23/10/2007

The Danish Film Institute (DFI) has just awarded DKK 5.8m (€3.8m) towards Nicolas Winding Refn’s new epic film Valhalla Rising, starring Mads Mikkelsen and Scottish actress Kahleen Crawford.

Based on a script co-written by Refn and Norwegian author Roy Jacobsen, the English-language action thriller tells the adventures of One-Eye, a mute warrior of supernatural strength and his friend, the young boy Are.

Trying to flee from bounty hunters and chieftain Barde, they board a Viking vessel for Norway. Engulfed in dense fog, the ship loses its way and they arrive in an unknown land, where the Vikings meet a ghastly fate and One-Eye discovers his true self.

Refn previously teamed up with Mikkelsen on his Pusher and Pusher 2 [+see also:
trailer
film profile] films. The DoP is Refn’s usual collaborator Morten Søborg, who also worked on Susanne Bier’s Brothers [+see also:
trailer
film profile], and the music is composed by Scottish band Mogwai.

Valhalla Rising is a €5m Danish/UK co-production between Nimbus Film and One Eye Production, produced by Johnny Andersen Bo Ehrhardt and Henrik Danstrup. Co-financiers include Scanbox (who has Scandinavian distribution rights), DR TV, the BBC, Scottish Screen, the UK Film Council and Nordisk Film & TV Fund.

The Danish release is scheduled for late 2008 or early 2009. Wild Bunch is handling world sales.