Icon takes Mads Mikkelsen’s ‘The Promised Land’ to Great Britain

Icon Film Distribution did a good job The promised landthe Danish period drama starring Mads Mikkelsen for the United Kingdom

In the Nordic Western, Mikkelsen collaborates again with Nikolaj Arcel, the director of 2012 A royal affaira steamy period piece that scored an Oscar nomination for best international feature film and launched the career of co-star Alicia Vikander.

Mikkelsen stars as Captain Kahlen, an 18th-century soldier who, against all odds, struggled to cultivate the arid Jutland heath and establish a settlement there. But a local landowner, Frederik De Schinkel (Simon Bennebjerg), is determined to stop him, fearing that the arrival of colonists will weaken his position as lord of the realm. The promised land is based on the Danish bestseller by Ida Jessen The Captain and Ann Barbara and was inspired by real events, although the book and film are fiction. Amanda Collin and Gustav Lindh star

The promised land premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival.

TrustNordisk, which is handling international sales of the film, has struck a U.S. deal The promised land before Venice with Magnolia Pictures. The title has sold widely, including to Mongrel Media for Canada, Plaion Pictures for Germany, The Jokers Film for France, Divisia Red for Spain and Best Picture for Poland, among other territories.

The UK deal was negotiated between TrustNordisk director Susan Wendt and Josh Thomashow, head of acquisitions, Icon Film Distribution.

TrustNordisk also just released the English-language character posters for the film, featuring Mikkelsen, Bennebjerg, Collin and others. Check them out below.