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Midsommar Press Notes
Synopsis 4 Production Notes 5 The Cast 13 The Crew 23 Credits 29 A24 Press Notes Midsommar 2
Publicity
140 minutes
New York
Rated R
Kate Fassl USA
kate@a24films.com English/ Swedish
Color
646.568.6015
Los Angeles
Lindsey Langweiler
lindsey@a24films.com
323.900.5300
Regional
Lisa Richie
lisa@a24films.com
646.568.6015
International
Jaime Panoff
jaime@a24films.com
646.568.6015
A24 Press Notes Midsommar 3Synopsis Synopsis _ Dani and Christian are a young American couple with a relationship on the brink of falling apart. But after a family tragedy befalls Dani, grief keeps them together, and Dani invites herself to join Christian and his friends on a trip to a once-in-a-lifetime midsummer festival in a remote Swedish village. What begins as a carefree summer adventure in a land of eternal sunlight takes a sinister turn when the insular villagers invite their guests to partake in festivities that render the pastoral paradise increasingly unnerving and viscerally disturbing. From the visionary mind of Ari Aster comes a dread-soaked cinematic fairy tale where a world of darkness unfolds in broad daylight. A24 Press Notes Midsommar 4
Production Notes _ A24 Press Notes Midsommar 5
Production Notes
About the production script. Like Hereditary, which was a family drama disguised
as a horror movie (based on Aster’s own experiences
From writer-director Ari Aster (Hereditary) comes a journey
navigating grief and trauma), Midsommar became an opportunity
into the heart of darkness as an American couple, Dani and
to explore the downfall of a relationship through the lens of a
Christian (Florence Pugh and Jack Reynor), find themselves
twisted fairy tale, once again rooted in personal experience.
unexpectedly drawn into the world of a mysterious and
dangerous primeval cult during a vacation getaway with their “The initial image that sort of catalyzed Midsommar involved
friends in a bucolic, hidden Swedish village. the sacrificial burning of a temple,” says Aster. “I got excited
about fitting the ‘breakup movie’ into a new setting, putting
Exhibiting a similar horror-genre foundation as Aster’s widely
an operatic spin on the rote sort of cathartic ending we’ve
acclaimed debut feature Hereditary, Midsommar is also a
seen in those movies before—you know, where the jilted
major departure from its predecessor, as Aster pushes the
protagonist burns the box containing all the items she
genre in new and unpredictable directions. An apocalyptic
collected over the course of the relationship she’s finally
adventure on a grand scale, Aster and his creative team
liberated herself from.”
construct a mesmerizing and unique world from the ground
up, replete with its own language, history, mythology, As he tried to overcome heartbreak, Aster wrote his own
and traditions. Working with production designer Henrik struggle into the character of Dani Ardor, a young American
Svensson in Hungary, where the film shot, the team also built woman navigating personal loss as her relationship with her
an isolated Swedish village entirely from scratch. boyfriend Christian crumbles. Setting the bulk of his story
in Sweden, where Dani and Christian go on vacation with
Precisely executed down to the last detail of every frame,
their academic friends, Aster turned to Stockholm-based
Aster’s second feature is a dark and hallucinatory fairy tale
set decorator Henrik Svensson to help him understand an
that is as thought provoking as it is viscerally disquieting.
environment and culture that was utterly foreign to him.
As Dani journeys from emotional neediness to questionable
empowerment, Aster examines a rich array of ideas—from In 2013, with Midsommar in its nascent stages, Svensson
personal fidelity to social influence to cultural legacy— was in Sweden recovering from a minor stroke, taking a year
confirming him as a filmmaker of uncommon richness off from work in order to heal. As he slowly recovered, he
and depth, whose work transcends genre and becomes a began researching Swedish folklore and pagan traditions,
singular experience unto itself. sending some of his findings to Aster in Los Angeles. This
was the beginning of a years-long creative process in which
Before Hereditary
Svensson and Aster co-assembled a 100-page story bible
Midsommar began taking shape well before cameras rolled detailing every aspect of the movie’s unique, richly detailed world.
on Hereditary in early 2017. Several years prior, Aster was
In California, Aster was doing his own research into Swedish,
coming out of a three-year relationship and found himself
Nordic, English, and German folkloric traditions, consulting
reflecting back on the break-up as he embarked on a new
A24 Press Notes Midsommar 6Production Notes
everything from James George Frazer’s The Golden so that by the end, even though this tribe remains a mystery,
Bough, a globe-hopping anthropological study of paganism it’s also intricately defined.”
as it yielded to Christianity, to the spiritual traditions of
Dani and Christian
philosophers such as Rudolf Steiner.
At the outset of Midsommar, Dani’s relationship is on the
Aster traveled to Sweden, joining forces with Svensson
rocks, as Christian selfishly places his academic pursuits
to visit folklore museums, tour preserved hälsingegårds
and male friendships before Dani’s emotional needs. Then
(farms) in the deep north, interview experts in the field, and
tragedy strikes. “She suffers a devastating loss and becomes
meticulously study Swedish tribal customs. “We tried to get
orphaned, left with nothing in the way of family except
a grasp on how people in rural and religious Scandinavian
Christian,” says Aster. “The closest person to her is this guy
communities lived, from 500 years ago up until the present
who is on the brink of leaving her. He’s decent enough that
day,” says Svensson. “We looked at the natural elements—
he doesn’t leave, given the situation. But it’s a matter of duty
how people took care of nature, including plants and
for Christian, and Dani is well aware of not being embraced
animals—as well as the structural elements and the art that
by his friends.”
surrounded them, including wall paintings. Culture is very
strong in these parts, we wanted to get a sense of how they Those friends include Josh (William Jackson Harper), a
communicated, which was more often than not through music.” PhD student whose interests lean toward anthropology
and folklore; Mark (Will Poulter), a caustic and chauvinistic
As their research grew darker, they found themselves
goofball with negligible boundaries; and Pelle (Vilhelm
immersed in more nefarious customs, including Viking
Blomgren), a Swedish exchange student who has invited
torture methods. Juggling darkness and light, Aster began
his friends—but not Dani—on a summer trip to his ancestral
writing his screenplay, inserting a group of modern young
home in remote Scandinavia.
