The Swedish custody drama was filmed in snowy Northern Sweden above the polar circle and in the sunny hills and lava beaches of Tenerife. The change of physical location brings a dramatic contrast in the film.
Alice hasn’t seen her two children in months. After a recent and difficult divorce, her ex-husband keeps them from her as they await the final custody verdict in Northern Sweden. But when her son calls her in the middle of the night, weeping helplessly, Alice can wait no longer. In a last and desperate attempt, she arrives in the North, only to have her hopes of reconciliation with her children immediately dashed. Now, with just one path remaining open to her: Alice abducts the children and heads to a charter resort in the Canary Islands.
To the director Amanda Kernell this is personal story. “I make films about my worst nightmares, what I am afraid of, and one of those is that you can lose your children”, she said” Kernell was born in Northern Sweden with a Sami father and a Swedish mother. She has made several award-winning short films. Her first feature film Sami Blood won the Europa Cinemas Label for best European film.
Norwegian actress Ane Dahl Torp plays 40-year old Alice who realizes she is about to lose custody of her children. With the clock ticking, Alice does what she can to rekindle her children’s love and trust under the pressure of discovery and the risk of losing them completely.
Charter is a relationship story, particularly between the mother and the daughter, as Alice tries to win back the teenage Elina. It’s hard and there is a lot of hurt. As a divorced parent, she is easily judged.
Sami Blood was sold to over 70 countries and now Charter is following the same route.