Pressmeddelande -
Jesper Waldersten and Tomas Alfredson give The Brothers Lionheart a new guise
As Tomas Alfredson embarked on planning the new film version of The Brothers Lionheart he and artist Jesper Waldersten began a unique collaboration. Their shared goal to create a new imagery for Astrid Lindgren’s story has resulted in two fantastic new editions of the book and a major exhibition at Kulturhuset - Stockholm House of Culture & City Theatre in spring 2018.
– Tomas and I were like two therapists, two patients simultaneously. Both with our practices in Törnrosdalen [Wild Rose Valley] and always with our doors wide open. By fully opening ourselves up we were hoping to find the soul of the image in the story. The image’s DNA says Jesper Waldersten.
Today Tomas Alfredson and Jesper Waldersten talk for the first time about their collaboration at the Astrid Lindgren conference at Stockholm House of Culture & City Theatre.
The new images give Astrid Lindgren’s story a fresh, deeper resonance. The story’s timeless themes of courage, love and death, and the struggle against oppression, emerge in a new contemporary form.
– It’s dangerous to put words in someone’s mouth. Just like it is to impose your own visual language. So, I position my images somewhere close to the gut and the heart. That’s where I think Astrid had the intention to let things rest, and grow Jesper Waldersten tells us.
– Astrid Lindgren worked with the best. The best illustrators, film directors and producers. And we want to continue with that. When great independent artists meet then one plus one often equals much more than two says Annika Lindgren head of publishing at Saltkråkan, the owners of the Astrid Lindgren trademark and rights.
And so it is that in May 2018 Rabén & Sjögren will publish two new editions of The Brothers Lionheart. In addition to the regular publication there will be a larger-sized limited edition deluxe version.
– The Brothers Lionheart is a story that touches both young and old readers deeply, and one that is still frighteningly topical today. To illustrate it again but with Jesper’s stripped down and sombre images feels like a bold yet completely right move and in tune with the times, says Ann Sköld, Publishing Director at Rabén & Sjögren.
Concurrently with this the big summer exhibition will open at Stockholm House of Culture & City Theatre by Sergels torg in Stockholm.
For more information, please contact:
Cilla Nergårdh, Director of Communications Saltkråkan
0709–38 46 52, cilla.nergardh@saltkrakan.se
Sofia Bengtsson, Public Relations Officer Rabén & Sjögren
070-214 71 12, sofia.bengtsson@rabensjogren.se
Stefan Zachrisson, Press Officer Kulturhuset Stadsteatern
072-584 80 19, stefan.lava.zachrisson@stockholm.se
Info about the books and exhibition:
The two new editions of The Brothers Lionheart will be published on the 8th of May 2018.
The Exhibition ‘The Brothers Lionheart Astrid Lindgren Jesper Waldersten’ opens at Stockholm House of Culture & City Theatre (Kulturhuset Stadsteatern) on the 25th of May 2018 in Gallery 5.
Info on The Brothers Lionheart movie:
After going back and forth from the drawing board the movie project has now had a fresh start. There are no financial worries; several strong players are ready to get involved in the project. It continues to be an international movie production and the movie will be in English.
The Brothers Lionheart is one of Astrid Lindgren’s most treasured stories and it has made a huge impact on millions of people around the world. What’s most important for Saltkråkan is that it becomes a good film and that Tomas Alfredson is given the freedom to tell it the way he has wanted to since he was a child.
