Bastarden (The Promised Land)

In 1755, the impoverished captain Ludvig Kahlen sets out to conquer the harsh, uninhabitable Danish heath with a seemingly impossible goal: to build a colony in the name of the King. In exchange, he’ll receive a desperately desired Royal name for himself. But the sole ruler of the area, the merciless Frederik de Schinkel, arrogantly believes this land belongs to him. When De Schinkel learns that the maid Ann Barbara and her servant husband have escaped for refuge with Kahlen, the privileged and spiteful ruler swears revenge, doing everything in his power to drive the captain away. Kahlen will not be intimidated and engages in an unequal battle—risking not only his life, but also that of the family of outsiders that has formed around him.

When I had the utterly transformative experience of becoming a father a few years ago, I began viewing my past films, including the memories of making them, through a new lens. While I remain proud of the work (most of it, anyway!), it reflects the outlook of a man with a single purpose: a passionate dedication to creating stories and art... but not much else. Bastarden grew out of that existential reckoning, and is, by far, my most personal film to date. Aided by Ida Jessen’s brilliant novel, Anders Thomas Jensen and I wanted to tell a grand, epic tale about how our ambitions and desires will inevitably fail if they are all we have. Life is chaos; painful and unpleasant, beautiful and extraordinary, and we often cannot control it. As the saying goes, “We make plans and God laughs”.

PRODUCTION 1: Louise Vesth - Zentropa Entertainments
Filmbyen, 22
2650 – Hvidovre, Denmark
Tel. +45 36868788
Mob. +45 40409828
louise.vesth@filmbyen.dk
http://www.zentropa.dk

PRODUCTION 2: Fabian Gasmia, Katja Lebedjewa – Zentropa Berlin GmbH
Bergmannstraße, 106
10961 – Berlin, Germany
Tel. +49 3040500227
fabian.gasmia@zentropaberlin.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gasmia/

PRODUCTION 3: Lizette Jonjic – Zentropa Sweden AB
Norra Allégatan, 1
413 01 – Gothenburg, Sweden
Tel. +46 709170010
lizette@filmbyen.dk

WORLD SALES: Susan Wendt – TrustNordisk
Filmbyen, 22
2650 – Hvidovre, Denmark
Tel. +45 29746206
Mob. +45 60298466
susan@trustnordisk.com
http://www.trustnordisk.com

ITALIAN DISTRIBUTION: Stefano Jacono - Movies Inspired
Piazza Vittorio Veneto, 5
10124 – Torino, Italy
Tel. +39 48503786233
stefano.jacono@moviesinspired.com
http://www.moviesinspired.it

PRESS OFFICE: Claudia Tomassini – Claudia Tomassini & Associates
press@claudiatomassini.com

US PRESS OFFICE: Julie Chappell, Ryan Werner – Cinetic Marketing
United States of America
Tel. +1 5716439802 Tel. +1 9172547653
julie@cineticmedia.com
ryan@cineticmedia.com