Sidse Babett Knudsen And Mikkel Boe Følsgaard Starring In Danish Netflix Feature Film Ehrengard: The Art Of Seduction

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Credit Christian Geisnæs / Netflix

• Based on the book Ehrengard by Karen Blixen

• Directed by award winning director Bille August

• Set design and costumes created by Queen Margrethe ll

Today Netflix announced Sidse Babett Knudsen (Borgen), Mikkel Boe Følsgaard (The Chestnut Man), Alice Bier Zandén and Emilie Kroyer Koppel among others starring in the Danish Feature film Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction, a new Danish humorous  period drama directed by Academy Award, Golden Globe and two-time Palme d’Or winner Bille August. The film is based on the book Ehrengard by Karen Blixen (1885-1962) and is set to launch globally in 2023. 

About Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction

In the fairytale kingdom of Babenhausen, a young, self-appointed expert on love, Mr. Cazotte (Mikkel Boe Følsgaard), is hired by the scheming Grand Duchess (Sidse Barbett Knudsen)  to help her secure an heir. While searching for a suitable future Princess, Mr Cazotte teaches the timid and introverted Crown Prince Lothar (Emil Aron Dorph) the art of seduction and lovemaking. But their plan soon backfires, when an heir is conceived out of wedlock and the royal family has to seek refuge in the castle of Rosenbad. Here, as rivals within the royal family close in on their scheme, Cazotte himself falls in love with Ehrengard (Alice Esther Bier Zandén), the maid of honor, and gradually learns that in fact, he’s no expert on love at all.

Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction  will feature set design and costumes by Queen Margrethe II. Since 1970, The Queen has been actively engaged in a number of artistic modes of expression: painting, church textiles, watercolors, prints, book illustrations, découpage works, scenography and embroidery. She is an honorary member of the Association of Danish Scenographers for her many years of work as a set designer in Danish film, television and theater.

Sidse Babett Knudsen:

"It took me about eight seconds to say yes to Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction after reading the script and hearing who was involved. I love Karen Blixen's writing, and in addition to her engaging way of writing, I always felt she had a cheeky, dry and not least great sense of humor, in the way she portrays characters, and exposes their less  sympathetic qualities.

It was a very joyful project, an adventure. And then it was a dream to work with Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, Bille August, and the Queen.”

Mikkel Boe Følsgaard:

“When Bille, Blixen and Babett ask if you want to play, you know it will be fun! And when the Queen then plays along, it's even more adventurous – and that's exactly what Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction is: A humorous and absurd adventure. I didn't know Blixen's short story "Ehrengard" – but reading it, I fell head over heels for it. You feel Blixen's quirky and satirical tone throughout, and spiced with the magical visual universe that Bille and Her Majesty have created in the film, the story elevates itself to a playful and colorful kingdom that has not been seen before."

When the film was announced Bille August and Queen Margrethe said:

Bille August, director: 

“Ehrengard being realized as a Netflix film is a grand opportunity - and I'm really looking forward to introducing this fascinating story of seduction and desire to a global audience. The Queen has created the most fantastic decoupages for the occasion, and they will be the dominant feature of the film’s overall scenographic expression. ”Fantastic” (in the most literal sense) is our starting point for the film; we wish to use humor and elegance to create a devil-may-care, burlesque, fabulous and autonomous visual universe.”

Queen Margrethe II: 

“Karen Blixen’s stories have always fascinated me, with their aesthetic tales, their imagination and their, to me, image-creating worlds - and I’m very happy to be part of this project. You can feel that the author was a visual artist just like H.C. Andersen. But who is Ehrengard? One of Karen Blixen’s intriguing female characters and one of the few whose story ends happily. The intrigues weave themselves in and out of each other and Blixen spins her spin around the characters until we (and they) are completely nonplussed. How will the riddle be solved? I have tried to interpret Blixen’s fantastic universe in the creation of the découpages and costumes and I’m looking forward to seeing the tale of Ehrengard come to life in this film.”

Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction will release globally on Netflix in 2023.

Directed by Bille August (Pelle the Conqueror, The Best Intentions) 

Head writer Anders August (A Fortunate Man, Follow the Money, The Pig) 

Set Design & costumes by Queen Margrethe II

Producer Marcella Dichmann / SF Studios (Loving Adults, The Exception)

Co-producer Jacob Jørgensen / JJ Film

Executive producers Lars Bjørn Hansen and Tim King / SF Studios

Based on the book Ehrengard by Karen Blixen (Isak Dinesen)

Cinematographer Jan Pallesen

Starring Sidse Babett Knudsen (The grand Duchess), Mikkel Boe Følsgaard (Cazotte), Alice Esther Bier Zandén (Ehrengard), Emilie Kroyer Koppel (Princess Ludmilla), Sara-Marie Maltha (Mrs. Marbod), Jacob Lohmann (Mr. Marbod), Emil Aron Dorph (Prince Lothar)

www.netflix.com/ehrengard

About Karen Blixen

Baroness Karen von Blixen-Finecke is one of Denmark’s most internationally recognized female poets, author and storyteller. She wrote both under her own name and under the pseudonyms Isak Dinesen, Osceola and Pierre Andrézel. She is mostly known for the works Out of Africa, Seven Gothic Tales and Winter-Fairytale. Ehrengard was published posthumously a year after the author’s death in 1962. Among har most famous stories is also the tale Babette’s Feast about a cook girl, who uses all of her ten-thousand-franc lottery winnings to prepare a lavish meal in a small northern Norwegian village. The story was later adapted to a feature film and won the first Danish Oscar. Likewise, Out of Africa starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford was filmed in 1986 by Sydney Pollack and won 7 Oscars.

About SF Studios

SF Studios, established in 1919, is one of the world’s oldest film companies. Today SF Studios is the leading film studio in the Nordic region with its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden and offices in Oslo, Copenhagen, Helsinki and London. The company is producing and distributing feature films and TV series as well as providing the streaming service SF Anytime. SF Studios is part of the leading Nordic media company Bonnier.

About Netflix:

Netflix is one of the world's leading entertainment services with 233 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, films and games across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can play, pause and resume watching as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, and can change their plans at any time.