Swedish director Lagerlof presumed dead after location scouting accident

Award winning Swedish film director Daniel Lind Lagerlof is missing and presumed dead after an accident Thursday.

The 42 year old director was scouting locations on the Swedish west coast for the upcoming Camilla Lackberg adaptation The Fjallbacka Murders: Strandriddaren.

Together with two crew members, Lagerlof was out on the cliffs near Fjallbacka, north of Gothenburg. The trio went separate ways, but when they were to meet again, Lagerlof did not turn up. Since the weather was bad, with strong winds and high waves, the police was alerted.

After thorough searches Friday and Saturday, including dogs and police helicopters, the search was stopped late Saturday, and police said that the hope of finding Lagerlof alive was out. It is assumed that he has slipped on a rock and fallen into the sea, which is very cold and where survival was impossible.

The film Lagerlof was in pre-production on is one of the 12 TV and film adaptations of Lackberg’s best selling novels, that go under the combined name The Fjallbacka Murders. The films are produced by Tre Vanner and sold by TrustNordisk, and more than 40 countries expressed their keen interest in buying them after Lackberg and the producers presented the project at Cannes.

Lagerlof was one of several directors attached to the project. Whether his death will halt production temporarilly is too early to say, Tre Vanner said.

Daniel Lind Lagerlof came to attention when he was second unit director at Bille August’s Jerusalem. After having directed a couple of popular TV series, Lagerlof made his feature directing debut with Breaking Out in 1999.The prison-set drama comedy won several awards and became a surprise hit in Italy.

During his career, Lagerlof switched between features like Miffo and Bus to Italy, often penned by his wife Malin, and acclaimed films in the Beck, Wallander and Van Veteeren TV series. His latest
work was the TV series ²The Library Thief², starring Gustaf Skarsgard. He
has recently been in talks of directing more features.