Internationally awarded Sanna Lenken will direct Jenny Jägerfeld’s acclaimed book Comedy Queen

16 March 2021

Copyright: Photo credit: Johan Paulin

On May 4, the filming of internationally acclaimed and award-winning director Sanna Lenken's (Thin Blue Line, My Skinny Sister) new film Comedy Queen begins. The drama comedy is about 13-year-old Sasha, who dreams of becoming a stand-up comedian. It is based on Jenny Jägerfeld's acclaimed novel of the same name and Linn Gottfridsson (Beartown, Glowing Stars) is the script writer. The main role Sasha is played by Sigrid Johnson (Maria Wern, Tusen år till julafton), Sasha's father Abbe is played by Oscar Töringe (Thin Blue Line, My Dad Marianne, Top Dog) and in the role of Sasha's bestie Märta we see feature film debutant Ellen Taure. The film is produced by FLX in co-production with Film i Väst, SVT and SF Studios, which also handles distribution in the Nordic region.

Sasha is just 13 years old and wants nothing more than to become a stand-up comedian. She wants to make everyone laugh, especially her father who cries in the shower when he thinks no one is listening. Behind her eyes, the life-threatening tears also burn on Sasha, but she refuses to mourn her mother, who has passed away. She secretly writes a list of everything she has to do to survive - shave her hair, stop reading books, say no to the world's cutest puppy and above all - become a Comedy Queen.

The film is directed by the acclaimed Sanna Lenken, whose latest work, the series Thin Blue Line, is currently a success on SVT (Swedish Television). She has previously directed the Guldbagge Award-nominated short films Eating Lunch (2014) and Night Children (2018) and made her feature film debut with My Skinny Sister (2015), for which she was Guldbagge Award-nominated for Best Director and Best Screenplay and was awarded with the Crystal Bear at the Berlin Film Festival and the Grand Film Award at the Gothenburg International Film Festival.

"I am drawned to this type of stories that has a serious background, but is told with humor and warmth. It is a different survival story that touches the audience and gives comfort and hope!”, says Sanna Lenken, director.

The film Comedy Queen is based on Jenny Jägerfeld's novel of the same name which has been praised by both readers and critics, awarded with the Children's Novel Prize and nominated for the August Prize.

“I'm so happy and honored that Comedy Queen will become a feature film! Ever since I published my first book in 2006, I have longed to see the characters on film. In Comedy Queen, I have written my heart, my deepest sorrow and my most giggling, silliest joy. I can’t imagine a better company than FLX to produce this story", says Jenny Jägerfeld, author of Comedy Queen.

The shooting of Comedy Queen will take place in Gothenburg and Stockholm and begins on May 4. Producers for the film are Rebecka Lafrenz, who previously produced Bert's Diary (2020), Cockpit (2012) and was awarded the Guldbagge Award for Sebbe (2010), and Anna Anthony, who previously produced Jalla Jalla (2000), In a Better World (2010), Young Astrid (2018) and ZoZo (2005), for which she received the Nordic Council Film Award. Executive producers are Joshua Mehr and Pontus Edgren.

Comedy Queen has been a dream project from the start! Jenny Jägerfeld's wonderfully funny and heartbreaking novel, the screenwriter Linn Gottfridsson's sensitive transfer to the script and the fantastic Sanna Lenken directing this film. My producer colleague Rebecka Lafrenz and I are super proud and can’t wait to see the film come together!”, says Anna Anthony, producer and creative director of the feature film, FLX.

Comedy Queen is produced by FLX in co-production with Film i Väst, SF Studios and SVT and with support from the Swedish Film Institute. SF Studios is distributing the film in the Nordics and REinvent International Sales handles international sales. The film will premiere in cinemas in spring 2022.

Cast
Sascha – Sigrid Johnson
Abbe – Oscar Töringe
Märta – Ellen Taure
Farmor – Anna Bjelkerud
Linn – Camila Bejarano Wahlgren


For more information, please contact:
Malin Strihagen, Vice President Brand & Communications, SF Studios, +46 (0)70 780 39 35

About SF Studios
SF Studios, established in 1919, is one of the world’s oldest film companies. 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. SF Studios is a majority owner of FLX and is part of the leading Nordic media company Bonnier.

About FLX
FLX is one of Scandinavia's fastest growing production companies in TV drama, feature films and commercials with successes such as the TV series Sunny Side, Love & Anarchy, The Bonus Family, Grotesco, The Simple Heist, Andra åket and Quicksand, the first Swedish original series for Netflix, as well as the feature films The Jonsson Gang, The Hundred Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared, The 101-Year-Old Man Who Skipped Out on the Bill and Disappeared, Sunny Side, Bert’s Diary and Felix Herngren’s upcoming film Day by Day. FLX is also a leading supplier of commercials for customers such as IKEA, the Swedish Pension Authority, Ikano and many more.

About REinvent 
REinvent
is a packaging, sales and financing studio all in one. REinvent International Sales has extensive knowledge of original trends and sales opportunities in both the Scandinavian and international markets and represents SF Studios’ international slate of films and TV series as well as works with other high profile European production companies.

Contacts

Malin Strihagen

VP Brand & Communications