Joachim Trier’s much awaited English language debut Louder than Bombs starring Gabriel Byrne and Isabelle Huppert is now set to start filming early September for producers Sigve Endresen, Thomas Robsahm and Joshua Astrachan. Scripted by Trier and Eskil Vogt, the drama centres on a man and his three sons who get together for the first time in years to attend an exhibition celebrating war photographer Laura Freed who died three years earlier. A family secret surfaces, throwing their lives in chaos. The film was awarded NOK2 million.
Ballon (working title) is the latest project by the director of Simon & the Oaks Lisa Ohlin produced by Per Holst for Asta Film. (see separate news story). Mikkel Boe Følsgaard (A Royal Affair) plays a wounded soldier who falls in love with a ballerina (Cecilie Lassen). The film was awarded NOK1.250.000.
Headfirst (Päin seinää) is the feature debut of Finnish director Antti Heikki Pesonen, winner of the Nordic Talents Pitch Prize 2012. The black comedy produced by Helsinki Filmi centres on a single mother with anger management problems and her teenage daughter who is always in trouble at school. In the lead roles are Armi Toivanen (21 Ways to Ruin a Marriage) and Mimosa Willamo. Filming started on April 8. The film was granted NOK750.000.
DR’s latest in-house prime time drama series Follow the Money just started filming in April with Per Fly as concept director and Jeppe Gjervig Gram (co-writer of Borgen) as head-writer. The 10X60 part series is set in the world of financial crime, from banks to stock exchange to corporate boardrooms. It’s the story of speculators, swindlers, corporate royalty and the crimes committed in the pursuit of wealth. The three main characters are Mads (Thomas Bo Larsen seen in The Hunt), an investigator from the ‘Fraud Squad’, Claudia (Natalie Madueño Wolsberg), an ambitious young lawyer and Nicky (Esben Smed) a former criminal trying to go back on the right track. The Danish TV drama was granted NOK1.5 million.
The Swedish 10X60’ TV drama Blue Eyes (Ögon blå) produced by Strix Drama in co-production with SVT and Film i Väst is also filming right now. Based on an original script by Alex Haridi (Real Human 2), the conspiracy thriller tells of a politician that is found dead ten weeks prior to the elections. While parties fight over who can win the most political points on the murder, the far right terrorist cell Veritas perpetrates a violent attack. Henrik Georgsson (The Bridge) and Fredrik Edfeldt (The Girl) are directing and key cast members include Louise Peterhoff and Adam Lundgren. Airing on SVT1 is scheduled for the autumn. The Swedish drama was granted NOK2.4 million.
TV2 Norway has its own political thriller in the making, the 10X45’ Occupied (Okkupert) based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø. The series produced by Yellow Bird is set in the near future where Russia has invaded Norway to control its oil resources. Erik Skjoldbjærg is concept director. European partners involved in this ambitious show filmed in English, Norwegian and Russian include French GTV Production and Arte France. In the main roles are Ane Dahl Torp and Henrik Mestad (Lilyhammer). Occupied was granted NOK2.25 million.
Danish Documentary Production was awarded two grants of NOK400.000 for its projects The Farmer and the Universe by Phie Ambo (Mechanical Love) and Yula’s Dream by Hanna Polak. The first title tells of an idealistic farmer whose working methods are not popular with the government and the second title focuses on the young Yula who grows up in Moscow’s garbage dump ‘svalka’ and dreams of getting out of there. Finally the Finnish documentary The Salesmen of Happiness by Wille Hyvönen produced by Pohjola Filmi was granted NOK350.000.
For information about projects granted distribution support click here.
Phot credit: filmkrant.nl