Nikolaj Arcel

Nikolaj Arcel

Birth : 1972-08-25, Copenhagen, Denmark

History

Nikolaj Arcel (born 25 August 1972; Copenhagen) is a Danish filmmaker and screenwriter. He is best known for his 2012 film A Royal Affair, which won two prizes at the Berlin International Film Festival and which was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards, as well as the 2017 American film The Dark Tower. Arcel was born and raised in Copenhagen. His mother Libby Tata Arcel is a psychologist from the Greek city Mytilene on the island of Lesbos, while his father, Arne Arcel, is an architect from Denmark. His parents divorced when he was seven. His elder sister is actress Nastja Arcel. He attended Bernadotte School in Hellerup and secondary school at Øster Borgerdyd Gymnasium. He then enrolled at the National Film School of Denmark from where he graduated as film director in 2001. His graduation project, the short film Woyzeck's Last Symphony, won the Grand Prix at Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. Arcel made his debut in 2004 with the political thriller King's Game, which won him the award for Best Director at the Danish Film Academy Awards. It was followed by the adventure film Island of Lost Souls in 2007 and the generational comedy Truth About Men in 2010. After experiencing an international breakthrough with A Royal Affair, he moved to Hollywood to pursue a career in filmmaking there. He directed the film adaptation of Stephen King's The Dark Tower. The film began principal photography in early 2016, and it was released on 4 August 2017. Arcel will be directing the movie Fables for Warner Bros. In 2022, he reunited with Mikkelsen for The Promised Land.

