So, how much did we like Tobias Lindholm‘s “A Hijacking“? Well, as you’ll see in the the exclusive U.S. poster for the film below — quite a bit. Our own Oli Lyttelton raved about the picture in his review when it premiered at the Venice Film Festival last summer, and soon you’ll get to witness for yourself why the film — which has been a strong presence on the festival circuit — has been earning such strong buzz.
While the name Lindholm may not be familiar, he co-wrote Tomas Vinterberg‘s “The Hunt” and is one of the pens on Denmark’s celebrated political drama series “Borgen” (the excellent first season reviewed here). And for his sophomore feature, he delivers a helluva tale. “A Hijacking” tells the story of a Danish freighter that is boarded by Somali pirates who hold it for ransom, and the tense negotiations that unfold between the CEO of the company that owns the vessel and the captors holding the crew hostage. As the events unfold over days that turn to weeks that turn to months, the tension and emotional toll is raised on both sides.
Among the cast are Pilou Asbæk (one of our 11 Actors To Watch In 2013) as the ship’s engineer, and Søren Malling (interview here) as the head honcho of the company (and both are on “Borgen”) with Dar Salim, Roland Møller, Gary Skjoldmose Porter, Abdihakin Asgar and Amalie Alstrup rounding things out.
“A Highjacking” will play at the Film Society of Lincoln Center and MoMA‘s 42nd Annual ND/NF Festival, which kicks off today. Magnolia Pictures will release the film on June 14th. Check out the one sheet below and hit the film’s Facebook page for more info.