HBO Europe has finally commissioned its first Danish Original. The project, entitled Kamikaze, is an eight-part series set to start filming in January 2020. The director attached to it is three-time Golden Bear nominee Annette K Olesen, best known for her features The Shooter [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] (2013), Little Soldier [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] (2008), In Your Hands [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] (2004) and Minor Mishaps [+lire aussi :
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The drama, based on the 2007 novel Muleum by Erlend Loe, was adapted for television by Johanne Algren (Holiday [+lire aussi :
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interview : Victoria Carmen Sonne
fiche film]). The story centres on Julie, who seems to have it all: beauty, youth and money. However, shortly after her 18th birthday, she receives a final message from her father. Seconds later, her parents and big brother are killed in a plane crash in Uganda, leaving her all alone, in a giant mansion. As the loss of her family sinks in, she is forced to find a reason to keep going and embarks on a dangerous journey of rediscovery that will take her from her native Denmark to all the corners of the Earth.

Olesen explained that she was gripped by the novel during a flight from Italy back in 2009: “I instantly felt it was a fantastic visual story with a mad, wild, angry and funny energy.” Moreover, she added that the uniqueness of Kamikaze owes a lot to “the combination of a universal feeling of profound meaninglessness, a classic coming-of-age-story, and a dry, sharp and life-affirming wit”.

Speaking about the project’s potential, writer Johanne Algren said: “I can't think of a better story to tell an audience – the young human being who has everything and nothing at the same time. All Julie sees is meaninglessness, so she embarks on a journey through it all and ends up experiencing life, not from the outside, but from the inside. I think it is rare to feel so connected to, and so deeply touched by, material that is not originally your own. I am therefore very grateful that the project Kamikaze landed on my desk.”

Kamikaze is being produced by Ditte Milsted (Valhalla [+lire aussi :
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interview : Grímur Hákonarson
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interview : Grimur Hakonarson
fiche film]) for Profile Pictures and received backing from the Danish Film Institute. Hanne Palmquist, Steve Matthews and Antony Root will serve as executive producers. The project is the fourth Nordic series to be commissioned by HBO Europe, after Gösta [+lire aussi :
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fiche série], Beforeigners and the upcoming Beartown, an adaptation of Fredrik Backman’s novel of the same name. An official release date is yet to be disclosed.