Americans into the alien environment of an eerie cult
performing a once-in-a-millennium series of rituals during a After initially concealing the trip from her, Christian feels
summertime festival in remote northern Sweden. pressured to invite her along, much to the chagrin of his
close-knit boys’ club. Josh, Mark, and Pelle simply want to
From its inception, Aster seldom envisioned Midsommar
cut loose with their own kind, threatened by anything that
as a horror movie—instead viewing the project as an epic
will distract them from their personal and selfish goals, whether
adventure unfolding in a strange hermetic world. “When the
it’s furthering their academic glory or getting laid in Sweden.
Americans enter this landscape, they walk through pearly
gates into a new realm,” says Aster. “We looked at it like an Eventually Christian caves, inviting Dani on the trip. “She
anthropologist might approach Candy Land—how do we accepts a false invitation, knowing Christian’s friends don’t
create this entirely new place, so the characters can truly like her, and from here the movie becomes a question of how
live in it? What was crucial for us was to create a world the this toxic dynamic will resolve itself,” says Aster. “He’s staying
audience could stand in, live in, and viscerally understand— in the relationship out of obligation, and she’s clinging
A24 Press Notes Midsommar 7Production Notes
to him as a result, sensing he wants to leave—but also an idyllic tree-lined ridge. As the outsiders acclimate to their
knowing she can’t survive on her own. They’re at a standstill. new surroundings, participating in meals, ceremonies, and
Midsommar has always been a kind of horror movie about dances with the sixty-odd members of the tribe, they come
codependence.” to discover a close-knit, seemingly benevolent and even
jubilant cult of revelers, each clad in customized white linen
Adds British actress Florence Pugh, who plays Dani,
uniforms bearing runic symbols.
appearing in virtually every scene in the movie: “Their
relationship should have ended a long while ago. Despite But amidst the glaring and relentless sunlight, things soon
circumstances and the need for comfort, it continues.” take a darker turn. Working once again with cinematographer
Pawel Pogorzelski, his frequent collaborator, Aster concocts
Complicating the dynamic is an unspoken academic rivalry
a tale of escalating horror and dread that unfurls in glorious,
between Josh, a natural-born scholar utilizing the trip to do
unrepentant daylight, during a time of year in Sweden when
research for his PhD thesis on Pelle’s ancestors, the Hårga,
nightfall never completely arrives, plunging the outsiders
and Christian, who doesn’t seem to have a genuine affinity
into an additional layer of disorientation that, as Midsommar
for academia. Aster establishes a quiet tension between
reveals its deeper mysteries, coalesces into a hallucinatory
them that explodes when Christian decides he is also going
freak-out.
to write his dissertation on the customs and rituals of the
Hårga. As multiple relationships unravel over the course of “This is a story of a woman who is losing her mind and her
the film, it becomes clear that everyone in this boys’ club is just bearings, and I thought it would be interesting to put her in
out for themselves—they’re not even true friends to each other. a stressful situation where the sun is always up, and there’s
no distinguishing between night and day,” says Aster. “There
Evil under the sun
is thematic resonance, given that Dani is not really directly
Arriving in Sweden, Dani and company travel to remote examining her situation.”
Hälsingland, where Pelle’s tribe is in the midst of celebrating
After Hereditary, a story that was set primarily in a single-
a purification ritual occurring once every 90 years. Joining
family home submerged in shadows and gloom, Aster and
the Americans are Simon and Connie (Archie Madewke and
Pogorzelski wanted to do a 180-degree turn away from
Ellora Torchia), British travelers of color—an important clue
things that go bump in the night. “With Midsommar, we set
to one of Midsommar’s more sinister undercurrents. After
out to make something that was persistently and almost
consuming psychedelic mushrooms, the new arrivals journey
naggingly bright—an incessant light that becomes almost
into the forest, eventually wandering through a wooden
assaultive,” Aster comments.
portal into what appears to be a shimmering fantasy world.
What appears to be a sunny paradise populated with
Lying at the heart of Midsommar is the ancestral Hårga
friendly villagers frolicking in nature quickly shifts towards
village, a series of rustic buildings including a bunkhouse,
something sinister. As Dani battles her own inner demons,
kitchen, and temple set across a vast field nestled beneath
A24 Press Notes Midsommar 8Production Notes
and Christian plunges deeper into the mysteries of Hårga Adds Pugh: “The world Ari was creating was so alive. Even
in the hope of achieving academic glory, the couple find when the story peaks at its highest mania, everything about
themselves submerged in values, traditions and rituals that it is beautiful and precise. He had such a clear idea of what
are disturbingly different from their own. he was trying to achieve, with every second of the film already
in his head before cameras rolled. In Midsommar, every
Ascension—a star is born
shot is a puzzle, with all parts moving individually, eventually
In the central role of Dani Ardor, 23-year-old Florence Pugh becoming an entire field of orchestrated parts. Being part of
builds on her previous acclaim in Lady Macbeth and “The Ari’s imagination is terrifying, and just as exciting.”
