page_title: Pelle the Conqueror
section_title: Development
hierarchical_section_title: Pelle the Conqueror / Production / Development
caption_attribution_description: English: A picture of Bille August, taken during the film festival "Nordiska Filmdagar" in Helsingborg, Sweden
context_page_description: Pelle the Conqueror is a 1987 epic film co-written and directed by Bille August, based upon the noted 1910 novel of the same name by Danish writer Martin Andersen Nexø. The film tells the story of two Swedish immigrants to Denmark, a father and son, who try to build a new life for themselves. It stars Pelle Hvenegaard as the young Pelle, with Max von Sydow as his father, and also features Axel Strøbye and Astrid Villaume.
  A co-production of Denmark and Sweden, August chose to adapt Boyhood, the first part of Nexø's novel, seeking to make an epic and citing the novel's status as essential reading in Denmark. Pelle Hvenegaard was 11 when he was cast, after some 3,000 children auditioned. Like many other boys in Denmark, he was named by his family for the novel's eponymous character.
  The film screened at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival and New York Film Festival. It was critically acclaimed, winning the Palme d'Or and the 1988 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and numerous other honours.
context_section_description: The film, based on the 1910 novel of the same name by Martin Andersen Nexø, was a co-production by Danish and Swedish companies. As the story had both Danish and Swedish elements, cooperation between producers in both countries had practical benefit.
  The screenplay, by director Bille August, Per Olov Enquist, Max Lundgren, and Bjarne Reuter, adapted only the first Boyhood part of Nexø's four-volume work. August decided to film the novel, considered essential reading in Denmark, and he wanted to make an epic film.
  For the title role, Pelle Hvenegaard, who was 11, was cast after August and the crew auditioned 3,000 children. August decided on Hvenegaard, who he said demonstrated concentration, patience and self-control. The boy was coincidentally named after the character in Nexø's book, as are many boys in Denmark, given the popularity for decades of the book.
caption: Bille August co-adapted and directed Pelle the Conqueror out of an ambition to make an epic film.
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