swedish actor, director, writer and entertainer Tage Danielsson's beloved novel about Karl-Bertil Jonsson. The novel was made into an animated short story for TV, scripted by Tage Danielsson and directed by Per Åhlin, in 1975 and has been screened as one of the most popular TV shows on Christmas Eve ever since.
“Last Christmas, watching the show, my family and I talked about that I look just like Karl-Bertil. When we then found out that Sagan om Karl-Bertil Jonssons Julafton was going to be a movie and that they needed actors, I jumped at it. And now I'm Karl-Bertil! It's going to be a lot of fun!”, says Simon Larson, leading actor.
The film tells the story about 14-year-old Karl-Bertil, who is the son of department store director Tyko Johnsson. His path in life is to become like his father. But Karl-Bertil's hero is Robin Hood. In the film, this will be taken a step further than in the TV version. The poor girl Vera, her sister in the orphanage and the ruthless orphanage manager all cross Karl-Bertil's path. And no one is the same when the story ends. Not even Karl-Bertil’s father Tyko.
“SF Studios takes Karl-Bertil's story very seriously and it is a pleasure to make a live action film on this national treasure. We want to offer a Christmas fairy tale that the whole family can enjoy together. We are also very happy to once again collaborate with our longtime dear friend and partner, director Hannes Holm. Some fairy tales deserve to come true and A Swedish Christmas Tale strongly reflects SF Studios' ambition to make films of compelling stories with strong local connection”, says Annika Sucksdorff, Head of Film Production Sweden at SF Studios.
The director Hannes Holm, has had previous box offices success with films such as Ted – Show me Love (2018), the Oscar nominated film A man called Ove (2015) and the last trilogi of Sune and critically acclaimed features Behind Blue Skies (2010), The Reunion (2002), Adam & Eva (1997). Producers are Henrik Widman and Anna Odenhall at SF Studios and the film is co-produced with SVT and Film i Västwith the support from The Swedish Film Institute and Nordic Film & TV Fund.
For more information please contact:
Annika Sucksdorff, Head of Film Production Sweden, SF Studios, +46 79 073 08 73
Malin Strihagen, Vice President Brand & Communications, SF Studios, +46 70 780 39 35
About SF Studios
SF Studios is one of the world’s oldest film companies and is celebrating 100 years in 2019. Today SF Studios is the leading film studio in the Nordic region with its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden and offices in Oslo, Copenhagen, Helsinki and London. The company is producing and distributing feature films and TV series as well as providing the digital services SF Anytime and SF Kids.
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