Little Drummer Girl” to create a star-making turn in which she
Becoming indoctrinated
exudes unforgettable gravitas, holding the screen throughout
the course of the film and providing ample amounts of shock, A dark fairy tale about a grieving woman who becomes
panic, despair, confusion, confidence, and grace. transformed in a landscape of ancient pagan rituals,
Midsommar centers on Dani’s gradual indoctrination as she
Aster looked at hundreds of actresses for the role of Dani,
pulls away from Christian and the turmoil of her past, toward
returning again and again to Pugh because she was the
a new life in a new family—inside a distant tribe and culture
only actor who checked off every box of the protagonist’s
that is distinctly matriarchal.
unforgettable journey, from grief-stricken and paranoid to
ennobled and empowered. “While I was making the movie The film begins in the world of men, as Christian and his
I kept picturing Florence at the end, knowing she was fellow academics jockey for professional success while
someone who would be there every step of the way,” says making crude sexual jokes about the women in their lives,
Aster. “She was so poised and calculating in Lady Macbeth, Dani among them. But as it opens up into the world of the
while Dani is such a delicate and emotional person. It was Hårga, the story becomes increasingly female-dominated,
exciting to watch Florence do a 180-degree turn from that culminating in a fertility rite that is among the most powerful
earlier role. She’s a consummate professional who can take and timely screen images in recent memory, a defiant
anything you throw at her with unnerving ease.” statement on female agency in a time when men still
routinely attempt to regulate and control women’s bodies.
Pugh for her part embraced the challenge of playing a young
woman who travels to the ends of the earth, only to find “There’s a balance between men and women in Hårga, but
herself indoctrinated into a chilling pagan cult. “I’ve never women clearly have more power,” says Aster. “Some of the
attempted a role like Dani before, there’s nowhere to hide guys in the movie are jerks, but I didn’t set out to make
with a character as open and raw as she is,” says Pugh. “I a polemic on toxic masculinity. That said, this eventually
wanted to play her because she had so many layers, thanks reveals itself to be a story of female empowerment, albeit
to the complexities and depth in Ari’s script. I was invested in one that is bittersweet and not exactly clear-cut. Dani is
Dani from the first reading.” empowered—but she’s also not.”
A24 Press Notes Midsommar 9Production Notes
Arriving near the end of the film is another engrossing and In Midsommar, the true villain is not the villagers themselves,
evocative set piece, depicting Dani as she participates in who are merely acting out the same rituals they have for
the May Queen festivities, alongside young women from the centuries, but rather their ideas, values, and customs,
village who compete for the honor of being crowned May which find a new home inside Dani as the story reaches its
Queen. They dance in tandem until they collapse one by one incendiary climax. That Dani finds herself empowered and
from exhaustion, and only the winner remains. transformed by these outmoded traditions is what lends
the film its unique power and horror: we don’t often sense
As the Americans are guided through the archaic customs
poisonous ideas circulating in the world until they are already
of the Hårga, Dani receives acceptance, empowerment, and
planted inside us. Once they take root, it can be too late.
even deification among the people of Pelle’s tribe, finding
herself reborn through their ancient rituals. “She begins to The world of the Hårga
allow herself to hurt and feel all the overwhelming emotions
Midsommar was filmed in the summer of 2018 in the
she has been suppressing,” says Pugh. “It’s the first time she
countryside outside of Budapest, Hungary, standing in for
listens to her pain, and accepts it.”
remote Sweden due to logistical considerations and better
Adds Aster: “It’s a perverse wish fulfillment story. Hårga access to sunlight. Like Hereditary, Aster has once again
swoops in to give Dani what she is missing in her life and also constructed an elaborate set from the ground up, including
take away what she hasn’t had the courage to eliminate.” the film’s centerpiece, the Hårga village, conceived in
conjunction with production designer Henrik Svensson.
Through the power and command of Aster’s immersive
filmmaking, the audience becomes indoctrinated along “I felt it was important for audiences to be able to see different
with Dani, getting a taste of the Hårga’s true motives—to parts of the village in every shot, as though you were actually
surreptitiously recruit select outsiders into their customs and there celebrating with the Hårga,” says Aster. “I wanted
way of life. Yet these rituals and traditions are presented the geography of the village to be something the audience
with deeply troubling implications; leaving much for viewers comes to know in their bones by the end of the movie.”
to think about, Aster provides hints of a subtler, more
After combing rural Sweden and its distinctive farmhouses
contemporary message amid the sunny pagan revelry,
for structural inspiration, Aster and Svensson scouted
dovetailing with his previous examination of lineage and
around Hungary for several months, surveying field upon
heritage in Hereditary.
field in search of a location that could accommodate a rural
It’s no coincidence that several characters, including Josh, village ensconced in sunlight while also being adequately
Simon and Connie, are people of color stumbling into the surrounded by trees and mountains. A meticulous planner,
overwhelmingly white environment of Hälsingland. But it’s Dani Aster had already designed all of the shots and planned
and Christian—white Anglo Saxon Protestant Americans—who the entire layout of the village before he and his production
are “initiated” into the darker mysteries of Hårga. designer finally found the right location a few miles outside
Budapest in early 2018.
A24 Press Notes Midsommar 10Production Notes
By this time, Svensson had been involved with the project for “Hidden inside these paintings is everything that’s going
nearly five years, expanding the story bible before cameras to happen in the movie without giving viewers any obvious
rolled to include intricate details for every character, building, signs,” says Aster. “Midsommar contains a lot of Easter eggs.”
and costume. This helped Aster imagine a deeper mythology
The creation of this artwork took months prior to filming,
for the Hårga, including its own fictional language—called
with Persson painting in the style of medieval paintings
Affekt—which is on display throughout the film, in particular
Aster and Svensson had stumbled on first-hand during
during the ritual scenes.
their scouting trips through Hälsingland—bringing a level
“It’s like this warped, fantastical version of what you of intricate, symbolic detail to Midsommar that recalls the
might see and hear in a rural Hälsingland village during a dollhouse figurines in Hereditary, which also signaled key
midsummer festival,” says Aster. “Henrik is a brilliant guy story elements.
and it’s hard to believe that this is his first feature film as a
Outside Budapest, Svensson built the village set over the
production designer.”
course of two months prior to filming, racing against the
As the project developed, Aster also employed a runic clock to finish construction. “We had to build everything on
alphabet unique to the Hårga, viewable throughout the movie poles because the structures couldn’t actually touch the
on costumes, interior walls, and in the sacred book known as ground,” says Svensson. “Hungary has lots of rules, some of
the Ruby Radr, which becomes a key plot point when Josh which are easy to understand and some of which are not. It
attempts to take pictures of the esoteric prophecies for his was a fight against time and weather to get the structures
dissertation, outraging the village elders. up before cameras rolled.”
