Mikael Persbrandt stars as Dag Hammarskjöld in Per Fly film sold by Beta Cinema

NOTE: This article is a republication- Source: Nordisk Film & TV Fond (Annika Pham).

The English language feature Hammarskjöld produced by Unlimited Stories with backing from Nordisk Film & TV Fond will be released this Christmas in Sweden via Nordisk Film.

Per Fly’s long-gestated feature project co-written with Ulf Ryberg (Headhunters, The Lost) is both a political thriller and a personal portrait of the legendary Swedish UN General Secretary and Nobel Peace Prize winner Dag Hammarskjöld, who perished in a mysterious plane crash in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) in 1961. Patrik Ryborn is producing for Unlimited Stories.

Next to Persbrandt who plays the Swedish diplomat are Sara Soulié, Thure Lindhardt, Francis Chouler, Cian Barry, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Colin Salmon and Richard Brake.

According to a statement from sales outfit Beta Cinema who will unveil exclusive footage at Berlin’s European Film Market (EFM), the film will focus on the last seven months of Hammarskjöld’s life.

We are in 1961, at the peak of the Cold War, and Hammarskjöld has been serving for seven years as UN General Secretary. After decolonisation, he takes it upon himself to bring peace to the African countries, thwarting plans from powerful entrepreneurs and world leaders to further exploit natural resources. His life is turned upside down when his old friend Peter shows up in New York. Dag realises that he has missed out on an important part of life and starts questioning his vision. When UN peacekeepers are killed in Congo, he sees no other way than to impose peace by new measures and leads the UN troops on their first war mission. He boards a plane in a final attempt to negotiate a cease-fire, well aware of the danger of his mission.

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