Beta Cinema has taken international sales rights for “Let It Rain,” the new film by two-time Oscar-nominated director Hannes Holm (“A Man Called Ove”), starring Robert Gustafsson, star of the box office hit “The 100-Year-Old Man.”
Shooting wrapped at the end of September and Beta Cinema will present first materials at next month’s American Film Market.
The story is set in a small town in Southern Sweden, where grumpy widower Ingmar lives a regimented life. Ever since his wife passed away a few years ago, his relationship with his daughter Erika has deteriorated. Apart from his daughter, the only other things left in his life are his annoying, divorced neighbor Burman and his late wife’s roses.
As the hottest and driest summer in living memory stretches on, everyone waits for rain that never seems to come. But through what might be a miracle or sheer coincidence, Ingmar finds himself thrust into the spotlight of an event that will change not only his life but the entire village’s fate.
The screenplay was written by Hannes Holm and Jonas Karlsson, based on Karlsson’s novel “Regnmannen” (The Rain Man). The movie was lensed by John Christian Rosenlund (“The Wave,” “The King’s Choice,” “Hammarskjöld”), and produced by Patrick Ryborn, Unlimited Stories, in co-production with Nordisk Film, SVT, Film i Skåne, Film i Väst, Nouvago Capital and DR. The production is supported by the Swedish Film Institute and the Nordic Film & TV Fund. Nordisk Film is distributing in Scandinavia and will release “Let It Rain” during the Christmas holidays in 2025.
Holm earned two Academy Award nominations for “A Man Called Ove” (2015), a heartwarming comedy about a grumpy retiree whose life changes after an unlikely friendship. The film became an international box office hit in 2016, grossing over $30 million worldwide, and was later remade as “A Man Called Otto,” starring Tom Hanks.
Holm is one of Sweden’s most successful filmmakers, with other hits like “Adam & Eva” (1997), “Shit Happens” (2010) and the Andersson Trilogy (2012-2014), all of which set box office records in Sweden.
Gustafsson is known to a world-wide audience due to his leading role as Allan Karlsson in the Oscar-nominated “The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared” (2013) and “The 101-Year-Old Man Who Skipped Out on the Bill and Disappeared” (2016), which together grossed more than $52 million worldwide.
Co-screenwriter and beloved Swedish actor Jonas Karlsson (“The Snowman,” “Beck,” Emmy-nominee for “Riding in Darkness”) plays the role of the protagonist’s partner in crime, Burman, and Karin Lithman (“The Bridge”) and Emelia Sallhag round out the cast.
Unlimited Stories is the production company behind “Hammarskjöld” (2023), “The Lost” (2022), “A Piece of My Heart” (2019) and the Sune Triology (2018-2020) among others.
Holm stated: “When I first read Jonas Karlsson’s book ‘Regnmannen,’ I was immediately struck by the fact that there was such a fine story about how crazy we humans can act when life takes us by surprise. When a simple solution is not to be found, we are more than happy to open ourselves up to pure magic. Something that can’t really be true suddenly becomes true because so many people wish for it at a certain time. ‘Let It Rain’ will be a touching film that balances humor and drama. Told with love and warmth. Like a good movie should be.”
“Let It Rain” wrapped shooting in the last week of September and now enters an extensive post-production.