“Every symbol has a unique meaning, and we assigned It was also a race against the sun, prompting the filmmakers
those meanings to specific characters,” says Aster. “On the to choose Hungary for the movie’s location, over the obvious
costumes you see a combination of the runic alphabet and choice of Sweden, because they had better control over
the Affekt alphabet. As a character grows up in the cult, he the production. Swedish law demands that film crews can
or she is assigned a specific rune, which corresponds with only shoot for eight hours per day, restricting the team’s
their unique background.” access to maximum sunlight. By shooting in Hungary, where
the days were shorter, they had less control over the light,
For the set’s elaborate interiors, including intricately
but more control over the landscape. Finding the right field
painted murals and symbols on the three-story walls of the
meant everything.
bunkhouse and the dwelling of the matriarchal spokesman
Siv (Gunnel Fred), outlining the Hårga’s history and beliefs, “Every day we stepped into that field we were stepping into
Aster turned to artist Ragnar Persson, who hand-painted the world of Hårga,” says Pugh. “It was hugely exhilarating
the designs before they were transformed into wallpaper by and helpful to be living amongst it all and made the
Hungarian artisans. experience even more eerie. Everything was designed and
A24 Press Notes Midsommar 11Production Notes painted from scratch—often we would wander off in between takes and just stare at the artwork on the walls.” Adds Pogorzelski: “Hereditary was much easier to shoot because we were able to control everything inside a limited space. Before we shot Midsommar I would stay in that field for days and watch the sun, testing the shadows, noticing when the clouds rolled in, and the sunlight started to wane. You can’t predict anything, because the sun is just going to keep moving—it doesn’t wait.” To preserve authenticity, Aster flew in the Swedish actors who play the Hårga villagers—including dozens of extras—to act alongside a British and American cast and a Hungarian crew. Like its densely wrought story, Midsommar is a world containing multitudes. A24 Press Notes Midsommar 12
The Cast _ A24 Press Notes Midsommar 13
The Cast
Florence Pugh British actress Florence Pugh, made her mark with her starring role as “Katherine Lester”
in Roadside’s Lady Macbeth. Directed by William Oldroyd, the film follows Katherine,
who has been sold into marriage, as she discovers an unstoppable desire within herself
when she enters into an affair with a worker on her estate. The film was named one of
2017’s Top 10 Independent Films by the National Board of review and won Best British
Independent Film at the 2017 British Independent Film Awards. Pugh won Best Actress at
the 2017 British Film Awards and received the Malone Souliers Award for Breakthrough
of the Year at the 2017 Evening Standard British Film Awards for her performance.
Recently Pugh wrapped production on Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Little Women as “Amy
March.” She stars alongside Emma Watson, Meryl Streep, Saoirse Ronan, Eliza Scanlen,
Laura Dern, and Timothee Chalamet.
Pugh was most recently seen on AMC’s “The Little Drummer Girl,” which launched in
October 2018 on BBC in the UK and November 2018 in the US. Based on the le Carré
bestseller of the same name, the six-part drama is set in the 1970s as a young, brilliant
actress prepares for her ultimate role in the theater of the real, and against the backdrop
of rising tensions in the Middle East. Park Chan-Wook directs and Alexander Skarsgaard
and Michael Shannon co-star.
Pugh is also the female lead in director’s David McKenzie’s Outlaw King which premiered
on Netflix on November 9th. Outlaw King tells the story of “Robert The Bruce,” the king
who led his country to freedom from the oppressive rule of England during the First War of
Scottish Independence. The film stars Chris Pine and Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
In Spring 2019, Pugh was seen in MGM and WWE’s studio’s Fighting With My Family,
based on the life of WWE wrestler Paige, written and directed by Stephen Merchant.
Next, Pugh will be seen in A24’s highly anticipated horror Midsommar, directed by Ari
A24 Press Notes Midsommar 14The Cast
Florence Pugh (cont.) Aster. She stars in the film alongside Will Poulter and Jack Reynor.
Pugh has also been seen in a starring role in ITV’s critical-hit “Marcella”, an 8-part crime-
thriller from the creators of the Scandinavian hit series “The Bridge,” the action film “The
Commuter” opposite Liam Neeson, and as Cordelia opposite Anthony Hopkins and Emma
Thompson in the BBC/Amazon television movie “King Lear.”
She made her stunning debut in Carol Morley’s “The Falling” which earned her a Best
Young Performer nomination at the London Critics’ Circle Film Awards.
Jack Reynor Jack is an award-winning Irish actor that is due for a breakout summer starring in A24’s
Midsommar — director Ari Aster’s highly anticipated follow up to Hereditary. He leads the
film alongside Florence Pugh in what is being described as a dread-soaked cinematic
fairytale where a world of darkness unfolds in broad daylight. The thriller releases
nationwide on July 3rd.
Jack can also be seen starring in the CBS All Access series, “Strange Angel,” co-produced
by Sailor Bear and Ridley Scott under his Scott Free banner. The series dramatizes the
intersection of rocket science and the occult in the life of American chemist Jack Parsons.
The series’ second season is set to premiere on June 13.
Also on the horizon, this multi-hyphenate talent wrote and directed a short film titled
Bainne starring Will Poulter.
Most recently, Jack starred opposite Felicity Jones & Armie Hammer in Mimi Leder’s, On
the Basis of Sex, which chronicles the life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her struggles for
equal rights prior to her succession to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Jack also appeared in Jonathan and Josh Baker’s Lionsgate film Kin, opposite James
A24 Press Notes Midsommar 15The Cast
Jack Reynor (cont.) Franco and Zoe Kravitz. Kin was produced by Dan Levine and Dan Cohen of 21 Laps
Entertainment and released in August 2018.
