08/01/2025 - The drama film follows a woman heading up a team of aid workers toiling tirelessly to save lives in a field hospital outside a refugee camp in the Central African Republic

Kristine Kujath Thorp (left) in Safe House (© Graham Bartholomew/Fantefilm)

Eirik Svensson’s suspenseful drama film Safe House is set to open the upcoming edition of the Göteborg Film Festival (24 January-2 February – see the news). The 41-year-old Norwegian helmer’s most recent credits include the TV series Ammo (2022) and Basic Bitch (2022) as well as the features Betrayed [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (2020) and Seizure (2019).

Penned by Harald Rosenløw Eeg and Lars Gudmestad, the pic is set during the civil war in the Central African Republic. We zoom in on 35-year-old Linn, who leads a team of aid workers toiling tirelessly to save lives in a field hospital outside a massive refugee camp. When a Muslim man, who is being persecuted and is in mortal danger, seeks refuge, Linn must make a critical decision. A growing mob and Christian militia demand he be handed over. As the head of security, Linn must act quickly, weighing the safety of her team against the value of a single life. The story is based on true events that unfolded during 15 tense hours at a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Bangui on Christmas Eve 2013.

The main cast is made up of Kristine Kujath Thorp (The Promised Land [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Kristine Kujath Thorp
interview: Kristoffer Borgli
film profile]), Alexander Karim (the series The Swarm [+see also:
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interview: Leonie Benesch
series profile], The Dog, Gladiator II) and Alma Pöysti (Fallen Leaves [+see also:
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film profile], Four Little Adults [+see also:
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interview: Selma Vilhunen
film profile], Tove [+see also:
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interview: Zaida Bergroth
film profile]). Key creatives include DoP Karl Erik Brøndbo and editor Elise Solberg.

Budgeted at €3.3 million, Safe House is being produced by Catrin Gundersen and Hugo Hagemann Føsker for Oslo-based Fantefilm Fiksjon AS, with support from the Norwegian Film Institute, in co-production with Nordisk Film (Denmark), Film i Väst (Sweden), Cinenic Film (Sweden) and ReelMedia (Finland), and in association with Nordisk Film Distribution. Martin Sundland served as the project’s executive producer. Danish outfit TrustNordisk is in charge of its international sales.