Mikael Marcimain, ‘Midsommar’ Team Board ‘Devastation,’ Mylla Films’ About Sweden’s 1860s Famine (EXCLUSIVE)

Elsa Keslassy
·2 min read
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Mikael Marcimain, the Swedish director of hits “Call Girl” and “Gentlemen,” is on track to direct “Devastation,” an epic and horrific tale of survival set in 1867. “Devastation” is one of the first projects developed by Mylla Films, the new banner set up by Jakob Abrahamsson and Patrik Andersson (“Midsommar”).

Mylla Films has enlisted Nordic distributor Scanbox and French boutique genre specialist Alexis Perrin of Rumble Fish as co-producers.

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A period piece set in northern Sweden, “Devastation” is penned by Melina Maraki (“The Liberation of Harold Kvist”). Unfolding during the hard winter and famine of 1867, the film revolves around two brothers, one the local industrialist and the other the local preacher, who keep the town in a tyrannical stronghold. An uprising begins from the most unexpected place.

Marcimain, who is rolling off a a string of TV hits, including “Blackwater,” which won a prize at Series Mania in Lille, made his debut feature with “Call Girl,” which won the FIPRESCI award at Toronto and three Guldbagge Awards (Sweden’s highest film honor). His sophomore outing, “Gentlemen,” based on Klas Östergren’s novel, won three Guldbagge Awards.

“I’m looking forward to adding a new scope and ambition to the Nordic realm of elevated genre film. Devastation is epic in scale and truly a cinematic, dark and realistic story about survival in horrific times, based on Melina Maraki’s bold and grim script,” said Marcimain.

Andersson and Abrahamsson said they’re looking forward to working with Marcimain and lure “local and international audiences into the harsh, thrilling and mesmerizing world of ‘Devastation.'” The pair said the project “could be pitched as a Cormac McCarthy story taking place in the far north of Sweden under one of the toughest times this country has lived through.” On top of producing, Andersson also co-created the story of “Devastation” with Martin Karlqvist (co-originator of the Hårga Cult in “Midsommar”) and Jakob Beckman (“I am Zlatan”).

“We’re big fans of Mikael Marcimain and the team at Mylla Films, and we’re thrilled to kick off our partnership in the Nordics with such a cool movie,” said Lone Korslund, creative director at Scanbox Prods.

Alexis Perrin, CEO and producer at Rumble Fish, said “Devastation” “promises to be a gripping and unforgettable story set against the unique backdrop of Sweden’s 1860s starvation.”

Mylla Films’s inaugural slate also boasts “The Aquanauts” and “Hoin,” a feature thriller based on the Twitter and podcast sensation by Andreas Ericson, written by Jerker Virdborg.

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