Reynor has steadily been building his credits with critically-acclaimed performances in
auteur director projects such as Lenny Abrahamson’s What Richard Did; John Carney’s
Sing Street, Ben Wheatley’s Free Fire and Kathryn Bigelow’s Detroit. Additionally, he
gained global recognition as the star of Michael Bay’s Transformers: Age Of Extinction
which grossed over $1B worldwide.
His talent has also been recognized internationally. In 2015 Jack won the Sundance Film
Festival’s Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting for his performance in Gerard Barrett’s
film Glassland. Other awards include two IFTA Awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
for his performance in Sing Street and the IFTA Award for Best Actor for his role in What
Richard Did.
He currently resides in Ireland.
Will Poulter In 2014, British actor Will Poulter was presented with the prestigious EE BAFTA Rising
Star award positioning him as one of the country’s most exciting young talents. He also
received the ‘Breakthrough Performance’ award the MTV Awards for his role in We’re the
Millers along with ‘Best Kiss’ for his hilariously memorable scene in the film.
Will was most recently seen in “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch,” the first ever interactive
episode from Netflix, where the audience has the opportunity to choose their own
adventure by making decisions throughout the story. Taking place in 1984 London, the
episode starred Fionn Whitehead, Asim Chaudhry, and Craig Parkinson, with Will playing
top computer programmer, Colin Ritman.
A24 Press Notes Midsommar 16The Cast
Will Poulter (cont.) He will next be seen in Ari Aster’s Midsommar, alongside Florence Pugh and Jack Reynor.
It is the second feature film from writer-director Ari Aster and follows the release of
Hereditary which opened last year to both critical and box office acclaim. Midsommar will
be distributed domestically by A24 on 3rd July 2019.
Last autumn saw Will in Lenny Abrahamson’s (Room) The Little Stranger, alongside Ruth
Wilson, Domhnall Gleeson and Charlotte Rampling. The film was adapted from Sarah
Waters’ gothic novel and set in post WWII Britain.
2017 saw Will starring as police officer ‘Krauss’ in Oscar-winning director Kathryn
Bigelow’s newest film Detroit. The film focuses on the violent 1967 Detroit riots and was
released on August 4 in America to tie into the 50th anniversary. Will starred alongside
Anthony Mackie, John Boyega, Jack Reynor and Ben O’Toole.
Will was also seen in the Netflix project War Machine alongside Brad Pitt. The black
comedy is based on Michael Hastings’ book “The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of
America’s War in Afghanistan,” and follows the story of a general (Brad Pitt), whose track
record lands him the commanding job in the American conflict in Afghanistan.
In 2016, Will starred in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s BAFTA and Academy Award winning
film The Revenant, alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy. The screenplay was
adapted by Michael Punke’s novel and was been released by Twentieth Century Fox.
Inspired by true events, The Revenant is an immersive and visceral cinematic experience
capturing one man’s epic adventure of survival and the extraordinary power of the human
spirit. In an expedition of the uncharted American wilderness, legendary explorer Hugh
Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is brutally attacked by a bear and left for dead by members of
his own hunting team. In a quest to survive, Glass endures unimaginable grief as well as
the betrayal of his confidant John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy). Guided by sheer will and the
A24 Press Notes Midsommar 17The Cast
Will Poulter (cont.) love of his family, Glass must navigate a vicious winter in a relentless pursuit to live and
find redemption. 2016 also saw Will in Kids in Love alongside Alma Jodorowsky, Jamie
Blackley and Cara Delevingne.
In 2015, Will was seen starring in Glassland, the second feature from Irish director Gerard
Barrett, Will took on the role of ‘Shane’. Starring Academy Award-nominated actress Toni
Collette and Jack Reynor, the film is set in Dublin and tells the story of a young taxi driver
(Reynor) who gets tangled up in the world of human trafficking while trying to save his
mother (Collette) from addiction. Glassland received the award for ‘Best Irish Feature’ at
this year’s Galway Film Fleadh Awards and received great critical acclaim.
2014 saw Will in Twentieth Century Fox film The Maze Runner, an adaptation of James
Dashner’s bestselling novel and directed by Wes Ball. The film follows a group of boys
trapped in a massive maze with no memory of the outside world. Will plays ‘Gally’ and stars
opposite Dylan O’Brien, Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Kaya Scodelario as they all try to
uncover the truth and find a way to escape the maze.
2013 Will star in Warner Brother’s box office hit comedy We’re the Millers, starring as
‘Kenny’ opposite Jennifer Anniston, Jason Sudeikis and Emma Roberts. The film follows a
small-time pot dealer David Burke (Sudeikis) who hires a phony family to bring two metric
tons of weed from Mexico to Colorado. His plan includes working with a cynical stripper
(Jennifer Aniston) as his faux wife, a homeless teenager (Emma Roberts) and a geeky
neighbour (Poulter) as their offspring.
Will Poulter’s feature film debut was in Garth Jennings’ nostalgic hit comedy Son of
Rambow in 2008 for which he received a nomination at the British Independent Film
Awards for ‘Most Promising Newcomer’. This story of friendship and adventure centres on
two young boys, ‘Lee Carter’ (Poulter) and ‘Will Proudfoot’, played by Bill Milner, as they
A24 Press Notes Midsommar 18The Cast
Will Poulter (cont.) spend a long and hot summer making a home movie inspired by First Blood.
In 2011 Will starred in Dexter Fletcher’s BAFTA nominated directorial debut Wild Bill. The
film saw Will’s transition from child star to adult actor, tackling the role of ‘Dean’, a young
man abandoned by his mother and forced to care for his young brother until his father’s
shock return from a long stint in prison. Will was nominated for ‘Young British Performer of
The Year’ at the Critics’ Circle Awards for this breakout performance.
Other films credits include the blockbuster adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia: The
Voyage of the Dawn Treader where Will played ‘Eustace Clarence Scrubb’ opposite
Tilda Swinton, Liam Neeson and Simon Pegg. His dramatisation of one of the best
known characters in children’s literature won him award nominations and rave reviews
commending his stellar performance and heralding him as a name to watch.
