In a first for the oldest TV fiction festival in France, the Festival de la Fiction de la Rochelle will open with the Norwegian drama series Acquitted.
A character-driven drama, Acquitted (Frikjent) stars Nicolai Cleve Broch (Max Manus: Man of War, The Half Brother) as Aksel Borgen, a successful businessman in Asia who returns to his hometown to help save the cornerstone business from bankruptcy. Yet despite having been acquitted of the murder of his high school sweetheart twenty years ago, the locals who turned his back on him then are the same ones who still deem him guilty now, causing old wounds to be ripped open and new conflicts to arise upon his return.
Scandinavian audiences loved it. When the ten-episode series premiered this past spring on Norway’s TV2 and Sweden’s SVT, it broke ratings records.
“Acquitted is an excellent series with top writing, directing and acting talents,” said Carole Villevet, Head of the festival’s European selection. “Our goal this year is to focus on Europe and to platform European shows that have had great ratings nationwide. Acquitted is therefore a perfect choice for our prestigious opening slot,” she said.
Series producer Brede Hovland (North) and co-writers Siv Rajendram Eliassen (Those Who Kill) and Anna Bache-Wiig (Mammon) will introduce the show at the Festival.
Acquitted costars Lena Endre (Wallander), Synnøve Macody Lund (Headhunters), Tobias Santelmann (The Saboteurs/The Heavy Water Wars), Henrik Rafaelsen (The Almost Man), Ingar Helge Gimle (Codename: Hunter 2), Ellen Dorrit Petersen (King of Devil’s Island), Anne Marit Jacobsen (Maria), Fridtjov Såheim (Lilyhammer), and Elaine Tan (Hand of God).
Other Scandinavian dramas will also screen at La Rochelle, including the Danish drama series Broke (Bankerot) from DR, and the Norwegian comedy series Next Summer (Neste Sommer) from Feelgood Scene Film & TV.
In addition, the opener of the hit Swedish/Danish crime thriller, The Bridge III (Bron/Broen III), will premiere as part of a Case Study presented by Lars Blomgren, managing director of Filmlance International, the series’ production company, and Anders Landström, the series’ producer.
Lastly, Swedish scriptwriter Camilla Ahlgren (The Bridge, The Sandhamn Murders) will be a member of the Festival’s jury.
The Festival de la Fiction de la Rochelle runs from 9-13 September 2015.
Source: Nordisk Film & TV Fond
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