All-female Teenage Jesus coming next spring

PRODUCTION. Shooting has now begun for Marie Grahtø’s first feature, 'Teenage Jesus.' The project, which has a predominantly female cast and crew, was already noticed at last year’s Cannes Festival.

Back in 2017, Marie Grahtø’s ’Teenage Jesus’ was selected to pitch at L’Atelier, the development programme at the Cannes Festival under the film school and talent section, Cinéfondation. 

Now actual shooting has begun for the film that is planned to premiere in Denmark next spring. 

A continuation of Marie Grahtø’s graduation film ’Teenland’ from 2014, 'Teenage Jesus' is a story about two women locked on collision course. Viktoria, a young, perfectionist psychologist, agrees to treat the violent and suicidal patient Jenny. With the psychiatric ward as their setting, the two women begin forming a complicated and intimate bond. Through nightly conversations, truths about their lives are revealed while death draws them like gravity.   

Both cast and main crew are principally female. Viktoria is played by Lisa Carlehed who can currently be spotted in the Netflix series ’The Rain.’ Facing her, in the role of Jenny, is Victoria Carmen Sonne who received international attention earlier this year for her leading role in Isabella Eklöf's Sundance participant ’Holiday.' 

Trine Dyrholm also plays a dominant part in the film as the experienced Doctor Klein. Dyrholm is known internationally for the Oscar-winning ’In a Better World’ (2011) and Thomas Vinterberg’s ’The Commune’ (2016), for which she received a Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.  

Grahtø graduated from the independent film school Super16 in 2014. She has travelled to festivals around the world with her three short films from film school, 'Daimi' (2012), 'Yolo' (2013) and her graduation film 'Teenland' (2014), and has been appointed “Director to Watch” by several Nordic film trade magazines. 

Behind the camera is Cathrine Pattinama Coleman, Linda Man is editing, while Josephine Farsø is production designer. ‘Teenage Jesus’ is produced by Amalie Lyngbo Quist and Julie Friis Walenciak for Beo Starling and has received funding from the Danish Film Institute’s talent scheme New Danish Screen.