Czech Republic has recently become a popular destination for Scandinavian filmmakers. This time, the Danes chose it to shoot the fantasy film The Shamer’s Daughter (Skammerens datter). The filming started at the end of February 2014 and will continue for 38 days.
The film tells the story of the teenage girl Dina, who unwittingly gets her mother’s supernatural abilities. People who look into her eyes can see their own souls reflected and feel their hidden guilt revealed. When her mother is captured by the ruler Dunark, Dina must find a way to free her. As she searches for her mother, she ends up caught in a dangerous power struggle that has her fearing for her life.
The screenplay is based on a best-selling series of fantasy books The Shamer Chronicles, written by Lene Kaaberbøl. The series so far has 4 books.
The Czech production company for this film is Sirena Film, which enjoys another collaboration with Scandinavian colleagues. In the past, Sirena Film was involved in the filming of the Norwegian series The Heavy Water War, the Danish series 1864, the Norwegian fairy tale Journey to the Christmas Star and the historical film A Royal Affair. The film is also co-produced by Storm Films (Norway), Filmlance (Sweden), Truenorth (Iceland). It’s directed by Kenneth Kainz, who directed such films as The Therapy (2010) and Pure Heart (2006).
The total budget for The Shamer’s Daughter is just under 157 million CZK and the filmmakers will spend approximately 74 million CZK in the Czech Republic. The filming in the CZ will last approximately until April 2014.
“We are very pleased to receive state incentives as well as the grant for partial co-productions. Without that support, the film could not exist,” said the Danish film producer Eva Juel Hammereich.
The film will be shot in the Kost Castle, Barrandov Studios, the Řepora museum, by the river Ploučnice, in the St. Agnes Convent and other locations.
The Danish premiere of the film is planned for December 2014. The film will be followed by other parts of the series.
