The latest films by Hlynur Pálmason, Eskil Vogt, Rojda Sekersöz are among seven projects selected for Nordisk Film & TV Fond’s new Nordic distribution lab to be held in Helsinki.

All projects slated for the Nordic Distribution Boost are second/third features in development or production, produced by established companies. The production/distribution teams of the selected projects will be able to hone their skills in marketing and distribution in neighbouring Nordic countries, thanks to personal mentoring from industry experts Miira Paasilinna (Yellow Affair), Jan Naszewski (New Europe Film Sales) and Freddy Neumann (Neumann PR & Strategic Communication).

They will also attend case studies of the films Borg vs McEnroe and Winter Brothers.

Petri Kemppinen, CEO at Nordisk Film & TV Fond said: “We received a wide range of quality projects by well-known production companies, with major pan-Nordic distributors and smaller scale players attached. On the second day of the workshop we are also offering other distribution companies not associated with these projects, a chance to be on spot and present themselves. Our aim is to have a fruitful dialogue, in addition to looking at the recent cross-border performances of Nordic films." 

The complete list of projects is the following: 

• Valhalla by Fenar Ahmad (Denmark). Produced by Profile Pictures, distributed by Nordisk Film. The live action film is based on Peter Madsen's popular comic books. The script is co-written by Fenar and Adam August who collaborated on the director’s breakthrough thriller Darkland. When the two Viking children Røskva and Tjalfe are taken to the land of Gods, Asgaard, by the God of Thunder Thor and the cunning God Loke, they meet a world at the brink of collapse which only they can save.

• Memory of Water by Saara Saarela (Finland) Produced by Bufo, distributed by B-Plan. 
  Saarela’s new film after Twister Roots, scripted by Ilja Rautsi, is based on the eponymous novel by Emmi Itäranta. In a future Lapland, water is a luxury and rationed by the military. When a young woman discovers a secret water source she has to decide if she is ready to risk her life by letting the water run free.

• A White, White Day by Hlynur Pálmason (Iceland) produced by Join Motion Pictures, distributed by Sena. Winter Brothers’ director Pálmason is set to start filming this summer this new film about grief, revenge and unconditional love. In a remote Icelandic town, an off-duty police chief begins to suspect a local man for having an affair with his wife, who recently died in a car accident. Gradually his obsession for finding out the truth accumulates and inevitably begins to endanger himself and his loved ones. Icelandic star actor Ingvar E. Sigurðsson (Of Horses and Men, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2) has the title role. 

• Beware of Children by Dag Johan Haugerud (Norway) produced by Motlys, distributed by Arthaus. The follow-up film to the director’s 2012 film I Belong, centres on a 13-year-old girl who accidentally kills the son of a high-profile right-wing politician. The film explores what it means to have children today and what we expect from our kids. Delivery is set for late 2018. 

• The Innocents by Eskil Vogt (Norway) produced by Mer Film, distributed by Mer Filmdistribusjon.  Joachim Trier’s writing collaborator Eskil Vogt made his directorial debut in 2014 with Blind. In his new film, we follow the main character Hans Petter into the secret world of childhood, and see the magic but also face the scary and gruesome. 

• My Life as a Comedian by Rojda Sekersöz (Sweden) produced by Anagram Sweden, distributed by SF Studios.  After her confident debut film Beyond Dreams, Sekersöz is going to adapt Jonas Gardell’s novel ‘En Komikers uppväxt’, about how far you are expected to go to try to fit into a group. 

• Psychosis in Stockholm by Maria Bäck (Sweden) produced by Garagefilm International, distributed by TriArt. The project won the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award for Best Pitch at CPH:DOX 2017. The semi-autobiographical film set in Stockholm and in space, centres on a defining moment in the director’s life when she was 14 years-old. It claims that reality can be a personal invention.