Gustaf Skarsgård, Fares Fares, Linus Wahlgren to Star in Alex Schulman’s ‘Once in the Archipelago,’ Boarded by Scanbox, Warner Bros. Sweden (EXCLUSIVE)

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Alex Schulman, renowned for his bestselling novels “Burn All My Letters” and “Survivors”, is about to make his first feature film appearance with the title “Once in the Archipelago“. This movie boasts a powerful ensemble led by Gustaf Skarsgård (“Oppenheimer”), Fares Fares (“Chernobyl”) and Linus Wahlgren (“Partisan”).

The series ‘Once in the Archipelago’ was developed by Warner Bros. International Television Production Sweden, with Christina Legkova and Sofie Palage serving as producers, and Johan Hedman and Ludvig Andersson taking on the role of executive producers.

The movie, penned by Schulman, focuses on three dads joining their daughters in a boisterous junior high school trip to a picturesque island archipelago. As they navigate through this journey, they are confronted with memories of their own adolescent hardships. The storyline reveals how these fathers soon discover the fine line between harmless play and intense power struggles, as well as identifying victims from instigators. This is summarized in the synopsis.

The comedic yet ominous play will commence shooting on May 14, right here at the Stockholm archipelago’s picturesque locations.

Alex Schulman has shared that he’s been fascinated for a long time by the concept of writing a story where everything spirals out of control. He’s tried his hand at it in several novels, but feels that in this movie project, he’s finally achieved his goal.

The filmmaker who was once an author shared that he had previously directed Skarsgård in a theater production, and he harbored a desire to collaborate with him again. Moreover, he expressed his longstanding admiration for both Fares Fares and Wahlgren.

Referring to the serene scenery, Schulman remarked, “Each time I stroll among the pine trees and notice little pinecones following me along the trails that lead towards the water, I feel as though I’ve lived here before in another existence.

There’s a certain quality to those antique log cabins. From a distance, they appear breathtakingly charming and romantic, but upon closer inspection, the tension seems to echo from the marks etched into the bed frames,” he went on.

Schulman is one of the most renowned writers from Sweden. Although this is his first time directing a film, he has had sporadic involvements in cinema, particularly in Björn Runge’s “Burn My Letters,” an adaptation of one of his books.

Legkova describes her upcoming work “In the Archipelago” as portraying contemporary parents who, despite having good intentions, struggle to maintain their authority and establish boundaries for their children. Furthermore, she commends Schulman as a powerful creative entity and a distinctly original voice.

At Scanbox, who plan to debut the movie in Swedish movie theaters this fall, Annica Bellander Rune stated that the film emphasizes Scanbox’s latest endeavor in producing Swedish films.

Bellander Rune went on to express that the story touched him deeply, and he was particularly struck by Alex Schulman, who is not only an accomplished author of books, but also masterfully handled a film script. ‘Alex Schulman’s tragicomic drama,’ Bellander Rune noted, ‘speaks volumes about our current era, highlighting the challenges of growing up as a child and being an adult.’

This movie is a joint production of RMV Film, Tiisch Film AB, Film Stockholm AB, and Scanbox Entertainment, receiving backing from both the Swedish Film Institute and the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth.

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2025-04-14 20:17