Ninja Thyberg’s debut feature film Pleasure is a journey into the Los Angeles porn industry through the lens of newcomer Bella Cherry (Sofia Kappel). Strong, self-confident and determined, Bella embarks on a mission to become the best at any cost. 

Pleasure is written and directed by Thyberg with a stunning first time performance by Kappel, who anchors an ensemble of adult industry actors. 

Sofia Kappel | Bella Cherry 

Swedish newcomer Sofia Kappel made waves at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival as “Bella Cherry,” an aspiring porn star in PLEASURE, Ninja Thyberg’s workplace parable set in the adult film industry. This was her first acting role, and her fearless performance garnered rave reviews, as well as a Guldbagge Award for Best Actress (the Swedish equivalent to the Academy Awards). In the can, Sofia has THE REGULARS, a Swedish feature produced by Grand Slam Films, as well as DUMPAD (DUMPED), a Swedish dramedy by Therese Lindgren that explores the lives of young adults in a world dominated by social media, for WBTV. 

Ninja Thyberg | Writer & Director 

Filmmaker Bios 

Ninja Thyberg graduated from the Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts in 2015. Her short film Pleasure (2013) played at the Sundance Film Festival and received the Canal Plus Award at Cannes Film Festival Critics’ Week. The short Hot Chicks (2014) won the 1km Film Award at the Stockholm International Film Festival, and the short Catwalk (2015) received the Student Visionary Award at Tribeca Film Festival. Stallion played at the Stockholm Film Festival in 2015. 

Eliza Jones & Markus Waltå | Producers 

Eliza Jones and Markus Waltå founded Grand Slam Film in 2015, while graduating from their BA as film producers at Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts. They have produced a number of short and mid-length films that have been selected to some of the world’s finest film festivals (Cannes, Berlinale, Tribeca, Toronto), and are now producing their first features. 

Erik Hemmendorff | Producers 

Erik Hemmendorff, born 1973, is co-founder of Plattform Produktion. Erik has produced award-winning feature films including The Square (Palme d’Or Cannes, 2017, Nominated for the Academy Award best Foreign Language Film), Force Majeure (Cannes Un Certain Regard Jury Prize, 2014), Play (Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, 2011), Involuntary (Cannes Un Certain Regard, 2008), Greetings from the Woods (Official Selection Locarno, 2009), Twin Brothers, 53 Scenes From A Childhood (Official Selection Rotterdam, 2011). Erik studied at the School of Photography and Film, Gothenburg University. Erik was awarded the ”Lorens” prize for best Swedish producer 2008 and was appointed Producer on the Move in Cannes 2009 by the Swedish Film Institute. Upcoming projects include Triangle of Sadness written and directed by Ruben Östlund and starring Harris Dickinson, Charlbi Dean, and Woody Harrelson. 

Lemming Film 

Production Companies 

Established in 1995, Lemming Film has a proven track record of delivering an eclectic slate of quality films and drama series. Lemming Film produces projects that reflect an open-minded vision on contemporary society. The productions are regularly financed from several international sources and are widely shown at prestigious international festivals. As one of the leading companies in The Netherlands for international productions, Lemming Film has(co-)produced a total of 50 national and international feature films and 18 drama series. 

Their most recent feature films include Berlin Alexanderplatz (Burhan Qurbani), Monos (Alejandro Landes), Zama (Lucretia Martel), The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos), Full Contact (David Verbeek), and My Giraffe (Barbara Bredero). All received international acclaim at the most influential festivals such as Cannes, Toronto, Venice and Berlin. Recent drama- series include Fenix (Shariff Korver) and Holland’s Hope (Dana Nechusthan). Their most recent production is the drama series Heirs of the Night (Diederik van Rooijen) – a co-production between Germany, The Netherlands and Norway – for which Lemming film is the delegate producer. 

Lemming Film is run by CEO/Producer Leontine Petit and Producer Erik Glijnis.

 Logical Pictures 

Logical Pictures is a feature film production and investment company. In just a few years, it made his mark as a major player of the European content industry. Logical Pictures’ slate presents more than 25 movies produced or in production, and a track record renowned in the industry with films like PETROV by Kirill Serebrennikov, THE DEEP HOUSE by Julien Maury & Alexandre Bustillo, SWALLOW by Carlo Mirabella or REVENGE by Coralie Fargeat.