News

Kjell Sundvall to direct The Paganini Contract

2012-02-09 13:34:27

AB Svensk Filmindustri and Sonet Film AB are happy to announce that Swedish award-winning director Kjell Sundvall will direct the ”The Paganini Contract”, the second film out about Detective Inspector Joona Linna based on the bestsellers by Lars Kepler.

The first film ”The Hypnotist” is currently shooting directed by Lasse Hallström and starring Mikael Persbrandt as the hypnotist, Lena Olin as his wife and Tobias Zilliacus as Joona Linna.

”The Paganini Contract” is produced by Börje Hansson/Svensk Filmindustri and Peter Possne/Sonet Film. Start of principal photography will take place in the fall 2012 and the national release is planned for fall 2013.

“I’m very excited about passing on the baton to Kjell Sundvall. Kjell is one of Scandinavia’s most experienced directors of thrillers and “The Paganini Contract” should fit him like a glove”./ Lasse Hallström

”When I read ”The Paganini Contract” I just couldn’t stop until the last page. It’s an extremely high-paced and exciting story – perfect for an explosive and thrilling film. It will be a true pleasure to direct the second book by Lars Kepler.” /Kjell Sundvall


Having directed almost 40 films in 30 years Sundvall is one of Sweden’s most popular directors. He has become a veteran in the crime and thriller genre with titles such as “The Last Witness” (1993), “The Hunters” (1996), “The Last Contract” (1998), “The Threat” (2004), more than 10 features of the successful “Beck” crime series and most recently the box office hit “False Trail” (2011) with over 500, 000 admissions.

Multifaceted Sundvall has also shown great success in the comedy genre with several award-winning titles: “The Guy in the Grave Next Door” (2002) and box office hit “In Bed with Santa” (1999) with over 500,000 admissions, to mention a few. A remake of “In Bed with Santa” has been released in Germany under the title “Meine schöne Bescherung” (2007), whereas a French remake is underway.