PRODUCTION / FUNDING Sweden / Italy
SF Studios kicks off production on Alexandra-Therese Keining’s The Trip to Piedmont in Italy
- The heartwarming drama film sees Swedish actors Helena Bergström, Kjell Bergqvist, Björn Kjellman and Kajsa Ernst partaking in a rare ensemble collaboration
SF Studios has announced the launch of its latest feature, The Trip to Piedmont, directed by European Film Award-nominated Alexandra-Therese Keining, who also penned the screenplay based on an original idea.
A heartwarming tale set against picturesque landscapes, The Trip to Piedmont follows four recently retired friends who travel to Italy after Eva inherits an olive grove. What starts off as a practical trip to settle legal affairs soon evolves into a journey of discovery, prompting the friends to reflect on what truly awaits them back home in Sweden. Italy, by contrast, offers sunshine, culinary delights and charming villagers, reminding them that life’s later years are the perfect moment to pursue long-held dreams.
The cast combines some of Sweden’s most familiar faces – Helena Bergström (House of Angels, Under the Sun), Kjell Bergqvist (Tabu, Evil), Björn Kjellman (Adam and Eve, All Things Fair) and Kajsa Ernst (Dalecarlians [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Maria Blom
film profile], Tove [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Zaida Bergroth
film profile]) – with undisclosed Italian actors in supporting roles. Collectively, the Swedish ensemble has appeared in over 250 film and television productions, received 11 Guldbagge Award nominations and won five, with their films attracting more than 27.6 million cinema-goers in Sweden. Additional cast members include Peter Haber and Peter Dalle.
“I have longed to make an ensemble film about timeless friendship,” says Keining. “Bringing an original idea to life in one of the world’s most beautiful locations is fantastic. Uniting Sweden’s leading actors with Italian colleagues in a fun, adventurous feature film is a creative journey I’m incredibly excited about.”
Keining’s previous films – With Every Heartbeat [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (2012), Girls Lost [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (2016) and The Average Color of the Universe [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alexandra-Therese Keining
film profile] (2021) – have competed at the Toronto, Cannes, London and Rome Film Festivals, and have been sold to over 50 countries worldwide.
The Trip to Piedmont is being produced by Jonathan Ridings and Jon Nohrstedt for SF Studios, in co-production with SVT and Film i Väst, with support from the Swedish Film Institute, the Nordisk Film & TV Fond, Film Commission Torino Piemonte and the Italian tax-rebate programme for film production. Principal photography is under way in Italy in collaboration with LUME Productions. International sales are being handled by REinvent, with a Swedish theatrical release planned for 2026.
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