SF’s Mardell goes independent
by Annika Pham
Johan Mardell, executive producer of Arn: The Knight Templar [+see also:
trailer
film profile], will step down as head of production for Scandinavian major Svensk Filmindustri (SF) on April 1, 2008 to work as an independent producer.
Mardell, whose idea it was to bring Jan Guillou’s best-selling crusade trilogy Arn to the screen – for the most expensive film ever made in Scandinavia – has spent the last five years at SF in his position. As such, he backed projects that include Reza Bagher’s Popular Music and Martin Asphaug’s Kim Novak Never Swam in Genesaret’s Lake.
Before leaving SF, Mardell will finish supervising post-production of the sequel to Arn, set to open in Sweden in August 2008.
“Johan Mardell has played a most important part in the development and increased production activities the last few years,” said Rasmus Ramstad, president and CEO of SF. “As he now chooses to leave the company and play an independent role as producer, we wish him the best of luck. We will of course try to find ways of working with him in the future.”
The company owned by the Bonnier Group is now looking for a new head of production.
SF’s in-house productions scheduled for a 2008 domestic release include the family film Lasse Maja’s Detective Agency, and two animation films, one based on the popular Pettson & Findus characters, and the 2D cell animation film Mommy Moo and Crow.
The first Arn: The Knight Templar has garnered over one million admissions in Sweden, 160,000 in Norway, 134,000 in Denmark and 17,000 in Finland, the latest Nordic territory where it opened (February 22).
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