Like so many other actors sucked up by the Marvel machine, the extensive shooting and promotion commitments often mean a plethora of projects showing their more adventurous, praise-worthy acting talent never see the light of day. As Sebastian Stan begins to expand his career, he’s building up quite the resume of performances. Following one of last year’s best performances in A Different Man and his Oscar-nominated turn in The Apprentice, he’s now headed to Europe to work on Cristian Mungiu’s R.M.N. follow-up and new plot details have arrived.
Also starring his A Different Man co-star Renate Reinsve, the project is revealed to be titled Fjord and it will begin a 40-day production this March in Norway, according to Cineuropa. Set in Ålesund in the west coast of Norway, it’s described as a “tense family drama.” With cinematographer Tudor Vladimir Panduru (R.M.N., Întregalde, Malmkrog), editor Mircea Olteanu (R.M.N., Graduation), production designer Marius Winje Brustad (The Innocents), and costume designer Kirsi Gum on board, see the synopsis below:
The plot revolves around two families living in a small, remote Norwegian village. One family is Romanian, while the other Swedish-Norwegian. Their children, of similar age, attend the same school, and the families initially bond over their shared experiences as parents. However, their seemingly harmonious relationship begins to unravel as differing cultural perspectives on family life, education, and societal values emerge. The film explores the challenges of reconciling personal beliefs with societal norms in an increasingly globalised world, diving deep into cultural differences, the boundaries of personal privacy, and the limits of tolerance within a close-knit community. Stan plays Mihai, a Romanian expatriate living in Norway, and Reinsve will play Lisbet, Mihai’s Norwegian counterpart.
“With all of these smaller indies, I always feel even while I’m on the plane going there, I’m always worried, ‘Is the financing going to come through?’ It’s on its way,” Stan told IndieWire. “He’s been up there with me for a few years with filmmakers from Romania where I’ve been calling him trying to find a way to work with him, where I can speak Romanian as well. We finally found this story, which is about a Romanian family who’s moved to Norway and then ends up in this very complicated trial. There’s a system [that] investigates cases if there’s ever been physical abuse in the household between the parents or the kids. They go investigating the family for an incident, and it leads to this trial. It happened before the pandemic, and it became national news. There were a lot of religious communities that came to their side, and it’s really interesting and quite complicated.”
Fjord is expected to have a 2026 premiere.