Tarik Saleh’s new movie The Contractor premieres today in US theatres.

Starring Chris Pine and Ben Foster, The Contractor tells the story of discharged U.S. Special Forces sergeant James Harper (Pine) who joins a private contracting organization alongside his best friend (Foster) and under the command of a fellow veteran in order to support his family. Overseas on a covert mission, Harper must evade those trying to kill him while making his way back home.

Written by J.P. Davis, the movie also stars Gillian Jacobs, Eddie Marsan, Florian Munteanu and Kiefer Sutherland.

The incredibly successful Netflix series Snabba Cash has received 4 nominations for Sweden’s Ria Awards 2022, including ‘Best Scripted Series’.

Snabba Cash is written by Oskar Söderlund and directed by Jesper Ganslandt, both creators and show runners of the series. Jens Lapidus is the author behind the internationally bestselling novel that inspired the series.

The Ria Awards draws attention to and rewards the best creators, authors and employees in the Swedish television production industry. The awards ceremony will take place on May 17 at Lilla Cirkus in Stockholm.

The Series Mania Festival has unveiled its champions and The Dark Heart triumphed in the International Panorama section, receiving the top prize for ‘Best Series’.

The intense drama thriller The Dark Heart is created by Gustav Möller and Oskar Söderlund, starring Aliette Opheim and Gustav Lindh.

A strange attack: Eva survives a murder attempt in her own living room. On the floor beside her lies a dead man she doesn’t know. And in the hallway: a terrified, mute 8-year old girl.

A strange disappearance: Peter, a quiet, depressed man settles his house loans and withdraws large sums in cash. Then he goes missing without a trace. 1,5 years later he gives signs of life in the form of an e-mail that sparks a chain reaction of events that will have brutal consequences for those he love. Not the least for himself.

A strange life: Little Chris grows up in a dark and depressed home, marred by a drowning accident that took place right after he was born. He develops an abnormal relationship to life and death, and to people. But he learns to become just like everyone else, so that he can do what he likes the most: Kill.

In The Book of the Gallows, Thomas Enger presents a fascinating new crime-universe with a gripping mystery and an interchangeably spine-chilling and darkly humorous take on the making of a serial killer.

Ia Genberg (b. 1967) began her writing career as a journalist and debuted as an author in 2012 with the novel Sweet Friday. She has since then written the novel Belated Farewell (2013), the short story collection Small comfort and four other tales about money (2018) and The Details (2022). All of which have been highly critically acclaimed and seen on top of bestseller lists.

Her latest novel The Details has been met with a hymn of praises from readers as well as critics and has been on the national bestseller list and on top of the national critics list for 10 consecutive weeks.

The Swedish e-book service Nextory has announced this year’s winners in their 2022 Nextory E-Book Awards, a prize that is annually handed out to the most read e-book titles of the previous year. Anders Hansen’s Brain Blues is the winner in the Society & Politics category and Björn Natthiko Lindeblad’s I May Be Wrong takes it home in the Biography & Reportage category.

Author Martin Österdahl (b. 1973) has a background as Programme Director of SVT and in television production. Since 2020 he shoulders the role as Executive Supervisor for the Eurovision Song Contest.

With his new stand-alone thriller A New Year’s Ending, Österdahl establishes himself as one of the most exciting new voices in the domestic noir genre.

Lizz runs the clinic Pure Pleasure, alongside her husband Boje. Here the clients get to explore their desires and lusts by means of tailored programs and advanced sensors. The couple make good money and live with their daughter Thelma in a nice neighborhood. But the family does not fit in, the family life is fraught with conflict and Lizz is growing increasingly restless. When a young man enters Pure Pleasure one day and requests a program where nature is the object of desire, Lizz begins to reminisce about her past. A birthmark on the man’s stomach awakens memories of the children she gave up as a young surrogate and the longing that has haunted her ever since. 

A transformed Norway emerges in Sara Johnsen’s For Dancing Boy, as protagonist Lizz tells of a life characterized by the unpredictable forces in sexuality and nature, about the yearning for pleasure, about fallibility, longing and love.