OPEN WATER

IN DEVELOPMENT

365 days a year, the ferry’s horn sounds, the anchor is pulled from the muddy bottom of the water, and the heavy ship is manoeuvred out of the harbour of Copenhagen to sail across the Northern Sea, 509 km, to Oslo. The ferry has room for 1852 passengers and 195 crew members – captain, officers, shipping assistants, chefs, restaurant staff, shop assistants, bartenders, and many more, including a doctor. The 17th of September 2019 is no exception. The ferry is fully booked, 1852 passengers, mini-cruise guests, primarily families from Denmark and Norway, when the horn sounds through the harbour at 16.30.

Same procedure as always – except for one thing. One small deviation, a microscopic ”blind passenger” if you will, hidden inside a little Norwegian boy, who has just returned from driving through southern Europe with his family – a holiday which has now reached its final stages before reaching their home north of Oslo. But they never make it home. The little Norwegian boy dies before the clock strikes 23.41, and the ”blind passenger” is the reason why the rest of the family is now suffering from failing organs and bleeding eyes. On the 17th of September shortly before midnight, the horn sounds twice; extended sounds, which quickly disappear in the darkness across the open sea, warning sounds signalling that the ship has come to a halt. They are the final sounds ever to be heard from the ferry again.

Creator: Peter Ahlén

Director: TBC

Writer: Stig Svendsen

Producer: REinvent Studios

Genre: Disaster feature film

Production: Q4 2021