‘The Hypnosis’: Karlovy Vary Title Starring ‘The Worst Person In The World’ Breakout Herbert Nordrum Inks International Deals

Zac Ntim
·2 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: Karlovy Vary competition pic The Hypnosis, starring Herbert Nordrum (The Worst Person In The World) and Asta August (The Kingdom), has inked a series of international deals for Totem Films.

Directed by Swedish filmmaker Ernst De Geer in his feature debut, the reported sales include Film Stop (Baltics), Arti Films (Benelux), Artcam (Czech Republic and Slovakia), Kinovista (France), One From the Heart (Greece), Sideral (Spain), Xenix (Switzerland), and Hooray Films (Taiwan). We understand the Paris-based Totem is currently in negotiations in multiple other territories.

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The pic, a Swedish-Norwegian-French co-production, won three awards at Karlovy Vary: Best Actor, Fipresci Jury Award, and Europa Cinemas Label. The story follows André (Nordrum) and Vera (August), a young entrepreneurial couple who have been offered the opportunity to pitch their female health app at a prestigious competition. Before the presentation, Vera tries hypnotherapy to quit smoking. From this point, her attitude changes, and André starts to behave unexpectedly.

De Geer co-wrote the project with Mads Stegger. Producers are Garagefilm, Mer Film, Film I Väst, and Totem Atelier. Local Distributor is Triart Films (Close, Aftersun, EO, Holy Spider, Godland). Nordrum is best known for his breakout role in Joachim Trier’s 2021 Cannes winner, The Worst Person in the World, while August, daughter of double Palme d’Or Danish filmmaker Bille August, has credits on projects like Lars von Trier’s The Kingdom and Amalie Næsby Fick’s Sex.

The Hypnosis marks De Geer’s feature film debut. A native Swede, he studied directing at the Norwegian Film School. His graduation film, The Culture (2018), won prizes at several festivals, including Palm Springs and Premiers Plans. The short was also nominated for a Norwegian National Film Award.

De Geer shaped the film at a series of international workshops, including Les Arcs Coproduction Village 2020, Discovery GIFF 2020, and Wild Card Swedish Film Institute.

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