THE CONFERENCE – Global # 1 on Netflix
A movie adaptation of The Conference arrives on Netflix in 2023.
Director: Patrik Eklund
Screenwriter: Patrik Eklund and Thomas Moldestad
Producer: Ina Sohlberg, SF Studios
Executive producers: Mats Strandberg, Jonathan Ridings
Starring: Katia Winter, Adam Lundgren, Eva Melander, Bahar Pars, Maria Sid, Marie Agerhäll, Christoffer Nordenrot, Amed Bozan, Lola Zackow, Claes Hartelius, Cecilia Nilsson, Jimmy Lindström, Martin Lagos
From the Netflix press release:
Produced by SF Studios, The Conference is based on the Swedish author Mats Strandberg’s novel of the same name, which was originally published in 2021. Strandberg is one of Sweden’s most prolific horror writers, and his books have been published in over 30 countries. Strandberg is also an executive producer of the film.
“It has been fantastic to serve as an executive producer on The Conference. We’ve had way better atmosphere in our meetings, than the characters in the film. Thomas Moldestad and Patrik Eklund have done an incredible job of capturing not only the blood and the tension, but also the humor and the everyday awkwardness that can only take place at a Swedish conference. And the cast is better than I could ever have imagined”, says Mats Strandberg.
“It is an honor to bring The Conference to the screen together with SF Studios and Netflix. With Mats Strandberg’s unique novel as a model and a phenomenal cast, this film has all the potential to become a future classic. A very bloody, entertaining and gripping story about the unsung anti-heroes of the public sector”, says director Patrik Eklund.
REVIEWS:
The director Patrik Eklund crafts a lean thriller out of this premise, serving up sharp satire about corporate greed with a generous splattering of blood and gore. – NY Times
Patrick Eklund’s “The Conference” kind of unfolds like “Triangle of Sadness” meets “I Know What You Did Last Summer” – Rogerebert.com
In the end, what really makes the movie special is the confidence with which it makes something quite unique. THE CONFERENCE is no awkward horror copy, but a well produced, original slasher that in its best moments is something like Jordan Peele in Swedish. It’s the deceptively regular, safe society, but dark humour and creepy discomfort shows exactly how dark and twisted the underbelly is. – Expressen
Fun, without a doubt. – DN
As a comedy, it’s the smartest one Eklund has ever made. As a horror movie, it’s the best one ever made in Sweden. As a film, it’s already a classic. – Norrbottenskuriren
As in Strandbergs’ novel, the whole cast of characters are carefully treated with love and respect. … A workplace comedy marries surprisingly well with the slashers of the 70s and 80s. It’s as if Halloween met The Office in a Swedish context. – Moviezine
Mixing horror and comedy is something I’m usually sceptical of. It’s often ends up neither funny nor scary. But in this film, it’s unusually successful … It’s as if the very worst stupidity of the stupid times we live in has been distilled, and we love being able to really hate it, and see it massacred into a gory mess. – Magasinet Opulens
It’s splattery, it’s fun and it’s full steam ahead. – Kulturnyheterna
Eklund goes for it with chainsaws, boat engines, frying pans, meat hooks, nails, spades and splatter, against an intelligent backdrop of dark satire and dry humour. The actors are fully invested and the effects, editing and score all add to a wonderfully half-insane unity with a clear vision. Very impressive. ⁃ Aftonbladet
A workplace comedy marries surprisingly well with the slashers of the 70s and 80s. It’s as if Halloween met The Office … A much-needed, longed-for breath of fresh air! ⁃ MovieZine
SALALIGAN
A true crime-play, written by Mats Strandberg and Mikael Kallin, opened on Västmanlands teater in 2023.
THE HOME
A short film, also used as a trailer for the novel The Home. Director: Mattias J Skoglund
THE CIRCLE
The movie adaptation of The Circle premiered in 2015. Director: Levan Akin