Star-studded Danish drama selected for Cannes

The Cannes Film Festival has announced their line-up for this year's festival in May, and Nordisk Film's thrilling drama THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE, directed by Magnus von Horn and produced by Malene Blenkov and Mariusz Włodarski, has been awarded a prestigious position. The film has been sensationally selected for the festival's main competition, where it will have its world premiere in May before being released in Danish cinemas in the autumn.

This is the first time in recent history that Nordisk Film has produced a film that has been selected for the main competition in Cannes, and Nordisk Film is obviously very excited about this:

"This is the first time in recent history that Nordisk Film has had a film in the main competition at Cannes, and we are very proud of that. It is a great recognition of director Magnus von Horn and everyone in front of and behind the camera who has created an artistically ambitious work. This is great for Danish film - we need encouragement and success. It's already a victory to be in the running for the Palme d'Or, and now we're looking forward to The Girl with the Needle meeting its world audience in Cannes," says Katrine Vogelsang, CEO of Nordisk Film Production.

The plot

Young factory worker Karoline struggles to survive in Copenhagen in the aftermath of World War 1. Unemployed, abandoned and pregnant, she meets Dagmar, a charismatic woman who runs an underground adoption agency where she helps mothers find foster families for their unwanted children. With nowhere else to go, Karoline takes on the role of a wet nurse and a strong connection between the two women develops. But Karoline's world is shattered when she realises the shocking truth...

Shot in black and white, THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE is a disturbing tale of a woman in search of love and morality. The film is based on true events.

Strong Danish cast

Vic Carmen Sonne (most recently the TV series Riget Exodus and the film Uncreated Land) plays Karoline, while Trine Dyrholm (most recently the film The Birthday Girl and the TV series

Mary & George) plays Dagmar. Other key roles include Besir Zeciri, Joachim Fjelstrup, Tessa Hoder, Benedikte Hansen and Søren Sætter-Lassen.

THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE is directed by Polish-Swedish talent Magnus von Horn, whose feature debut The Here After premiered at the Directors Fortnight in Cannes in 2015 and was awarded the prestigious Guldbagge Awards in Sweden for Best Film and Best Director. His second feature film Sweat was part of the official programme at Cannes in 2020.

The screenplay is written by Magnus von Horn and Line Langebek, while it is produced by Malene Blenkov and Mariusz Włodarski for Nordisk Film Production with support from The Danish Film Institute, DR, The Swedish Film Institute, The Polish Film Institute, Nordisk Film & TV Fond and Eurimages, among others. The Match Factory has international sales rights and is distributed in Denmark by Nordisk Film Distribution.