THE PROMISED LAND (BASTARDEN) World Cinema

Denmark’s Oscar^® submission for Best International Feature

Screening to be followed by a conversation with director Nikolaj Arcel and actor Mads Mikkelsen.

Denmark, 18th century. A retired army captain with humble origins, Ludvig Kahlen (Mads Mikkelsen), makes a deal with the King: successfully settle the Jutland’s land and ascend to nobility. Arriving with nothing but a shovel and sheer willpower, Kahlen refuses to yield to the harsh landscape, dreaming of planting imported German potatoes. With the help of a runaway couple, a priest and a precocious orphan, he makes progress, but his unhinged noble neighbor Frederik de Schinkel (Simon Bennebjerg) will stop at nothing to prevent his success. As tensions escalate and violence erupts, the singularly focused Kahlen will have to decide just how much he is willing to risk. Mikkelsen, reuniting with A ROYAL AFFAIR director Nikolaj Arcel, delivers a star turn in this rollicking period Danish Western filled with romance, intrigue and revenge. –Josh Gardner