Johnny Flynn (“Ripley,” “One Life”) will lead the main cast of the survival thriller “A Prayer for the Dying”; John C. Reilly will also appear in the film, which is currently in production outside Bratislava, Slovakia.
Anton and New Europe Films jointly represent the worldwide rights and will continue sales at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival.
Written and directed by Dara Van Dusen, A Prayer for the Dying is based on the novel by Stewart O’Nan and is set in 1870 in Friendship, Wisconsin, a small town of Scandinavian settlers still reeling from the aftermath of the recent civil war. Faced with a new and even deadlier threat, one man must make an agonizing choice: save his young family or defend the community that gave him a second chance at life and meaning. Flynn plays Jacob Hansen, the sheriff responsible for the town’s safety, while Reilly plays the local doctor.
“A Prayer for the Dying” also features Scandinavian leading actors Kristine Kujath Thorp (“Ninjababy,” “Sick of Myself”) and Gustav Lindh (“The Northman,” “Queen of Hearts”).
“I’m so excited to be part of this amazing project with such wonderful, talented people,” said Flynn. “Dara’s adaptation of Stewart O’Nan’s powerful novel is tender, eerie and beautiful. A dark and ominous story – which, although set in the past, seems incredibly prescient for the crazy times we live in.”
Van Dusen is a New York-based writer and director currently living in Oslo, Norway. She has received numerous development and production grants from the Norwegian Film Institute. Her short film Significant Others competed in the official selection at Cannes. Her most recent short film The Blind Man – an adaptation of Bertolt Brecht’s short story – was nominated for Best Nordic Short Film and selected in the Nordic Panorama. She is represented by Rowena Wallace at Peach House.
“It’s absolutely surreal that I’ve been given the opportunity to not only adapt and direct my favorite novel, but also to work with my favorite actors to bring it to life,” said Van Dusen. “Johnny and John are just incredible. It’s all a dream.”
The film was produced by Dyveke Bjørkly Graver and Andrea Berentsen Ottmar for Eye Eye Pictures, whose credits include Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person in the World and Kristoffer Borgli’s Sick of Myself. Co-producers include Mimmi Spång for Garagefilm International, Tristan Goligher for The Bureau, Vicky Miha for Asterisk*, Fenia Cossovitsa for Blonde Audiovisual Productions, Zahra Waldeck for Banaccas Film, Film i Väst, Mediefondet Zefyr and John Baker. The film has received support from Creative Europe, the Norwegian Film Institute, the Swedish Film Institute, the UK Global Screen Fund and the Greek Film Center.
“Seeing Dara’s compelling script with this amazing cast is everything I could have asked for,” said Graver. “Filming here in Slovakia with our amazing team has been a wonderful experience so far and I’m really looking forward to sharing this film with audiences.”
Flynn is repped by United Agents and CAA, Reilly is repped by CAA and Framework Entertainment. Kristine Kujath Thorp and Gustav Lindh are both repped by Agentfirman and Aleksandra Mandic.
Callum Turner was previously set to play the lead role in “A Prayer for the Dying.”
