Viaplay and Zentropa partner on ‘The Dreamer – Becoming Karen Blixen’ starring Connie Nielsen
- Major Danish drama series explores life of world-famous author Karen Blixen
- ‘The Dreamer – Becoming Karen Blixen’ stars Connie Nielsen (‘Gladiator’) in title role
- Viaplay set to premiere at least 60 Originals in 2022
Viaplay and Zentropa Entertainments are partnering on the major Viaplay Original drama series ‘The Dreamer – Becoming Karen Blixen’ about one of Denmark’s greatest authors. The series stars Connie Nielsen (‘Gladiator’) as Karen Blixen, is created by Dunja Gry Jensen (‘Norskov’) and directed by Jeanette Nordahl (‘Wildland’), and is based on an idea by Connie Nielsen and Karoline Leth. Filming of ‘The Dreamer – Becoming Karen Blixen’ has recently completed in Denmark and internationally, and the primarily Danish-language show will premiere exclusively on Viaplay in 2022.
‘The Dreamer – Becoming Karen Blixen’ is the story of one women’s struggle to find her place in life while freeing herself from the expectations of family and society. The series takes place in the 1930s and follows Karen Blixen’s return to Denmark after many years in east Africa. Penniless, sick, divorced and with her dreams in ruins, ‘The Dreamer – Becoming Karen Blixen’ shows Blixen’s journey from her lowest point to become a renowned writer, including visualisations of her interior life and the magical universe of her stories.
Connie Nielsen won the Best Actress prize at the San Sebastian International Film Festival in 2004 for her role in Susanne Bier’s ‘Brothers’, for which she also received a Bodil award in Denmark and a nomination for Best European Actress at the European Film Awards in 2005. She will also be an executive producer of ‘The Dreamer – Becoming Karen Blixen’.
Connie Nielsen: “Karen Blixen has been a role model for me since I was a child: an adventurer, artist, traveller and thinker. But I didn’t know the full story of how a 46-year-old woman, in the midst of her life’s deepest crisis, found her unique talent through a process that was painful, trying and also exciting. I believe it’s important for women of all ages and backgrounds to know her inspiring story, and I’ll put my body and soul into portraying this incredible person.”
Filippa Wallestam, NENT Group Chief Content Officer: “Sharing the stories of influential and inspiring Nordic figures with the world is a priority for Viaplay. ‘The Dreamer – Becoming Karen Blixen’ offers a close-up look at the life of one of the greatest authors of all time – somebody who spent her life fighting to be the woman, person and artist she wanted to be. The exceptional creative team on both sides of the camera means our ambitions for this very special show are as high as possible.”
The six-part series (Danish title: ‘Drømmeren – Karen Blixen bliver til’) is produced as a Viaplay Original by Zentropa Entertainments by Marie Cecilie Gade, Karoline Leth and Charlotte Hjordt in co-production with Belga. The production has received support from Public Service Puljen, Nordisk Film & TV Fond, Wallimage, the Belgian Federal Government Tax Shelter and the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.
Viaplay and Zentropa Entertainments are currently partnering on ‘THE KINGDOM EXODUS’, the third and final season of Lars von Trier’s ‘The Kingdom’ produced by Zentropa for Viaplay and DR.
Every year, Viaplay will produce two major English-language films about Nordic figures and events, beginning with ‘Hilma’, a biopic of the Swedish artist and feminist pioneer Hilma af Klint written and directed by Lasse Hallström (Oscar-nominated for ‘The Cider House Rules’ and ‘My Life as a Dog’) and starring Lena Olin (Oscar-nominated for ‘Enemies, A Love Story’).
About Viaplay Originals
At least 60 Viaplay Originals are set to premiere in 2022. In the past three months, ‘The Box’; ‘Kin’; ‘The Trick’; ‘Sort Of’; ‘Red Election’; ‘Suedi’; ‘Furia’; season two of ‘The Truth Will Out’; ‘Close to Me’; and ‘Two Sisters’ have premiered on Viaplay.
Recently announced Originals include ‘Fenris’; ‘Gold Run’; ‘Billy the Kid’; ‘Last Light’; ‘Cell 8’; ‘Elvira’; ‘North Sea Connection’; ‘Limbo’; ‘Litvinenko’; ‘Karma and Jonar’; ‘Ronja’; ‘Ida Takes Charge’; season two of ‘The Machinery’; ‘The Prize of Silence’; ‘The Uninhabitable Earth’; ‘Polish Murderesses’, ‘Black Dog’ and ‘Freedom of the Swallow’; season two of ‘Partisan’; season three of ‘Honour’; seasons three and four of ‘Hammarvik’; ‘The Holiday’; seasons two and three of ‘Pørni’; ‘Hilma’; ‘Sisterhood’; ‘Who Shot Otto Mueller?’; a biopic of Börje Salming; ‘Fadime’; ‘Taylor’s Island’; ‘What about Monica’; ‘Trom’; ‘THE KINGDOM EXODUS’; ‘Made in Oslo’; ‘Estonia: The Last Wave’; season two of ‘Stella Blómkvist’; season two of ‘Wisting’; ‘The Swarm’; ‘Harmonica’; ‘Perfect People’; and ‘Margeaux’.
Two major English-language films will be produced for Viaplay every year. NENT Group has also established a UK-based joint venture with FilmNation Entertainment and invested in US studio Picturestart.
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NOTES TO EDITORS
Nordic Entertainment Group AB (publ) (NENT Group)’s Viaplay streaming service is available in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Viaplay will launch in the US in 2021 and the Netherlands and the UK in 2022, followed by Canada, Germany, Austria and Switzerland by the end of 2023. We operate streaming services, TV channels, radio stations and production companies, and our purpose is to tell stories, touch lives and expand worlds. Headquartered in Stockholm with a global perspective, NENT Group is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm (‘NENT B’).
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