Frederik Louis Hviid, Tobias Lindholm Team on Thriller ‘Torpedo’
“Shorta” director Frederik Louis Hviid and leading Scandinavian filmmaker-screenwriter Tobias Lindholm (“The Investigation”) are teaming on “Torpedo,” a thriller set the Danish organized crime underworld where kids and youngsters are weaponized.
“Torpedo” is inspired by real events and developed from extensive research and interviews with the police, lawyers, researchers, reporters and young torpedoes in sheltered institutions. It’s produced by Marcella Dichmann at SF Studios and is expected to be theatrically released in 2027.
Hviid, whose feature debut “Shorta” broke through internationally after premiering at Venice in 2020, will direct “Torpedo.” He penned the film with Lindholm, best known for ”A Hijacking” and “The Investigation,” as well as the Oscar-winning “Another Round” which he co-wrote with Thomas Vinterberg.
“Torpedo” tells the story of 16-year-old Kian who realizes that he has sold drugs to the wrong people. “The responsibility for the failed deal rests squarely on his shoulders. But there is an easy fix to his problem: he just needs to get on the train from Aarhus to Copenhagen and do a small job that will make everything all right. He does not yet know how, but in the course of the next 24 hours, it dawns on him. Kian must commit a brutal murder of a man targeted by his support base. If he refuses, not only himself but also his family will be in danger,” reads the synopsis.
Hviid, who most recently helmed the award-winning TV series “Prisoner,” says, “Torpedoes are a relatively new phenomenon which spreads fast – also here in Denmark.”
“To me it has been important to understand what happens when violence is perpetrated by young people who have not chosen to do so and who cannot yet comprehend the consequences of their actions,” Hviid continued. He pointed out the rise of child soldier embroiled in Danish organized crime “is a matter we have rarely seen in Danish film, and hence the work on ‘Torpedo’ has required an extensive research before we could achieve any measure of truth.”
He said, “The collaboration with Tobias, whom I believe is one of the most trend-setting voices in Danish film, has been both inspiring and essential to give the story the heart and unrelenting realism it demands.”
Lindholm, whose latest film ”The Quiet Ones” premiered at Toronto, said, “With his focus on the scary reality in Denmark, Frederik Louis Hviid’s idea for ‘Torpedo’ moved me greatly.”
“As evidence from the dark side of the Danish dream – and a rare opportunity to focus on the kids who disappear in the promises and lies of the world of crime,” said Lindholm, who is also developing the limited series “The Best of Us,” with “Succession” star Jeremy Strong attached to star.
Dichmann said “Torpedo” is a “film which has evolved from a deep concern for our children and youngsters. It is a painful story, but a necessary one.”
“As a producer – and as a mother –,” she said, “I feel a strong need to create a space for reflection and understanding. It is fiction, but fiction which is frighteningly close to the reality of our daily lives.”
