SF Studios boosts international ranks with new hires in the UK and announces its upcoming international production survival thriller DON’T MOVE

22 February 2020 - Last updated 22 May 2020

Copyright: Photo: Laura Radford

SF Studios, the leading distribution and production company in the Nordics, has boosted its international ranks by hiring two new executives, Sudie Smyth, VP Production UK & International, and Indy Datta, VP Legal & Business Affairs UK & International, it was announced today. The film studio also announced its next international production with survival thriller film DON’T MOVE with Alain Darborg set to direct.

The new hires are the latest step in SF Studios’ continued international expansion and its push into English language feature film and TV production. Effective immediately, Sudie Smyth and Indy Datta will report directly to Wikström Nicastro and work closely with Kate Myers, VP Development UK & international, and will be based in SF Studios’ London office.

Sudie Smyth has over 20 years’ production experience in the film and TV industry, most recently working as a completion guarantor on recent titles including HOW TO BUILD A GIRL, TEEN SPIRIT and WILD ROSE. Previously she was Head of Production at Pinewood Pictures overseeing production on film and television including BELLE, DOM HEMINGWAY and THE SHADOW LINE.

Indy Datta is an accomplished entertainment lawyer who has worked across all sectors of the industry including for producers, distributors, broadcasters and financers. Most recently, he worked at Buccaneer Media, working across television programmes such as Hans Rosenfeldt’s MARCELLA.

“Sudie and Indy are experienced and well-respected executives who bring a wealth of experience and connectivity to SF Studios, so we’re really pleased they are joining us in London as we continue to expand internationally”, says Fredrik Wikström Nicastro, SVP International Production at SF Studios.

On the back of SF Studios’ first two international features - BORG MCENROE starring Shia LaBeouf, Sverrir Gudnason and Stellan Skarsgård, and the upcoming HORIZON LINE starring Allison Williams and Alexander Dreymon to be released by SF Studios in the Nordics and STX Entertainment in the US and UK with STX International selling rest of the world – SF Studios will next produce the survival thriller film DON’T MOVE, to be produced by Fredrik Wikström Nicastro (BORG MCENROE, HORIZON LINE) and directed by emerging Scandinavian director Alain Darborg, based on his original story.

Set to shoot by the end of the year, the film centres onmedical student Ali who volunteers for the night shift at a Californian zoo. But after a rescue mission goes awry, she finds herself trapped in the anaconda enclosure. It’ll take all of Ali’s willpower and intelligence to survive until morning with a hungry predator chasing her down and nowhere to hide.

Darborg is the up-and-coming Swedish director behind the smash hit Swedish crime drama series ALEX. Darborg is currently in production with SF Studios on RED DOT, Netflix’s first original Swedish film which he co-wrote, based on his original story and now is directing for the streaming platform.

“Do you remember the feeling of becoming an adult? It squeezes the breath out of you, it’s a long series of trial and errors and hard reminders about the harsh reality of life. Well this film is about that. Becoming an adult, and about a young woman that has to try to beat extreme physical and psychological obstacles to survive. As a filmmaker, SF Studios has been my home for many years now and together, with Don’t Move, we are aiming to deliver something to audiences they have never experienced before. A high octane, action-packed film about the difficulties of growing up,” says Alain Darborg, Director of Don’t Move.

“Part of SF Studios’ international remit is to work with emerging and established Scandinavian talent and give them the opportunity to work on bigger international projects, so working with the hot new Swedish director Alain Darborg on DON’T MOVE, an edgy, smart genre movie, is a perfect example of that. We’re really looking forward to shooting this later this year and then bringing this project to a wide international audience”, continues Fredrik Wikström Nicastro, SVP International Production as SF Studios.

SF Studios is financing, producing and distributing DON’T MOVE in the Nordics.


For more information, please contact:
Fredrik Wikström Nicastro, SVP International Production, Fredrik.WikstromNicastro@sfstudios.se, +46 70 413 63 83
Soleil Zuanich, Freuds PR agency, Soleil.zuanich@freuds.com, +44 20 3003 6489
Cathy Dunkley, Freuds PR agency, Cathy.dunkley@freuds.com, + 44 20 3003 6355

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 part of the leading Nordic media company Bonnier.