Today, 19 September, in collaboration with the Latvian production company Munchhausen Productions, one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious film studios Nordisk Film Production is starting work on the production of a big budget feature film Boundless. The film is a screen adaptation of a bestselling detective novel about Department Q by the popular Danish writer Jussi Adler-Olsen. The novel has been translated into over 40 languages and sold in many millions of copies. Denmark’s biggest film stars and the writer himself have arrived for the filming of the thriller, which will take place in Latvia until 28 October.
This detective story is being directed by one of Denmark’s leading directors and screenwriters Ole Christian Madsen. The film also has a very strong cast, with the leading role being played one of Denmark’s biggest film starts Ulrich Thomsen, who played the villain in the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough in which he co-starred with Pierce Brosnan, as well as roles in other internationally award-winning projects. The actors include starts such as Sofie Torp, Afshin Firouzi, Joachim Fjelstrup, Søren Malling, Helle Fagralid, Rasmus Bjerg, Peter Mygind and Swedish actress Hedda Stiernstedt.
“This is the first time that such an influential global film studio like Nordisk Film Production has shot a big budget feature film in Latvia. The production of the studio’s projects here means a significant expenditure of foreign film capital within the local cultural sector and employment and growth for countless related industries,” says Munchhausen Productions Producer Elīna Jozauska with satisfaction. “In the event that this collaboration proves to be successful, during the next few years the studio could also film some other films in Latvia, including adaptations of other books about Department Q, the rights to which have already been acquired by Nordisk Film Production,” adds the film’s Executive Producer Madara Kalniņa, who in recent years has worked with Nordisk Film Production on a number of occasions in Denmark, thus prompting the decision to film part of Boundless in Latvia.
“In choosing a location where we film our latest projects, we take several factors into account – there must be the possibility of working with a high quality professional film crew; film infrastructure must be well-developed; and state co-financing must be available, which is a fundamental European film industry requirement. We have found the combination of all these factors in Latvia. This is a rare discovery, and we hope that our collaboration turns out to be long-term,” stresses Nordisk Film Production Producer Mikael Rieks.
Boundless was awarded Latvian State Budget co-financing within the framework of the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia’s programme “2022 State Budget Co-financing Competition for Filming Foreign Films in Latvia”, as well as co-financing from Riga Council under the auspices of the Riga Film Fund programme.
Filming involves a team of almost one hundred film industry professionals from Latvia and Denmark, twenty Danish actors and over seven hundred extras from Latvia. The participation of local artists in the film’s creative crew is especially noteworthy including that of the film’s makeup artist Aija Beata Rjabovska, Latvian artist Aldis Meinerts, costume designer Līga Krāsone, sound engineer Mārtiņš Rozentāls and lighting artist Pēteris Skujiņš.
Filming will take place in the vicinity of Kuldiga and Riga, including at the National Library of Latvia, the Ministry of Finance’s building in the Old Town of Riga, Riga Film Studio and many historical industrial parts of Sarkandaugava, where the island of Bornholm will be recreated. As the Danish representatives acknowledge, visually in terms of atmosphere of Latvian nature is very similar to that of Denmark, and buildings in Latvia can be easily adapted to replicate Denmark. The specifics of the script will make it possible to combine the harshness of Scandinavia with the poetry of Latvian nature.
The film’s premiere is due to take place on 1 February 2024.
Synopsis of Boundless:
Detective Carl Mørck sends Rose, his junior colleague in Department Q, to the remote Danish Island of Bornholm to answer his old colleague Christian Habersaat’s repeated requests. But during his forced retirement ceremony Christian kills himself sending Rose into a journey deep into her own traumatic past. Later, the newly engaged Carl arrives on the island where he, Rose and Assad are embroiled into an old cold case of a girl found dead hanging in a tree. The killing, officially written up as a traffic accident, has connections to both the local Police precinct and a cult of sun worshipers from which young women have vanished without trace for years. When the case is reopened, and with the island now dangerous, Carl must solve it and resolve his own dark personal past to be able to move on to a new life with his fiancée.
Main facts about the film:
- Director – Ole Christian Madsen
- Screenwriter – Jakob Weis
- Principal Producer – Henrik Zein
- Producers – Mikael Rieks and Malene Blenkov
- Co-producer – Peter Nadermann
- Executive Producer – Madara Kalniņa (Latvia)
- Service Producer – Elīna Jozauska (Latvia)
- Principal Cameraman – Jørgen Johansson
- Latvian Cameraman – Jurģis Kmins (Latvia)
- Film Artist – Nikolaj Danielsen
- Latvian Artist – Aldis Meinerts (Latvia)
- Costume Designers – Anette Hvidt and Līga Krāsone (Latvia)
- Makeup Artist – Aija Beata Rjabovska (Latvia)
- Sound Engineer – Mārtiņs Rozentāls (Latvia)
- Lighting Artist – Pēteris Skujiņš (Latvia)