Esben Smed will play the title role of Niels Arden Oplev’s upcoming drama about the Danish photographer Daniel Rye Ottosen, who was captured by the Islamic terrorist group in May 2013, and held prisoner for 13 month. The film is based on The ISIS Hostage: One Man’s True Story of 13 Months in Captivity (Ser du månen, Daniel), Ottosen’s memoir as told to Danish Middle East correspondent and author Puk Damsgaard.

Esben Smed stars alongside a Nordic cast, including Anders W. Berthelsen, Sara Hjort Ditlevsen and Jens Jørn Spottag. Anders Thomas Jensen, whose credits include the screenplay for Susanne Bier’s Oscar-winning In a Better World, adapted the book for the screen. Shooting is set to begin later this year.