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PRODUCTION Sweden

Malin Åkerman starring in Tomas Ledin-inspired A Piece of My Heart

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- The Hollywood star is making her Swedish-language debut in a musical romantic comedy based on the music and lyrics of the legendary singer-songwriter

Malin Åkerman starring in Tomas Ledin-inspired A Piece of My Heart
Tomas Ledin, Malin Åkerman and Edward af Sillén during the presentation of A Piece of My Heart

The songs of legendary Swedish singer-songwriter Tomas Ledin will serve as the inspiration for the new musical romantic comedy A Piece of My Heart [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
. Swedish-Canadian Hollywood star Malin Åkerman has secured the leading role in this, her first Swedish-language film.

The movie follows 35-year-old Sensuella Isabella (portrayed by Åkerman), a character who is the main focus of Ledin’s song of the same name, and who is a powerful businesswoman working in Stockholm’s financial milieu. She returns to her hometown for the celebrations for her father’s 60th birthday, and there, Isabella will get the chance to brag about her successful life to her former schoolmates. However, her mood will change when she is informed that her teenage crush, Simon (Christian Hillborg), is marrying her childhood friend Molly (Shima Niavarami) and they are not inviting her to their wedding. Of course, deep down, Isabella knows that she still has feelings for Simon. Jonas Karlsson plays chief economist Edvin, and the rest of the A-list cast includes Pernilla AugustJohan UlvesonJohan Rheborg and Per Andersson.

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Directed by debutant Edward af Sillén and written by Lars "Vasa" Johansson (Kops), A Piece of My Heart will not be a biopic of the singer, as it will follow the jukebox musical format that was used for ABBA’s songs in Mamma Mia! [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
Ledin, whose career spans more than five decades, is extremely popular in his home country, but for the non-Swedes, even including Åkerman, who admitted that she was unfamiliar with the impact of his work, Ledin could be described as an equivalent to Bruce Springsteen for the American audience. For the script, Ledin, who “feels extremely honoured to be part of this film project”, initially selected 40 songs to suggest to Johansson as inspiration, and 16 of them formed the basis of the film, also including lesser-known pieces and not only the hits.

Swedish producer Patrick Ryborn said of this new musical approach: “Our ambition is for the new recordings of the songs to respect the original versions and at the same time have a new dimension, with new voices from both male and female perspectives. We have a great cast that will deliver memorable performances and singing in a film that we hope will be a future Swedish classic.”

A Piece of My Heart is being produced by Patrick Ryborn (Unlimited Stories) together with Film i Väst. Shooting will commence in summer 2018, and the Swedish premiere is scheduled for Christmas 2019. Nordisk Film is handling the distribution.

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