Will also played and developed a string of satirical characters on C4/E4 comedy sketch
show “School of Comedy,” an adult TV show performed by a cast of talented British young
comedic actors. The show was taken to The Edinburgh Festival Fringe and in 2009
adapted into a six part television series for E4 running for two seasons until 2010.
William Jackson Harper William Jackson Harper currently stars as Chidi in NBC’s hit comedy series “The Good
Place,” oppositeKristen Bell and Ted Danson. The critically acclaimed and Peabody Award
nominated show received the AFI Award for TV Program of the Year in 2018, as well as
Golden Globe and Critics Choice award nominations for Best Comedy Series. Harper
recently received a Critics’ Choice Award nomination for ‘Best Supporting Actor in a
Comedy Series’ for his performance. “The Good Place” has been renewed for a fourth
season and will return this fall.
In film, Harper can be seen in the buddy comedy turned crime thriller Lost Holiday, which
premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival earlier this year. He will next star in A24’s
A24 Press Notes Midsommar 19The Cast
William Jackson Harper (cont.) upcoming horror film Midsommar alongside Will Poulter and Florence Pugh. Directed by
Ari Aster (Hereditary), the film is slated for release this July. This spring, Harper completed
production in Participant’s untitled legal drama focused on the scandal revolving around
the DuPont chemical company. Directed by Todd Haynes (Carol) and produced by Mark
Ruffalo, Harper will star alongside Anne Hathaway, Tim Robbins and Bill Pullman. His
additional feature film credits include Paterson, True Story, All Good Things and How to Tell
You’re a Douchebag.
On television, Harper will next appear as the character Xander opposite John Krasinski
in the second season of Amazon’s “Jack Ryan.” Additionally, Harper has made guest
appearances on numerous acclaimed television series including “30 Rock,” “The Blacklist,”
“Law & Order,” “Law & Order: CI,” Hulu’s “Deadbeat,” “High Maintenance,” “Unforgettable”
and the children’s series “The Electric Company.” His credits also include the telefilms “The
Breaks” and “The Share.”
Born in Dallas, Harper has an extensive background in theater, co-starring alongside
Cristin Milioti in “After The Blast” at Lincoln Center, as well as on Broadway in the Tony
Award winning play “All The Way,” with Bryan Cranston. Most recently, Harper made his
playwriting debut with the drama “Travisville,” which centers on a Texas church community
untouched by the tumult of the civil rights movement. The play opened in October 2018
at New York’s Ensemble Studio Theatre to critical praise, with The New York Times noting
Harper’s “serious writing chops.” Additional stage performances include “A Family for All
Occasions” at the Labyrinth, “Modern Terrorism” at Second Stage, “The Total Bent,” “Titus
Andronicus” and “Measure for Measure” at the Public, “Placebo” and “A Cool Dip in the
Barren Saharan Crick” at Playwrights Horizons and “Queens Boulevard” and “Paradise
Park” at the Signature. Harper also has numerous regional theater credits, including
“Ruined,” “Hamlet,” “Much Ado About Nothing” and “Romeo and Juliet.”
Harper currently resides in Brooklyn with his dog Chico.
A24 Press Notes Midsommar 20The Cast
Vilhelm Blomgren Vilhelm Blomgren grew up on a small island in the Baltic Sea. In his early days he begun
playing Swedish folk music. Violin and mandolin were big interests of his. At age 11 he
performed his first play where he portrayed the crown prince in Richard III. Vilhelm has
been in many plays such as “Our Class,” “A Winter’s Tale,” and “The Clinic.” He has also
starred in musicals such as “Hair” and “Songs For A New World.” He has a Bachelor’s
degree from the Academy of Music and Drama in Gothenburg. Right now Vilhelm has the
title role in Scandinavias first HBO original series, “Gösta,” directed by Lukas Moodysson.
Midsommar is Vilhelm’s first international movie.
Archie Madekwe In 2017, Archie Madekwe made his West End debut in the hit production of Edward
Albee’s “The Goat,” directed by Ian Rickson. He starred as the son of Damian Lewis and
Sophie Okonedo, landing this coveted role immediately upon finishing his training at
Lamda. Since then he has played the male lead/love interest to Elle Fanning in Max
Minghella’s indie Teen Spirit; shot the first season of the UK remake of Lisa Kudrow’s hit
comedy series “Web Therapy” entitled “Hang Ups”; and was named one of 2017’s Screen
International Stars of Tomorrow. He can be seen opposite David Oyelowo, Josh O’Connor
and Lily Collins in the BBC miniseries, “Les Miserables” for BBC. This past January he
starred in “Informer” on Amazon alongside Paddy Considine and Bel Powley for Neal
Street Productions/Sam Mendes.
Recently, Madekwe wrapped production on the Steven Knight and Francie Lawrence’s
Apple series “See,” opposite Jason Momoa and Sylvia Hoeks.
A24 Press Notes Midsommar 21The Cast
Ellora Torchia Ellora Torchia is a London based actress whose work spans theater, film, and television.
She is currently filming her second season of the BBC’s “The Split” by Abi Morgan, and
has also appeared in Channel 4’s “Indian Summers” and ITV’s “Beowulf.” Ellora was
awarded a special commendation at the 2019 Ian Charleson awards for “Two Noble
Kinsmen” at London’s Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, where she has also performed in
Caroline Byrne’s “All’s Well That Ends Well.” Also on stage she has appeared in Lyndsey
Turner’s “The Treatment,” Amy Hodge’s “Boys Will Be Boys,” and Max Stafford Clark’s
“Macbeth.” Ari Aster’s Midsommar will be her third feature film behind Thomas Bidegian’s
Les Cowboys and Première Vacances, with her fourth feature, Nicholas Jarecki’s
Dreamland, set to premiere next year..
