Artist and filmmaker John Skoog’s sophomore feature, Redoubt, is now in post-production. According to Variety, the outlet that first reported the announcement, the picture is “a narrative film that expands on Skoog’s video installation by the same name, which won the prestigious Baloise Art Prize in 2014, and is also part of the artist’s exhibition Walls”.

Previously, Skoog helmed a short documentary, Shadowland, which vied for the Golden Bear in 2015, and the 2019 feature Ridge [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], whose synopsis describes it as “a story composed of fragments of lives lived in the periphery”.

The new black-and-white, 35 mm film, penned by Skoog together with Kettil Kasang, draws inspiration from Karl-Göran Persson, a real-life farmer known as a good Samaritan on the verge of madness, who lived near the helmer’s home town of Kvidinge during World War II. After receiving a warning by the Swedish government of potential strikes by the Soviet army, he sets off to turn his house into a fortified shelter for fellow villagers.

The story of Redoubt, however, will unfold during the second half of the 20th century, “post-World War II, but before the internet became something for everyone and before the fall of the Berlin Wall”. The movie was shot in two parts, with the first taking place in summer and the second set ten years later, in winter.

The leading role is played by 62-year-old thesp Denis Lavant, who is best known for his work with director Leos Carax in films such as Les Amants du Pont-Neuf, The Night Is Young and Holy Motors [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Leos Carax
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intervista: Jakub Piątek
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intervista: Niels Arden Oplev
intervista: Søren Stærmose
scheda film]) and Livia Millhagen (The Sunny Side [+leggi anche:
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The key crew members are DoP Ita Zbroniec Zajt (Ridge, Alma [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Anna Jadowska
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intervista: Juho Kuosmanen
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intervista: Thomas Daneskov
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intervista: Charlotte Sieling
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intervista: Eugenio Mira
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Redoubt is being produced by Erik Hemmendorff and Caroline Drab for Ruben Östlund’s banner Plattform Produktion (Sweden), in co-production with Film i Skåne (Sweden), Film i Väst (Sweden), SVT (Sweden), BCD Film (Sweden), Bufo (Finland), Lemming Film (Netherlands), No.Mad Films (Italy) and Paloma Production (Denmark), and in association with Bord Cadre Films (Switzerland) and Sovereign Films (UK).

Erik Hemmendorff’s credits include hits such as the Palme d’Or-winning films The Square [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Ruben Östlund
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intervista: Ruben Östlund
intervista: Ruben Östlund
scheda film], as well as Mia Hansen-Løve’s Bergman Island [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Mia Hansen-Løve
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intervista: Ninja Thyberg
scheda film].