After garnering rave reviews for her work on Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale and Mrs. America, Amma Asante has found her next television project in the form of Constantin Film’s adaptation of the Danish thriller novel Smilla’s Sense of Snow, according to Variety.
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Written by Peter Höeg and published in 1992 and 1993 in English, the novel followed the titular woman, a transplanted Greenlander in Copenhagen, as she investigate the mysterious death of an immigrant Inuit child in the projects and uncovers clues that lead towards a conspiracy regarding a secretive island in her home country and a grander supernatural revelation.
“I’m absolutely delighted to be helming a show with such a powerful female lead at its center,” Assante said in a statement. “Peter Höeg’s 1993 novel gave us a potent social commentary, with a heroine ahead of her time, that illuminated themes more relevant today than ever. It was a compelling alchemy for me, and a wonderful jumping-off point for our update into a modern supernatural thriller that asks poignant questions for our times.”
Click here to purchase Höeg’s acclaimed novel!
The series is being scripted by Clive Bradley (Trapped) and will be executive produced by Constantin Film’s executive board members Oliver Berben and Robert Kulzer with Constantin CEO Martin Moszkowicz attached to produce and Colin Scully, Alex Westmore and Brandon Zimon all overseeing the project for the German production company.
“We felt compelled to revisit this groundbreaking novel 30 years later because of the extraordinary prescience of its topics and themes,” Kulzer said in a statement. “Amma has a brilliant emotional and intellectual grasp of the story and we could not be more excited to go on this journey with her.”
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The novel was previously adapted into film in 1997 with Julia Ormond (The Walking Dead: World Beyond) and Gabriel Byrne (Hereditary) leading the cast and Billie August (A Fortunate Man) directing the mixed-received translation of Höeg’s work. Constantin Film, who previously co-produced the film, are planning to bring the project to U.S. premium cable networks and streaming platforms.
(Photo Credit: David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Into Film)
