This is a passion project decades in the making — producer Josefine Tengblad has been hunting for the perfect LGBTQ+ story since her own film 'Kiss Me,' and she's found it in Mian Lodalen's real-life tragedy. The cast announcement at Cannes positions this as a major prestige play.
Sources tell me Nordic Drama Queens is feeling the heat to deliver after their series slate — 'Cry Wolf' and 'Blind Spot' were quality but didn't break through internationally. This could be their breakout moment, or a very expensive lesson in period drama economics.
Filming begins mid-August 2026 for six weeks across Stockholm and Tallinn, Estonia with a €4 million budget ($4.7M). The cast was officially announced May 13 at Cannes. Based on Mian Lodalen's novel from 2020, 'Lisa & Lilly' will release fall 2027 via Scanbox Entertainment.
With global LGBTQ+ rights under fire and queer cinema increasingly weaponized as culture war fodder, this film arrives carrying serious weight — and the filmmakers know it. Whether 'Lisa & Lilly' transcends its noble intentions or becomes a beautiful monument to a lost generation remains to be seen.
London-based sales and impact outfit Together Films has acquired international rights to "Lisa & Lilly," a Swedish period drama that promises to rewrite queer cinema history — or at least finally tell the stories it should have been telling all along. The €4 million ($4.7 million) production marks the feature directorial debut of Julia Lindström, whose work on Netflix's "Young Royals" Season 3 earned her a devoted global following. The film, described as "a Romeo and Juliet for our time," is based on Mian Lodalen's acclaimed novel "Lisa & Lilly: A True Story" and draws from real events set in 1910s Stockholm.
During one fateful summer night, two young women sneak out to a forbidden dance where a single kiss ignites a love that will change everything — and according to the logline, cost them dearly. The screenplay comes courtesy of Veronica Zacco ("The Bridge," "Top Dog") in collaboration with Palme d'Or nominee Julia Thelin. Nordic Drama Queens co-founder and producer Josefine Tengblad revealed she received Lodalen's manuscript before its 2020 release and immediately understood the film's urgency.
"Since my first movie 'Kiss Me,' partly based on my own life, I have been seeking for the right project with an LGBTQ+ angle," Tengblad told Variety. She didn't hold back on the project's significance: "Until this day, the majority of LGBTQ+ films that are made are told from the perspective of gay men, ignoring the women who have played a large part in changing our history." That's a pointed critique aimed squarely at an industry still catching up to its own blind spots.
Leading the cast — officially announced May 13 during Cannes — are Bianca Delbravo (the revelation of 2023 Venice hit "Paradise is Burning"), newcomer Lina Betnér, and Norwegian star Ane Dahl Torp ("The Ugly Stepsister," "Charter") in a supporting role as Lisa's mother. Lindström spoke about the casting with barely contained excitement: "The first time we brought together Lina [Betnér] and Bianca [Delbravo] together, there was pure magic in the room.
Their chemistry and unique talent completely blew me away." The director also confirmed that working with Dahl Torp had been a personal dream since her days at Norwegian Film School. Together Films CEO Sarah Mosses, who came aboard early in development, positioned the project as both artistic statement and cultural intervention. "At a moment when homophobia is rising globally and the rights so many of us take for granted are being openly challenged, this film is a reminder of what's at stake: that young love, in all its intensity and vulnerability, should be equal for everyone," she said.
Mosses also teased the visual ambition, describing Lindström's approach as combining "the emotional heat of 'Euphoria' alongside the period beauty of 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire.'" That's either inspired ambition or dangerous pressure — possibly both. The six-week shoot kicks off mid-August across Stockholm and Tallinn, Estonia, with a fall 2027 release planned through Scanbox Entertainment. The production brings together an impressive Nordic co-production coalition including Estonia's Allfilm, Swedish pubcaster SVT, Norway's Motlys, Finland's Bardy Studios, Denmark's DR, and Finland's Yle — backed by the Swedish Film Institute, Nordisk Film & TV Fond, and Creative Europe MEDIA. For Fifth Season's Scandi powerhouse, this represents a significant test of whether their high-end series expertise translates to feature success.
