World Premiere in Toronto for Anette Brantin’s Arne Goes to Space

The Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 10 to 20. Arne Goes to Space has been selected to compete in the Discovery section, which is dedicated to first- and second-time directors.

On the family farm in northern Sweden live the brothers Stefan (Lassgård) and Arne (Jähkel). They spend their days chopping wood, bickering with one another and quarrelling with the local hunting team.

Then one day an alien (Kiran Shah) crashes on the brothers’ farm. The kindly Arne names him Roland and welcomes him to move in until his friends can come and collect him. Stefan, by contrast, is sceptical about having a freeloading alien under his roof, but when Arne is admitted to hospital, Stefan has to come to terms with both his lodger and a life without his brother.

For Anette Brantin, the selection is proof of the film’s enormous potential to reach a wide audience:

An incredibly local film with a small budget, a big heart and a crew from northern Sweden – and now a world premiere in Toronto. It says something about what can be done in Sweden when you back something original by a genuine talent, and that belief is exactly what we built Alba Film on.

Arne Goes to Space is produced by Anette Brantin for Nexiko Drama, in co-production with Filmpool Nord, SVT and NonStop Winning Formula, with support from the Swedish Film Institute. Directed by Lars Vega, who also wrote the screenplay with Theodor Österberg.

The film is distributed in Sweden by NonStop Entertainment, opening in cinemas in November. International sales are handled by TrustNordisk.