Jonas Knape
Jonas Knape
Photo: Jonas Knape Photo: Jonas Knape

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Daniel Espinosa

With several major Hollywood productions under his belt, Daniel Espinosa has time and time again showcased an ability to excel no matter what the genre, effortlessly moving between drama and thriller to action and sci-fi.

Espinosa’s breakthrough as a director came in 2010, when Easy Money, one of the most successful Swedish films ever made, premiered and instantly became a box office hit. Going on to receive massive international acclaim, the film paved the way for Espinosa’s first American feature film, Safe House (2012), starring Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds. It too was a great success, topping the U.S. box office for two weeks and grossing over $200 million worldwide, a record among Swedish directors.

Awards

Gothenburg Film Festival Nominee Sweden – Madame Luna 2024
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films (Best Science Fiction Film) US – Life 2018
Palm Springs International Film Festival (Directors to Watch) US – Snabba Cash Easy Money 2011
Guldbagge Awards Nominee (Audience Award) Sweden – Snabba Cash Easy Money 2010
Mannheim-Heidelberg International Filmfestival (Prize of the Ecumenical Jury) Germany – Uden for kærligheden Outside Love 2007
Warsaw International Film Festival Nominee (Warsaw Award) Poland – Uden for kærligheden Outside Love 2007
Brussels European Film Festival Nominee (Golden Iris) Belgium – Babylonsjukan Babylon Disease 2005
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (Sleepwalkers Jury Prize) Estonia – Bokseren The Fighter 2003
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Filmography

Related news

Trailer premiere for Daniel Espinosa’s ‘Madame Luna’

The official trailer for Daniel Espinosa’s new feature film, Madame Lunahas been released.

Inspired by true events, Madame Luna is a thrilling drama about an Eritrean refugee who is washed ashore in Libya, and with time becomes one of the most notorious human smugglers with deep ties to the Italian Mafia.

The film is written by Maurizio Braucci, Suha Arraf and Espinosa, and produced by David Herdies for Momento Film.

Photo: TriArt Film

International Film Festival Rotterdam to feature the world premiere of Espinosa’s ‘Madame Luna’

Daniel Espinosa’s new feature film, Madame Luna, will have its world premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) and is one out of the three selected Swedish films to be screened at the prestigious festival, which takes place between 25 January and 4 February 2024.

Inspired by true events, Madame Luna is a thrilling drama about an Eritrean refugee who is washed ashore in Libya, and with time becomes one of the most notorious human smugglers with deep ties to the Italian Mafia.

The film is written by Maurizio Braucci, Suha Arraf and Espinosa, and produced by David Herdies for Momento Film.

Madame Luna will have its Swedish cinema premiere this spring.

Gustaf Kumlin Photo: Gustaf Kumlin

Jonas Bonnier’s ‘The Helicopter Heist’ adapted by Daniel Espinosa and Ronnie Sandahl for Netflix

Netflix today announced The Helicopter Heist, a Swedish reality-based and character-driven suspense series in eight parts about the secret drama behind one of the most spectacular heists in history. The limited series is based on Jonas Bonnier’s novel The Helicopter Heist, adapted to the screen by scriptwriter Ronnie Sandahl and directed by Daniel Espinosa.

Ronnie Sandahl, scriptwriter, says: “I wanted to write an epic robbery tale, about great dreams and even greater risks. A feverish, character-driven heist show about friendship, adrenaline, and hubris. I can’t imagine a more perfect director for the series than Daniel Espinosa, and I’m incredibly happy that he’s chosen to step aboard.”

The Helicopter Heist will be Daniel Espinosa’s TV directorial debut. He says: “I have followed and been fascinated by this story ever since it happened. When the opportunity presented itself to do it in a way that does it justice, with Ronnie and Netflix and the entire crew behind it, it was an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

The series is produced by Johannes Åhlund for B-Reel Films. Executive producers are Ulf Synnerholm, Fredrik Heinig, Niclas Salomonsson, Ronnie Sandahl and Jonas Bonnier.

‘Morbius’ cinema premiere

Today marks the premiere of Daniel Espinosa’s Morbius – the latest movie in Sony’s Spiderverse and which features one of Spider-Man’s most notable villains.

Exclusively released in cinemas today, the film follows one of the most compelling and conflicted characters of the Marvel characters, the enigmatic antihero Michael Morbius (played by Oscar winner Jared Leto). Dangerously ill with a rare blood disorder and determined to save others suffering his same fate, Dr. Morbius attempts a desperate gamble. While at first it seems to be a radical success, a darkness inside him is unleashed.

Espinosa directed from a script by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless and the movie stars Jared Leto, Adria Arjona, Tyrese Gibson, Matt Smith and Al Madrigal.

Trailer release for ‘Morbius’

Sony Pictures has released the first trailer for Morbius, starring Jared Leto and directed by Daniel Espinosa.

This origin story follows the enigmatic antihero Michael Morbius, a biochemist suffering from a rare blood disorder. In search of a cure, Morbius injects himself with an experimental serum. What at first appears to be a radical success soon reveals itself to be a remedy potentially worse than the disease itself.

Morbius is set to premiere in theatres on July 31, 2020.

Photo: Nora Lorek (left)

Daniel Espinosa to direct Sony’s Spider-Man spinoff ‘Morbius’

Daniel Espinosa is set to direct Morbius, Sony’s Spider-Man spinoff, with Oscar-winning actor Jared Leto signed on to star in the feature. The project is based on the Spidey antihero Morbius the Living Vampire, a former biochemist who in an attempt to cure a fatal blood disease injected himself with a treatment serum derived from bats and thus became Morbius.

The film was penned by the team of Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazama, the duo who created Netflix’s Lost in Space remake.

Sony has not dated the film, but the movie will likely be slated soon as production is expected to start sometime this year.

Espinosa has strong ties to Sony after directing the sci-fi thriller Life starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Reynolds, and is also developing the Afghanistan War pic Red Platoon for the studio.

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Photo: Magnus Wennman

Salomonsson Agency is now representing directors

We are extremely proud to present our first client: Daniel Espinosa.

Daniel Espinosa is one of the top directors in the world and the most commercially successful Swedish director of all time. With several major Hollywood productions under his belt, Espinosa has time and again showcased an ability to excel no matter what the genre, effortlessly moving between drama and thriller to action and sci-fi. Watch this space for news about Espinosa’s exciting upcoming projects.

We will shortly reveal the next addition to our select list of top directors. Stay tuned!