Dan Romer (Luca, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Station Eleven, Beasts of No Nation, Maniac, Superman & Lois) has composed the original music for the upcoming Danish historical drama The Promised Land (Bastarden). The film is directed by Nikolaj Arcel (A Royal Affair, The Dark Tower) and stars Mads Mikkelsen, Amanda Collin, Kristine Kujath Thorp, Simon Bennebjerg and Gustav Lindh. The movie based on the Danish bestseller Kaptajnen og Ann Barbara is set in the 18th Century and centers on the impoverished Captain Ludvig Kahlen as he sets out to conquer the Danish heath with a seemingly impossible goal: to build a colony in the name of the King. Arcel also co-wrote the screenplay with Anders Thomas Jensen (In a Better World, The Duchess). Louise Vesth (Melancholia, Klown) is producing the Zentropa Entertainments production. The Promised Land will premiere in September at the 2023 Venice and Toronto International Film Festivals and will open in Danish theaters on October 5. Magnolia Pictures has picked up domestic distribution rights for a release in the U.S. in late 2023 or early 2024.
Romer’s other recent feature projects include Jake Johnson’s Self Reliance, which premiered at this year’s SXSW Film Festival and will debut this November on Hulu, as well as Imran J. Khan’s Mustache, which also premiered at SXSW and is currently awaiting a distribution deal.
