Ivica Zubak, Daniel Fahre, Miki Mistrati among latest fund recipients

Feature film

• Nelly Rapp
  Grant: NOK 1,350,000
  Recipient: SF Studios Production Sweden
  Producers: Jon Nohrstedt, Niklas Larsson 
  Writer: Sofie Forsman
  Director: Amanda Adolfsson
  Domestic distribution: SF Studios
  World sales: SF Studios
  Premiere: fall 2020
  Story: The live action family film is the first film based on Martin Widmark’s celebrated book series about Nelly Rapp, a monster hunter who fights monsters and ghosts. Because monsters do exist, but only true believers are capable of seeing them for what they are.
  
  The film is co-produced by Film i Väst, SVT, with support from the Swedish Film Institute. Filming is set to start this fall, with a premiere scheduled around Halloween 2020. Key cast & crew will be announced in October.

TV series

• A Hustler’s Diary –The Series (8x30’)
  Original title: Måste gitt-serien
  Grant: NOK 1,500,000
  Recipient: Indian Summer Film, Sweden
  Producer: Hedvig Lundgren
  Writers: Ivica Zubak, Marcelo Obon
  Directors: Ivica Zubak (concept), Abbe Hassan (episodes)
  Commissioning broadcaster: SVT
  Expected premiere: fall 2020
  Story: Metin is just released from prison. He dreams about a successful future but the good intentions from people around him keeps messing up his plans. Together with his friends, he takes matter into his own hands in the most unsuccessful, yet hilarious way.
  
  The Hustler’s diary is a standalone series based on the hit movie of the same name, released in 2017. The series is co-produced by Film i Väst.
  
• Dreaming of England (6x45’)
  Original title: Sommaren 85
  Grant: NOK 1,350,000
  Recipient: Art & Bob Film & Drama, Sweden
  Producer: Anette Brandin
  Writers: Emma Hamberg, Denize Karabuda
  Directors: Kristina Kjellin (concept), Mikael Syrén (episodes)
  Commissioning broadcaster: SVT
  Expected premiere: 2020
  Story: 1985- Single mum Åsa, her mother Barbro and daughter Lena (15) all live in the tiny town of Braxinge. Lena is about to graduate from junior high and has dreams of going on a language course in Hastings, but Åsa can’t afford it. Lena decides to take a job at the local porn print shop and gets involved in a scheme selling discarded porno. Åsa eventually goes to Greece to find love and Barbro has a promising career in writing erotica. Life in Braxinge will never be the same. Filming is currently underway.
  
• Rodknock (8x25’)
  Original title: Rådebank
  Grant: NOK 900,000
  Recipients: Fenomen TV, Storyline Studios, Norway
  Producers: Tom Marius Kittilsen, Janne Hjeltnes
  Writer: Linn-Jeanethe Kyed
  Director: Daniel Fahre
  Commissioning broadcaster: NRK 
  Expected premiere: 2020
  Story: Rodknock is a drama series set in a fringe car enthusiast environment in the small town of Bø in Norway. We follow the Glenn-Tore «GT» (20), and his day-to-day life mostly revolving around cars and friends. He feels like he is living the good life, until his long time girlfriend breaks up with him. Whilst seemingly handling the situation well, he is secretly fighting to get back together with the girl of his dreams.
  
  Producer Janne Hjeltnes said: ”At the core of this series is authenticity and love for the county petrolhead culture. A great deal of research has been put down as part of the scriptwriting process, resulting in a story that is largely inspired by real life events.”
  
  The series was co-financed by Zefyr and Sørnorsk Filmsenter. Filming is currently under way.

Documentary

• The Chocolate War
  Grant: NOK 500,000
  Recipient: Made in Copenhagen, Denmark
  Producer: Helle Faber
  Director: Miki Mistrati
  Sales: Roco Films for the US-DR Sales for rest of the world
  Expected premiere: 2020
  Story: For the past 11 years, American attorney Terry Collingsworth has fought tirelessly to get the U.S. Supreme Court to recognise child slavery cases against the food industry. His evidence is strong and heart breaking - and this time he will succeed.
  
  The Chocolate War is the third instalment in a series of films directed by award-winner Miki Mistrati, focusing on the cocoa industry and related child slavery and exploitation in coco plantations.
  Producer Helle Faber said: “The two first films [The Dark Side of Chocolate and Shady Chocolate] made an enormous impact among consumers, and the chocolate industry promised to change their ways in the Ivory Coast. They claimed to be providing education for the kids in the plantations - and to do something actively to fight trafficking and slavery of children from the neighbouring countries. Unfortunately the industry has been lying to the consumers all along."
  
  “A few years back, we came across Terrence Collingsworth, who had managed to take the industry to Supreme Court in the US for trafficking and slavery of children in the cocoa industry. We decided to dedicate this film to his work, where he - almost as a one-man-band - up against an army of lawyers paid by the industry.
  
  The film follows this process, and it seems as if finally some justice will come to the children in the cocoa plantations.”
  
  The film is co-produced by Jonathan Borge of Norway’s UpNorth Film, with co-financing from DR, Film Fyn, Fritt Ord, NRK, SVT, support from the Norwegian Film Institute, the Danish Film Institute and Creative Europe.

Distribution support 

• NOK 615,000 in slate support to Mer Distribusjon for the distribution in Norway of the Icelandic film A White, White Day and Danish film Suicide Tourist. 
• NOK 285,000 in slate support to Film Bazaar for the distribution in Denmark of the Norwegian film Harajuku and Finnish films Stupid Young Heart and One Last Deal. 
• NOK 55,000 to Njutafilms for the distribution in Sweden of the Icelandic film Let Me Fall.

Cultural Initiatives support

• NOK 300,000 to Filmkontakt Nord for Nordisk Panorama Forum & Market 
• NOK 100,000 to Foreningen norske filmfotografer / Laterna Magica for the Oslo Digital Cinema Conference
• NOK 90,000 to the Helsinki International Film Festival-Love & Anarchy for Nordic Flair development career programme   
• NOK 50,000 to Copenhagen TV Festival for its Master-classes