03 mar 2021 MK2 Films Seals Pre-Sales on Joachim Trier’s New Film; Unveils First Still

MK2 Films has scored a raft of strong pre-sales on “The Worst Person In The World,” the anticipated third film in Joachim Trier’s “Oslo” trilogy, following “Reprise” and “Oslo, August 31st.” The company has also unveiled a first look still of the film ahead of the virtual EFM, where it will present a promo-reel to buyers.

The Paris-based banner, whose sales team is spearheaded by Fionnuala Jamison, has already sold the film to France (Memento), Benelux (Cineart), Russia (Russian World Vision), Poland (M2 Films), Former Yugoslavia (Mega Com Film) and The Baltics (Kino Pavasaris).

Now in post, the movie’s shoot was initially delayed at the start of the pandemic and was eventually completed in two phases, in August and November 2020. The film is expected to world premiere this summer.

The plot revolves around Julie, who is turning 30 and sees her life as an existential mess. Several of her talents have gone to waste and her older boyfriend, Aksel, a successful graphic novelist, is pushing for them to settle down. One night, she gatecrashes a party and meets the young and charming Eivind. Before long, she has broken up with Aksel and thrown herself into yet another new relationship, hoping for a new perspective on her life. However, she soon comes to realize that some life choices are already behind her.

The cast includes Renate Reinsve (“Oslo August 31st”), Anders Danielsen Lie (“Oslo August 31st,” “Reprise,” “Personal Shopper”) and Herbert Nordrum (“Beforeigners”).

Speaking about the movie, Trier said he “had wanted to make a film about love” for a very long time — “One that goes a bit deeper than normal on-screen love stories, where everything is so simple, the stories so clear-cut, the feelings so admirably unambiguous,” said Trier, who added that the film “looks seriously at the difficulties of meeting someone when you’re struggling to figure out your own life.”

“We live many parallel realities within ourselves but feel we should be one coherent person. A theme constantly returned to in my movies is how large parts of our lives are only lived in our heads; thoughts about choices we could have made, what we could have been, ideas about what will happen, our fantasies and dreams,” explained Trier. The filmmaker said “these ideas have informed our take on the subject of love.”

“How much of falling in love is just the dream of the person we’re in love with, rather than the person itself? It’s the idea of a future with somebody that keeps us together, or the opposite,” said Trier.

“The Worst Person In The World” is co-produced by MK Productions, Snowglobe, Film I Vast, B-Reel and Arte. The movie’s key crew includes the cinematographer Kasper Tuxen, production designer Roger Rosenberg, editor Olivier Bugge Coutté, and sound designer Gisle Tveito.