News

Sundance 2019: ‘Sonja: The White Swan’Review by Peter BelsitoSonja Henie (8 April 1912–12 October 1969) was a Norwegian figure skater and film star.

She was a three-time Olympic Champion(1928, 1932, 1936) in Ladies’ Singles, a ten-time World Champion (1927–1936) and a six-time European Champion (1931–1936). Henie won more Olympic and World titles than any other ladies’ figure skater.

At the height of her acting career, Sonja Henie was one of the highest-paid stars in Hollywood and starred in a series of box-office hits, including Thin Ice (1937), My Lucky Star (1938), Second Fiddle (1939) and Sun Valley Serenade (1941)

When the Norwegian figure skater arrived in Hollywood, she was a talent the industry had never seen before, or since — a three-time Olympic ladies’ singles champion (a record she continues to hold) whose chipper, if chilly romantic comedy hits kept Twentieth Century-Fox solvent in the build-up to World War II, in part because she phoned up her pal Joseph...

How much do you know about Sonja Henie? The answer to that question may dictate to what degree you’ll enjoy the biopic Sonja – The White Swan. Directed by Anne Sewitsky and starring Ine Marie Wilmann, the film tells the story of a unique star within a standard structure. As a child in Norway, young Sonja learns how to skate with her brother. Quickly we jump into adulthood, our lead now a European sensation, ice skating to packed venues.

When she and her father (Anders Mordal) get the offer to expand the scope of Sonja’s celebrity from Arthur Wirtz (Malcolm Adams), it’s an easy decision. They move to Hollywood and are in the office of Darryl Zanuck (Aidan McArdle) before long. The studio mogul makes one offer. Sonja demands a bigger one. And she gets what she wants. Cut to a reenacted dance sequence from One in a Million,...

When Norwegian figure skater Sonja Henie zipped into Hollywood, she was a talent the industry had never seen before, or since — a three-time Olympic ladies’ singles champion (a record she continues to hold) whose chipper, if chilly romantic comedy hits kept Twentieth Century-Fox solvent in the build-up to World War II, in part because she phoned up her pal Joseph Goebells to make sure her pictures played in Nazi Germany.

Was Henie a Nazi? No, says Anne Sewitsky’s shiny biopic “Sonja: The White Swan.” Henie was simply an opportunist, and a variety of other expletives depending on who you ask. Take, say, Fox head Darryl F. Zanuck, who here barges into Henie’s backyard to call her a “man-eating nymphomaniac.” That scene stretches credulity, but with a soundtrack that bops between ’80s rocker Billy Squier and the synthesizers that greet the snow queen’s arrival in L.

Majority of production loans have gone to female directors.

New projects from Neil Jordan, Neasa Hardiman (both pictured) and John Butler are among those supported by the Irish Film Board in its latest round of funding decisions.

In an apparent nod to recent pledges by the Ifb to commit to gender parity in its funded projects, three of the four production loans in this quarter were given to films with female directors.

Filmmaker Neasa Hardiman, whose television credits include Happy Valley and Tracy Beaker Returns, will make her feature directorial debut with Sea Fever, which has been given a provisional offer of commitment by the Ifb.

The film, centred on a science student who becomes isolated from her superstitious trawler crew as they struggle to overcome a deadly parasite in their water supply, was also written by Hardiman and will be produced by Fantastic Films.

The End of Romance, written and directed by Trish McAdam, based on the...

Queen of Ice

Director: Anne Sewitsky

Writer: Mette M. Bølstad & Andreas Markusson

Norwegian director Anne Sewitsky (who won top World Dramatic Narrative prize in Sundance for 2010’s Happy, Happy) tackles her highest profile project yet with Queen of Ice, a biopic on the famous yet controversial 1930s figure skater Sonja Henie.

Continue reading...

Anne Sewitsky’s anticipated Sonja Henie project, Queen Of Ice, is edging closer to an August 2016 shoot after confirming Norwegian Film Institute funding of €1.6m last week.

Henie was a Norwegian figure skating champion who became a famed Hollywood actress, signed to a contract with Fox by Darryl Zanuck.

Further financing is ongoing for the €8.4m Maipo Film production, which is produced by Synnove Horsdal. Horsdal tells Screen the project is likely being set up as a co-production between Norway, Germany and Spain. The team will apply for Eurimages funding in early 2016

A location in Spain will stand in for Henie’s house in Beverly Hills, although some shooting will also be done in the Us. The production will also shoot briefly in Rio, where Henie moved when she left Hollywood.

Ine Wilmann will play Henie and further casting is underway now, in particular for the roles of Henie’s brother Leif and her last husband.

As Horsdal...