12/06/2023 - Toplined by Danica Curcic and Angela Bundalovic, the picture is set around 4,000 BC and follows a girl whose family is killed by a tribe of hunter-gatherers

Director Mads Hedegaard (© Donald Michael Chambers)

Mads Hedegaard is now prepping his debut feature, a new action-drama flick titled Stranger. Previously, the Danish helmer worked on the documentary Cannon Arm and the Arcade Quest [+see also:
trailer
film profile], the winner of the Audience Award at Hot Docs in 2021.

Penned by the director himself along with Jesper Fink (Margrete – Queen of the North [+see also:
trailer
interview: Charlotte Sieling
film profile]), Stranger is set around 4,000 BC, during the transition from “hunter” Stone Age to “peasant” Stone Age. The story begins when 19-year-old girl Aathi and her family, as the first-ever farmers, arrive in what is now known as Denmark, but her family is killed by a local tribe of hunter-gatherers. Alone in the vast and eerie forest, Aathi and her brother are forced to live with the tribe that killed their family and learn their traditions in order to survive. But gradually, the demands of what Aathi must submit to become more and more ruthless. In the end, it is clear that there can be no peaceful resolution to the first and biggest culture clash in not only Danish, but also European history. Aathi must decide whether or not she will take her revenge.

The confirmed members of the main cast include Angela Bundalovic (the Netflix series Copenhagen Cowboy [+see also:
series review
trailer
interview: Nicolas Winding Refn
series profile], Copenhagen Does Not Exist [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Martin Skovbjerg
film profile]) and Danica Curcic (Murina [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović
interview: Gracija Filipovic
film profile], Out Stealing Horses [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Hans Petter Moland
film profile], Silent Heart [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]).

Stranger is being produced by Andreas Hjortdal for Denmark’s Motor, in cooperation with REinvent Studios, and in co-production with Maria Ekerhovd for Norway’s Mer Film, with support from the Danish Film Institute, the Norwegian Film Institute, Creative Europe - MEDIA, DR, NRK, SVT and YLE.  Moreover, the Nordisk Film & TV Fond granted the project a 2 million Norwegian crowns (circa €173,000) production bursary last week.

Scanbox is in charge of its domestic release, whilst REInvent is also overseeing its world sales. Filming will begin this summer, with a release slated for 2024.