Profile

Nikolaj Arcel

Movies

The Promised Land
Writer
In 1755, the impoverished Captain Ludvig Kahlen sets out to conquer the uninhabitable Danish heath in the name of the King. But the sole ruler of the area, the merciless Frederik de Schinkel, who believes the land belongs to him, swears revenge when the maid Ann Barbara and her serf husband escape for refuge with Kahlen.
The Promised Land
Director
In 1755, the impoverished Captain Ludvig Kahlen sets out to conquer the uninhabitable Danish heath in the name of the King. But the sole ruler of the area, the merciless Frederik de Schinkel, who believes the land belongs to him, swears revenge when the maid Ann Barbara and her serf husband escape for refuge with Kahlen.
Riders of Justice
Idea
Markus returns home to care for his daughter when his wife dies in a tragic train accident. However, when a survivor of the wreck surfaces and claims foul play, Markus suspects his wife was murdered and embarks on a mission to find those responsible.
The Purity of Vengeance
Screenplay
Copenhagen, Denmark, 2018. A frightening discovery is made in an old apartment. The subsequent investigation of Department Q members leads them to an infamous institution for girls that was suddenly closed in the early sixties.
The Dark Tower
Screenplay
A boy haunted by visions of a parallel world aids its disillusioned guardian in preventing the destruction of the nexus of universes known as the Dark Tower.
The Dark Tower
Director
A boy haunted by visions of a parallel world aids its disillusioned guardian in preventing the destruction of the nexus of universes known as the Dark Tower.
A Conspiracy of Faith
Screenplay
Denmark, 2016. A blurred note is found in a bottle that has traveled across the ocean for a long time. After deciphering the cryptic note, Department Q members follow a sinister trail that leads them to investigate a case that occurred in 2008. At the same time, new tragic events take place that test their faith and deepest beliefs.
The Absent One
Screenplay
Denmark, 2014. A former police officer asks Carl Mørck, head of Department Q, to find out who brutally killed his young twins in 1994. Although a local inhabitant confessed and was convicted of murder, Carl and his partner Assad soon realize that there is something in the case resolution that is terribly wrong.
The Keeper of Lost Causes
Screenplay
Denmark, 2013. Police officers Carl Mørck and Hafez el-Assad, sole members of Department Q, which is focused on closing cold cases, investigate the disappearance of politician Merete Lynggaard, vanished when she and her brother were traveling aboard a ferry five years ago.
Antboy
Story
12-year-old Pelle accidentally gets bitten by an ant and develops unimaginable superpowers. With help from his friend, comic book nerd Wilhelm, Pelle creates a secret identity as the superhero Antboy. Slowly things start to happen in the surburban community, and when a scary and crazy supervillain, Flea, enters the scene, Antboy must step up to the challenge. The first Danish superhero-movie. Based on the books by Kenneth Bøgh Andersen.
A Royal Affair
Screenplay
A young queen falls in love with her physician, and they start a revolution that changes their nation forever.
A Royal Affair
Director
A young queen falls in love with her physician, and they start a revolution that changes their nation forever.
Truth About Men
Screenplay
Mads moves into a house with his lovely girlfriend Marie when a sudden pang of doubt strikes him. Is this the meaning of life? Has he lived out all his dreams? He drops everything, moves away from his girlfriend and throws himself into a desperate quest to live out his greatest dreams; a quest to find the meaning of life and the one and only.
Truth About Men
Director
Mads moves into a house with his lovely girlfriend Marie when a sudden pang of doubt strikes him. Is this the meaning of life? Has he lived out all his dreams? He drops everything, moves away from his girlfriend and throws himself into a desperate quest to live out his greatest dreams; a quest to find the meaning of life and the one and only.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Screenplay
Swedish thriller based on Stieg Larsson's novel about a male journalist and a young female hacker. In the opening of the movie, Mikael Blomkvist, a middle-aged publisher for the magazine Millennium, loses a libel case brought by corrupt Swedish industrialist Hans-Erik Wennerström. Nevertheless, he is hired by Henrik Vanger in order to solve a cold case, the disappearance of Vanger's niece
Journey to Saturn
Writer
A Danish crew of misfits travel to Saturn in search for natural resources. However, the planet is colonized by a ruthless army of Aliens that turn their eye on Earth and invade Denmark. Thus, the crew change their mission to liberate Denmark.
Fighter
Co-Writer
Aïcha, a high-school student, is a passionate kung fu fighter. Her Turkish parents expect her to get good grades so she can get into medical school, like her brother Ali. But school doesn´t inspire her. Defying her family, Aïcha starts secretly training at a professional, co-ed kung fu club. A boy, Emil, helps Aïcha train for the club championship and they fall in love. But the rules of life are not as simple as the rules of kung fu, and Aïcha is forced to decide who she is and what she wants.
Cecilie
Writer
Cecilie sees and hears things no one else does; places suddenly change appearance, people aren´t really there. One night she experiences a rape, but no traces are to be found. Her husband Mads commits her to a psychiatric hospital. With the help of a psychiatrist, Per, she begins to see a frightening connection between her condition and a brutal murder that happened more than 30 years before.
Island of Lost Souls
Author
14-year-old Lulu moves to a small provincial town with her mother and younger brother. One night, her brother is struck by a beam of white light - actually the spirit of Herman Hartmann from the 19th-century. To her despair, Lulu realizes that Herman has possessed her brother, and the two of them are whirled into a fevered adventure.
Island of Lost Souls
Director
14-year-old Lulu moves to a small provincial town with her mother and younger brother. One night, her brother is struck by a beam of white light - actually the spirit of Herman Hartmann from the 19th-century. To her despair, Lulu realizes that Herman has possessed her brother, and the two of them are whirled into a fevered adventure.
King's Game
Writer
Starting a new job as a political journalist at a leading newspaper, Ulrik Torp witnesses a brutal struggle for power in the Midparty's ranks -- a struggle that coincides with the charismatic party leader's involvement in a near fatal car accident. A flurry of lies and media speculation surrounds the incident. Gradually, Ulrik unearths a ruthless conspiracy involving the incumbent prime minister.
King's Game
Director
Starting a new job as a political journalist at a leading newspaper, Ulrik Torp witnesses a brutal struggle for power in the Midparty's ranks -- a struggle that coincides with the charismatic party leader's involvement in a near fatal car accident. A flurry of lies and media speculation surrounds the incident. Gradually, Ulrik unearths a ruthless conspiracy involving the incumbent prime minister.
Catch That Girl
Writer
Ida's father suddenly gets a stroke and is rushed to the hospital, diagnosed with a deadly disease with no other opportunity than to travel to USA to attend a medical experimental operation. Unfortunately, the small family have to get the money themselves, as the state doesn't pay for that kind of experimental procedures. Ida has to get the money - and she got no other way than to steal them from the bank where her mother works...... developing the banks intense security.
Woyzeck's Last Symphony
Screenplay
A tragicomedy, this film is about a world-famous Czech composer who, after emigrating, has to work on a porn movie to make a living.
Woyzeck's Last Symphony
Director
A tragicomedy, this film is about a world-famous Czech composer who, after emigrating, has to work on a porn movie to make a living.
The Monster of Florence
Writer
A reconstruction of eight double homicides believed to have been committed single-handedly between 1968 and 1985 in and around Florence, Italy.
The Monster of Florence
Director
A reconstruction of eight double homicides believed to have been committed single-handedly between 1968 and 1985 in and around Florence, Italy.