Venerable Danish pubcaster DR Drama, behind “Borgen,” “The Killing” and “Cry Wolf,” is set to thrill the audience of the Cannes Grand Theatre Lumiere April 24 with its latest ambitious drama “Harvest,” bowing in Canneseries‘ main competition.
The title stands out on multiple levels. It marks the long-form narrative debut of one of Denmark’s most respected filmmakers Martin Zandvliet, Oscar-nominated for the drama “Land of Mine” who for the first time focuses on the rural world. “Think ‘Succession’ with tractors and tradition,” said DR Sales’ director of sales Pernille Munk Skysgaard.
Jealousy, guilt, secrets. The good ingredients of a nail-biting drama are, indeed, instantly laid out in the first episode. At the imposing family farm Feldumgaard, we follow adult siblings Astrid (Katrine Greis-Rosenthal, “A Fortunate Man,” “New Nurses”), Erik (Elliott Crosset Hove , “The Bridge,” “Godland”) and Thomas (Simon Bennebjerg, “Borgen,” “The Promised Land”) as they prepare for the 65th birthday party of their father Gorn (Lars Brygmann, “Dicte,” “Riders of Justice”). But the celebration quickly turns sour and nasty, like in Thomas Vinterberg’s “Festen,” when Gorn reveals who will inherit the farm.
Not Erik, the eldest son whose life at the Feldumgaard is his entire raison d’être. Not the second son Thomas, who also lives on the farm’s premises with his family, but the youngest daughter Astrid, the rock’n’roll city girl and teacher.
“Inheritance shouldn’t be based solely on gender or next in line, but also on heart, commitment and calling,” says Gorn to the gobsmacked birthday guests.
Beyond the family conflicts, “Harvest” captures the hardship of daily life on a farm, the beauty of seasonal change, skilfully captured by cinematographer Camilla Hjelm, Zandvliet’s long-time collaborator and European Film Awards winner for “Land of Mine.”
Rounding out the stellar cast are Charlotte Fich (Prisoner,” “Unit One”), Joachim Fjelstrup (“Carmen Curlers,” “The Girl with the Needle”) and Helene Reingaard Neumann (“Another Round”).
The series was produced by Rikke Tørholm Kofoed (“Borgen,” “Prisoner”) for DR, as part of the New8 alliance of European pubcasters. It will roll out in Denmark in October .
Variety caught up with Zandvliet ahead of the show’s world premiere in Cannes.
When and how did you first get the idea for the show? What triggered your desire to set the story in a rural environment?
Martin Zandvliet: It came from the love of Denmark’s natural scenery, also captured in “Land of Mine.” Denmark is very much a nation of farmers. When I look back at my childhood, I remember sitting in the back of a car and watching the harvest machines and people working in the fields. These days, we’re pointing the finger at farmers for polluting, destroying the environment. I was keen to use this rural arena, but to tell a totally different story, a-political, closer to me. A family drama.
Most of my films are about kids and their relationships with their parents. That was the case in “Tove’s Room,” “Applause,” “A Funny Man,” even “Land of Mine” to some extent. Perhaps it’s because of my upbringing, my memory and vision of what it is to be a kid. Here it’s about jealousy, guilt, secrets.
I first started to think about this story perhaps five years ago, putting down some notes on a piece of paper about the characters – three siblings, a father and a mother. I wanted to make a story with no guns, no car chases, no explosions. Just normal people and their relationships. There’s enough cop shows, stories about how horrible the world is, enough plot lines that are similar to each other. For me, simple stories about what it means to be human are never dull.
The series was billed by DR as “Succession with tractors”. Besides “Succession,” what were your other inspirations? It’s hard not to think of Thomas Vinterberg’s “Festen” in the first episode…
I love “Festen”, so yes– that was in the back of my mind. I also thought of “Into the Wild,” as it has a scene where the main character goes to work on a farm. But my vision was to create a very realistic series, where you would see the actors and think they were real farmers at work. Not AI creations.
How much research did you do to stay authentic and best capture the daily life at the Feldumgaard farm?
