Dirty Dane: Emil Johnsen Confronts Painful Past in Isabella Eklöf’s “Kalak”

In terms of new trauma triggering old trauma experiences, her debut film Holiday was no walk in the park and now for Isabella Eklöf‘s sophomore film, we can expect wounds of a personal and collective nature. Screen Daily reports that production begins today on Kalak – with Emil Johnsen toplining. Asta Kamma August, Søren Hellerup, Berda Larsen, Connie Kristoffersen and Hans-Jukku Noahsen also join the project. Eklöf will reteam with her cinematographer in Nadim Carlsen. Co-written with Kim Leine and Sissel Dalsgaard Thomsen, adapted from Leine’s debut novel of the same name, Manna Film’s Maria Møller Kjeldgaard produces a project that has received a ton of Scandi support. Production begins in Denmark and will move to Greenland. This could technically be ready for a premiere at Cannes next year, but they’ll likely be shooting for Venice.

Greenland in the 90’s. Jan, family father and nurse, is constantly on the run from himself after being sexually abused by his father as a teenager. Working in Nuuk, Greenland, he yearns to a part of the open, collectivist culture and basically tries to fuck his way inside. Based on a true story.