She’s the legend, icon and goddess of Eurovision and now she will head for the silver screen as she secures a role in the Netflix film “Vinterviken 2021”.
A remake of a Swedish classic
The film was announced all the way back in April of 2020. The screenplay is an adaptation of Mats Wahl’s novel “Vinterviken”. The novel was already adapted into a film of the same name all the way back in 1996. The original stared David Tainton and Lina Englund playing the two main characters John-John and Elisabeth. The premise of the film is as follows.
The story is set in Stockholm 2021 and focuses on the love story between Elisabeth and John John. The two youngsters are raised in the same city, yet they live light years apart. Separated economically, socially and culturally. Until the day they start in the same high school class.
Times have changed but themes remain the same
The three key people behind the film gave their reactions to the making of the film.
The producer of the film Teresa Alldén had this to say.
Mats Wahl’s novel portrays a timeless theme: Love beyond social status and class. The new film adaptation must reflect the development of society. Vinterviken 2021 should thus be a modern story about experiencing true love in a world full of prejudice and economic inequality.
The director Alexis Almström went on to reinforce the themes of the film.
I will never forget when I watched Vinterviken as a teenager in the 90s. A lot has happened since then, not only in a good way. A feeling of hopelessness is getting prevalent amongst young people, regardless of background. Therefore, I’m excited to share this hopeful story about young lovers breaking class barriers to the global Netflix audience.
We also got word from NetflixFilm. Lina Brouneus, director co-production & acquisition at Netflix said this.
We’re thrilled to be able to bring a contemporary version of this modern Swedish classic to a global audience. We believe that the universal themes of love, class differences and segregation will resonate with our audiences all over the world. We can’t wait to see how Alexis Almström and the rest of the incredible team at Filmlance International will reflect the times that we live in and make this story come to life again.
The film is produced by Netflix, the broadcaster responsible for the Swedish particpation for Eurovision – SVT and Filmlance. Filmlance is a Swedish production company that is part of the Endemol Shine group.
How does Loreen fit?
In this latest adaptation, the main character John-John is now played by young Swedish-Moroccan actor Mustapha Aarab. Loreen will be playing the main character’s mother.
In this adaptation, John-John’s family will come from Morocco. This will be a brilliant outlet for Loreen to explore and show her Moroccan heritage. Mustapha will star alongside Elsa Öhrn who will play his love interest Elisabeth.
Other actors that will star on this film are as follows: Magnus Krepper, Marika Lagercrantz, Albin Grenholm, Otto Hargne, Simon Mezher, Jonay Pineda Skallak and Elsa Bergström Terent.
Loreen took to social media to celebrate her exciting new adventure.
Are you excited about the “Euphoria” singer’s latest project? Will you watch it on Netflix? Please comment below or get in touch with us at @escxtra on all social media platforms and then subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on Spotify for curated playlists.