A24 Press Notes Midsommar 22The Crew _ A24 Press Notes Midsommar 23
The Crew
Ari Aster Ari Aster wrote and directed Hereditary, his debut feature, which stars Toni Collette,
Writer/ Director Gabriel Bryne, Ann Dowd, and Alex Wolff. The film premiered at Sundance and was
released by A24 this past Summer. Hereditary is acclaimed by critics and was the
biggest ever opening for A24, as well as A24’s highest-grossing film worldwide.
Ari is currently in post on his next film Midsommar, which he wrote and directed for
A24 who will release the film in July. It stars Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, and Will
Poulter.
Patrik Andersson Born 1976 in Finspång, Sweden. Stepped into production and Head of
Producer Development at BR•F, after over ten years in the Swedish film industry, mainly in
distribution and marketing. Head programmer at Stockholm Int’l Film Festival 2000-
2003, programmer and acquisitions consultant at exhibitor Sandrew Metronome
and Astoria Cinemas 2003-2005, project manager at int’l dept at Swedish Film
Institute and Head of Marketing at Nordisk Film 2009-2011, working closely with
producers in presenting the films for the Swedish market. Also a musician with
a huge amount of gold records from bands through the years, e.g. Moneybrother,
Barr, Club Killers, Grand Tone Music and The Barbwires.
Producer among Variety’s Talents Up Next 2011. Filmography as producer:
Midsommar – Written and directed by Ari Aster (2019) Euphoria – Written and
directed by Lisa Langseth (2017) A Serious Game - Written by Lone Scherfig,
directed by Pernilla August, based on the novel by Hjalmar Söderberg (2016)
Foodies - The Culinary Jetset (2015), documentary by Thomas Jackson, Charlotte
Landelius and Henrik Stockare (2015) Hotell - Written and directed by Lisa
Langseth (2013) A Living Soul - Written by Peter Modestij, directed by Henry Moore
Selder, based on the novel by P C Jersild (2013)
A24 Press Notes Midsommar 24The Crew
Lars Knudsen Ari Aster and Lars Knudsen launched Square Peg in the spring of 2019 following
Producer their collaboration on Ari’s critically acclaimed directorial debut Hereditary, which
grossed over $80M worldwide. They have since collaborated on Ari’s second film
Midsommar, which will be released worldwide this Summer. They have an exciting
and diverse slate of projects lined up for 2019 and beyond.
Lars has produced over 30 films, including: Ari Aster’s Hereditary and Midsommar,
Andrea Arnold’s American Honey, Robert Eggers’ The Witch, Ira Sach’s Little Men,
Love Is Strange, and Keep the Lights On, David Lowery’s Ain’t Them Bodies Saints,
Andrew Dosunmu’s Mother Of George, Shaul Schwarz’s Narco Cultura and Trophy,
Mike Mills’ Beginners, and Kelly Reichardt’s Old Joy, among others.
Pawel Pogorzelski Pawel Pogorzelski began his career in photography and quickly fell in love with
Director of Photography the collaborative process of filmmaking. After graduating with a Bachelor degree
in Communications he went on to learn the craft via the electric/gaffer route
following his love for lighting. In 2010 he obtained a Master’s degree from AFI’s
Cinematography program with 5 academic awards. He then went on to intern for
one of his idols, Rodrigo Prieto, AMC, ASC, on Water for Elephants. (2011)
He is represented by UTA and recently shot Hereditary (2018) and Midsommar
(2019), directed by Ari Aster and produced by A24. The Hollywood Reporter wrote
on Hereditary that “ace cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski … stands to cop a
major career boost with his hypnotic work here” and Variety voted his shot on
Hereditary as number 1 shot of 2018.
Besides his artistic eye and mastered cinematographic craft, Pawel is also praised
for his work ethic and efficiency as well as his professional, yet positive and warm
attitude.
Pawel Pogorzeslki lives and works in Los Angeles and Toronto.
A24 Press Notes Midsommar 25The Crew
Henrik Svensson Henrik Svensson is a Swedish musician and artist. He has recorded about 45
Production Designer albums as a band member, composer, producer, or engineer, and done work
in commercials, shorts, TV series, and documentaries. He has worked in art
departments on commercials, TV series, and feature films, and as a production
designer on commercials, music videos, and short films. Midsommar is his first
feature film as production designer.
Lucian Johnston Lucian Johnston was born and raised in the Hudson Valley, in Lagrangeville, NY.
Editor He received a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College in 2011, whereupon he moved to
New York City to work in post production. As an assistant editor, Lucian has worked
with directors Darren Aronofsky, Ang Lee, Noah Baumbach, Scott Cooper, and
most recently, the Coen Brothers. He co-edited his first feature film with Jennifer
Lame in 2017 - Ari Aster’s Hereditary (2018), and just finished cutting Ari’s second
feature, Midsommar (A24, 2019).
Andrea Flesch Andrea is an award-winning designer from Budapest who started designing
Costume Designer numerous Hungarian features before going on to work on international productions.
In 2003 she designed Peter Greenaway’s The Tulse Luper Suitcases trilogy and A
Life In Suitcases both produced by Kees Kasander for whom she later did Crusade
In Jeans starring Michael Culkin and Johnny Flynn.
Early credits include a string of European productions that shot in Hungary: The
Piano Player for Studio Hamburg, the British feature Mrs Radcliffe’s Revolution
starring Catherine Tate and Ian Glen, Betrayal with Ingrid Bolso Berdal, Rebecca
Daly’s The Other Side of Sleep for Ireland’s Fasnet Films, US horror film Open
Grave directed by Gonzalo López-Gallego and Spanish family franchise ZIP & ZAP.
In 2014 she worked on the acclaimed film The Duke of Burgundy directed by Peter
Strickland with Sidse Babett Knudsen and Chiara D’Anna playing the leads, which
was followed by another critically praised film: The Childhood of a Leader directed
by Brad Corbett with Bérénice Bejo, Robert Pattinson and Liam Cunningham.
Her television credits include “X Company” with directors David Frazee and John
Strickland, for which she was nominated for Best Costume Design at the Canadian
Screen Awards 2016 and in 2017.
