Erik Poppe's The Emigrants has received seven gold bag nominations and has been named the film investment of the decade.
But it was not without pain that he took on Vilhelm Moberg's classic novel series about Kristina and Karl-Oskar who emigrated to America in the middle of the 19th century.
- What are completely iconic moments that I can not do anything with, and what can I adjust a little?
It has been a stressful process.
And I stand here today and am extremely nervous about how it will be, says director Erik Poppe.
A timeless story
Despite the fact that it has been almost two centuries since Swedes left famine and poverty, the story seems just as relevant today.
Prior to the script work, Erik Poppe has conducted interviews with women who have come to Sweden, to try to understand the experience of leaving their country and taking root again.
- There is reason to believe that this story has not gone out of date.
The reason why people today move is because they have a dream of a better life, or because they have to flee for their safety.
Think, we did that here in Sweden.
And other people do today.
Gustaf Skarsgård continues:
- It's about a family that tears itself up from its roots and tries to find new ones somewhere.
And above all, it raises the question of what a home is.
Is it a place, is it the relationship, is it the family?
The support from Troell
Exactly 50 years after Jan Troell's classic film adaptation, with Liv Ullmann and Max von Sydow in the lead roles, now comes the new interpretation of the story.
Poppe's film contains all four books, it mainly follows Kristina, and no one speaks Smålandic.
Erik Poppe talks about the meeting with Troell, and the support he received for his choices.
- And that Liv Ullmann has supported me in the same way.
She also got to see the film a couple of weeks ago - crying last hour, and she fell so in love with Lisa who plays
her
Kristina.
Watch clips from the film and hear the actors tell more in the video above.