SF Studios to Produce Swedish Female-Driven Disaster Film ‘The Abyss’ (EXCLUSIVE)

SF Studios (“A Man Called Otto”) is set to produce and distribute “The Abyss,”  a female-driven Swedish disaster film directed by Richard Holm (“Johan Falk”) and chronicling the tragic events that took place in the mining town of Kiruna.

Now shooting on location, the movie is headlined by Tuva Novotny(“Annihilation”) who stars alongside  Kardo Razazzi (“Honour”)and Peter Franzen (“Vikings”), Felicia Truedsson (“Young Royals”), Tintin Poggats Sarri (“Charter”) and Edvin Ryding (“Young Royals”).

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“The Abyss” stars Novotny as Frigga, who tries to balance her risky job as a security manager in the Kiirunavaara mine with her family life, her new love Dabir (Razazzi) and her ex, who doesn’t want to let go (Franzén). But when the ground suddenly starts to shake under their feet, the puzzle of life doesn’t matter and the struggle to not be pulled into the abyss begins.

“I’ve directed a lot of action during my career and to now be able to take it one step further with a truly large-scale disaster film feels fantastic,” said Holm. The director said it “has been extra fun to develop the family characters together with the actors during rehearsals.” He added that the “disaster theme has a large measure of truth in it” because “the ground of the entire town is movie and cracking due to the mine.”

“The Abyss” is filmed partly on location in Kiruna, partly in Tampere in northern Finland, where many of the interior scenes in the mine were filmed. This week the filming was completed in Kiruna. The production is now moving to a studio in Las Palmas followed by extensive VFX work.

“Kiruna is the most important place for the story we want to tell. Therefore, it has also been important for us to be able to shoot on location,” said Joakim Hansson, producer of the film.

“But to complete the film and maximize both the storytelling and the quality, we are filming in three more European countries,” Hansson continued. He also pointed that Sweden produces very few genre films.

Yaba Holst, executive producer and head of nordic acquisition at SF Studios, said the movie has a “thrilling plot with the heart in the right place, modern cast and a highly possible and terrifying scenario creates great anticipation and potential.”

“The Abyss” is expected to premiere in Sweden on Sept. 15, 2023.

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