The award-winning 27-year-old Danish director Jonas Risvig will create and direct Viaplay’s next Danish Original, the young adult drama BOYS.
Based on Risvig’s own experiences of growing up in a small Danish town, BOYS explores themes of friendship, transgression and what it means to be caught between opposing worlds. The eight-part series stars an ensemble cast of upcoming Danish screen talents and will premiere exclusively on Viaplay in 2022.
Every Sunday morning, 10 young men in Silkeborg gather to sing in a church choir. Over the years, the group have formed a close bond, and after the bells fall silent, they meet to push their limits and test the forbidden pleasures of adult life. But when one of the boys drowns under mysterious circumstances, their unity and loyalty are put to the ultimate test.
Jonas Risvig’s 2019 short film ‘We Are All Leaving’ received the Publikum prize and two further nominations at Denmark’s Ekko Shortlist Awards, and his recent young adult shows‘Grænser’ and ‘Centrum’ have received broad acclaim from viewers and critics.
Jonas Risvig: “It’s exciting to create such a dramatic and relevant series in the town where I grew up. I think most people can identify with being part of a group where you go a little further than in other places, and which helps define the person you end up becoming – for better or worse.”
Filippa Wallestam, NENT Group Chief Content Officer: “Our latest YA series plays on contrasts – guilt and innocence, light and darkness, and above all childhood and maturity. Jonas is part of a new generation of talented Nordic filmmakers showing the complexity of growing up today. Viaplay’s YA shows are some of our most successful in any genre, and we support voices of all ages in telling stories that are both recognisable and challenging.”
BOYS features both debuting and established names such as Viktor Hjelmsø, Sylvester Byder (‘Erna at War’), Karoline Hamm (‘Equinox’), Dar Salim (‘Face to Face’) and Julie Christiansen (‘While We Live’).
The series is produced by REinvent Studios with Rikke Ennis as executive producer and Sofie Siboni as producer, and is written by Mikkel Sørensen and Lars Bang. Filming has recently completed in Silkeborg. The production has received funding from Den Vestdanske Filmpulje.