Well, I spoke to a lot of farmers, both conventional and eco-farmers. I researched what it takes to be a farmer, how you become one. I’m not a country boy, so it was a true learning curve. I was helped by farmers/consultants during development and shooting. Then I took the actors out to farmers. They were taught how to harvest, how to sow, how to wrangle a cow, ride tractors, monster harvesting machines. They do everything for real in the film.
What were the biggest challenges? The specific rhythm of nature for harvesting and hardship that goes with working on a farm? The weather?
We spent 121 days shooting, 80% in exteriors, so yes, you depend a lot on the weather, which was very difficult. And we had to learn how, when to film around the farm chores. You can only shoot when they sow, and you can only shoot when they harvest, so you have a time limit. Then the weather needs to be right. You cannot drive out on a field if it’s too muddy. We had to learn how to communicate with tractors, harvest machines or cattle, without making it feel like we were clueless.
Tell us about your work method with your actors, how they trained to be in character?
I selected the actors who were supposed to be the siblings, Katrine Greis-Rosenthal, Elliott Crosset Hove, Simon Bennebjerg who came on board without knowing who they would play. I just wanted them to develop a kind of love for farming, the rural world. Would they fight to inherit the farm? Would they love to live in it? What kind of sibling would they be? So they spent a lot of time just figuring out who they wanted to become as a character.
After half a year of research, they came to me and we agreed on who they would play. I think this technique helped them build respect for their own character. Instead of looking at me for answers, it forced them to find them within themselves.
Of course, I wrote the whole script, 500 pages to work from. But I allowed the actors to develop from that, and to bring to the table whatever they wanted and needed. Then as I said, it’s first and foremost about a family, relationships, it’s character-driven, not plot-driven.
How did you get the idea of the father’s decision to disinherit the eldest son and hand out the farm to the least interested-the daughter?
What came out of the conversations I had with farmers, is that one of the biggest problems in their generational shift, is that it’s always been traditionally the eldest son who inherits, not necessarily the best farmer. And whether it’s a female, or a male, the younger siblings are never asked to take over. They’re just asked to move away from the farm. So I saw this as a great dilemma, perfect for drama storytelling. Then it was interesting to explore how Astrid rose to the challenge, her motivation for accepting to take over the farm.
In the beginning, it’s mostly to irritate and harm her brother Erik. But she learns to love the farm and finds out that she’s actually connected to the land, much more than she realised. As for Erik, his father’s decision crushes his whole identity. He knows nothing else than farming, has no education, and always thought the farm would be his. What is he supposed to do now?
Thomas for me is the best farmer, the one who should have inherited, but he doesn’t want it. That’s often how it happens. The best farmer doesn’t necessarily want that life, the responsibility that goes with it.
Could you discuss your visual style? I feel there’s much poetry in life at the farm-from sunrise to sunset, the ‘ballet’ of tractors in the field. Also, I believe your own wife Camilla Hjelm is your cinematographer. How do you collaborate?
She’s my eyes, my voice, a shoulder to lean on. She helps me in everything. She’s so sharp, not just visually, but also story-wise. Many stories I tell are inspired by details from my own life, and she’s super good at detecting where they come from. We love working together, cinematography in particular, what’s in the frame, outside the frame.
We were very lucky to have the full support from DR Drama who allowed us to work with natural light. We could change every direction with the sun, move the scenes to locations where the sun was, where we wanted it to be, on the rise or not. It’s about trying to capture the moment, with some cinematic value in it. That’s also what we did on “Land of Mine.”
How was your overall first-time experience as TV drama writer/director?
I enjoyed it all. The writing, the casting, the crew. I loved being outdoors, in that rural environment for a year. And with the changing seasons it was beautiful. But again, I was lucky to have the backing from DR who knows and understands who I am, my filmmaking process.
How do you feel about finally meeting the audience with “Harvest,” in Cannes, then in Denmark?
I’m very happy that the show got selected at Canneseries, both for myself and the team, because it’s been a long process. It’s a kind of tap on the shoulder that something must be right. I hope the audience will connect with the story, the setting, the characters, especially at home as it’s about Denmark, very local, although the family conflicts-jealousy, betrayal, are universal themes to which many can relate.
What’s next?
I’m not sure yet, although I would love to do a second season. I also have different stuff cooking – movies in the U.S. a TV show in the U.K. one in Germany, plus things I developed myself. We’ll see!
