Nicolas Winding Refn has returned to feature filmmaking with Her Private Hell after an emergency heart operation in 2023 that he has described as a near-death experience. The Danish director, known for Drive, Bronson and The Neon Demon, said the illness revived a creative drive that had almost disappeared.
The heart problem began during the summer of 2023, when Refn was in Italy working on a Prada campaign. A medical examination found that one of his heart valves was damaged and that blood was pooling in his lungs. The seriousness of the condition led doctors to ask him to write his will and prepare for the worst-case scenario.
His surgeon carried out the procedure through a less invasive technique, avoiding the traditional opening of the chest. Refn spent about three months rebuilding his body after the operation.
Before the surgery, he said, he had reached a point of profound uncertainty about his work and future. “When you're young, the creative flame is bright red. But my flame had disappeared, like tears in the rain. I had fallen into a kind of abyss. I was 50 years old and didn't know what to do with the years I had left”
The operation changed his relationship with filmmaking, Refn has said. Her Private Hell is his first feature length project in ten years, ending a lengthy period away from the form for which he is best known.
The film had its world premiere in the official competition program at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival. It stars Sophie Thatcher, who was recognised on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, and Charles Melton, a Golden Globe nominee.
Her Private Hell is set in a fully constructed dreamlike metropolis, a futuristic Tokyo of neon lights and dense mystical fog. Its score was written by the Italian composer Pino Donaggio, who is 84 years old and previously composed the music for Brian De Palma's horror film Carrie.
Refn developed the screenplay with his co-writer Elsti Jordani for more than a year. The work remained fluid during filming, with the production team rewriting the script on set every day.
The Cannes premiere places Refn back in the festival circuit with a feature whose production grew from the recovery of his own creative confidence. He is also planning a third film with Ryan Gosling, to come 15 years after Drive.
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