A24 Press Notes Midsommar 26The Crew
Andrea Flesch (cont.) In 2017 she shot Wash Westmoreland’s Colette produced by Number 9 Films and
starring Keira Knightly and Dominic West. Her work on this film got her the following
Best Costume Design nominations: British Independent Film Awards, Seattle Film
Critics Award and Satellite Awards from the International Press Academy.
This was followed by Ari Aster’s Scandinavian set feature Midsommar for B-Reel
Films which features Florence Pugh, Will Poulter and Jack Raynor.
She is now working on The Story Of My Wife for Hungarian director Ildiko Enyedi
(winner of the Golden Bear Award for Best Film in 2017 for Body and Soul) starring
Lea Seydoux and Louis Garrel.
Bobby Krlic Bobby Krlic is a British artist, composer and producer based in Los Angeles. For
Composer the better part of the past decade, he has created music under the moniker of
The Haxan Cloak, releasing two celebrated full-length albums (2011’s The Haxan
Cloak and 2013’s Excavation) and touring extensively as a solo artist. Krlic has also
worked as a collaborator and producer for the likes of Björk, Serpent With Feet,
Father John Misty and Troye Sivan. In 2015, Krlic began collaborating with fellow
producer and Oscar-winning film composer Atticus Ross on soundtracks including
Almost Holy and Michael Mann’s Blackhat. Krlic has since scored a number of
network television shows such as “Seven Seconds” and “Shooter.”
Gene Park Gene Park is a Brooklyn, NY based sound designer. A graduate of Columbia
Supervising Sound Editor University’s music program, Park transitioned to sound design after a decade
of performing and recording music, and has since sound supervised and mixed
over 40 feature films, including seventeen Sundance Film Festival premieres. His
projects have also world premiered at the Venice, Berlinale, New York, and Toronto
Film Festivals. His last feature, A24’s The Farewell, recently won the Audience
Award at Sundance London. Park’s credits also include collaborations with Cory
Finley (Thoroughbreds), Mark and Jay Duplass (The One I Love), Lena Dunham
(Tiny Furniture), Patrick Brice (The Overnight), Rick Alverson (The Mountain), and
Clea Duvall (The Intervention). Park founded Toneburst Audio after working as
a mixer at The Criterion Collection, where he re-mixed repertory cinema audio
ranging from Modern Times to Rosemary’s Baby. His next project is Bad Education
(dir. Cory Finley), starring Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney.
A24 Press Notes Midsommar 27The Crew
Jessica Kelly Jessica Kelly recently cast the HBO series “Euphoria,” Ari Asters’ Midsommar, After
Casting Director Yang (Cinereach/A24), False Positive (A24) and The Climb (Cannes 2019). Notable
films include Jackie, Don’t Think Twice, Demolition, John Wick and John Wick 2,
The Wolverine, Noah, The Other Woman, Perks of Being a Wallflower, Southpaw,
Labor Day, Young Adult, Lola Versus, Precious, and The Wrestler. Previous Sundance
films include Luce, Sunlit Night, Assassination Nation, Lizzie, Skate Girl, A Kid
Like Jake, Patti Cake$, The Incredible Jessica James, As You Are, People Places
Things, Jacqueline Argentine, Obvious Child, Little Accidents, 2 Days in New York,
Liberal Arts, Happythankyoumoreplease, Twelve, and Assassination of a High
School President. Selected TV work she cast includes “Dietland,” “Taken,” “Madoff,”
“Blindspot,” “The Blacklist,” “Person of Interest,” “Believe,” “Zero Hour,” “Pan Am,” and
“Mercy.”
Jeanette Klintberg Jeanette Klintberg is based in Stockholm and began working as a Casting Director
Casting Director 1996 on feature films and TV series. She received the Guldbagge Award for
Snabba Cash/Easy Money by Daniél Espinosa 2010 and the Angela Casting Award
at Subtitle Film Festival in 2012. Selected Films and International co-productions -
Swedish roles in Midsommar by Ari Aster, and in David Fincher´s The Girl With The
Dragon Tattoo, The Impossible by J.A. Bayona, The Bridge, Call Girl and Gentlemen
by Mikael Marcimain, A Serious Game by Pernilla August, coming Jönssonligan by
Tomas Alfredson and HBO series “Gösta” by Lukas Moodysson.
A24 Press Notes Midsommar 28Credits _ A24 Press Notes Midsommar 29
Credits
Crew
Writer/ Director Ari Aster
Producers Patrik Andersson
Lars Knudsen
Executive Producers Pelle Nilsson
Fredrik Heinig
Philip Westgren
Thomas Benski
Ben Rimmer
Director of Photography Pawel Pogorzelski
Production Designer Henrik Svensson
Editor Lucian Johnston
Costume Designer Andrea Flesch
Music by Bobby Krilic
Supervising Sound Editor Gene Park
Co-Producers Tyler Campellone
Jeffrey Penman
Beau Ferris
Associate Producer Tintin Scheynius
A24 Press Notes Midsommar 30Credits
Casting by Jessica Kelly
Jeanette Klintberg
Cast
Dani Florence Pugh
Christian Jack Reynor
Mark Will Poulter
Josh William Jackson Harper
Pelle Vilhelm Blomgren
Simon Archie Madekwe
Connie Ellora Torchia
Ingemar Hampus Hallberg
Siv Gunnel Fred
Maja Isabelle Grill
Sten Lars Väringer
Ulf Henrik Norlén
Arne Anders Beckman
A24 Press Notes Midsommar 31Credits Inga Julia Ragnarsson Irma Anki Larsson Karin Anna Åström Ulla Liv Mjönes Odd Mats Blomgren Hanna Louise Peterhoff Dagny Agnes Rase Ylva Katarina Weidhagen Dan Björn Andrésen Mats Lennart R. Svensson Majvor Tove Skeidsvoll Valentin Anders Back Sven Dag Andersson A24 Press Notes Midsommar 32
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