Acts of Love wins best project at New Nordic Films, under overriding love theme

Acts of Love was the perfect winner for a line-up of upcoming Nordic films that had love in all its shapes, relationships and existential questioning as over-riding themes.

Acts of Love was among 19 films in development looking for co-financiers, pitched at the Nordic Co-production Market to more than 300 industry people registered both online and on-site between August 24-27.

The Danish film is Rønde’s sophomore fiction work after Bridgend which premiered at Rotterdam 2015 and picked up three awards at Tribeca.

In their pre-recorded pitch, producers Julie Walenciak and Maria Møller Christoffersen (Paloma Productions) said that after Bridgend which dealt with teenage mass suicide, the director “will again tackle a taboo-ridden subject, which is love between siblings.” “We expect the film to both engage, provoke as well as touch audiences,” they said.

Loosely inspired by the director’s own experience with his sister who was enrolled in a religious community, Acts of Love will be filmed largely in a convent, on the Danish west coast. A young woman’s life is suddenly disrupted when her brother arrives. The leader of the religious community who is familiar with the siblings shared childhood trauma, suggests for them to resolve their issue through therapeutic rituals, based on memories and rules of God. But a secret starts to emerge from the therapeutic role play, with potentially disastrous effects.

The director said the setting in a remote convent, will suit perfectly the project which he tagged as a “prison film”, due to the physical and mental confinement of the main protagonist. According to the producers, an A-list cast will be attached to the €2m project which has received support so far from the Danish Film Institute and West Danish Film Fund. Shooting is set to start in the fall 2022.

Many standout projects at the Co-Production Market, directed by a mix of established and rising filmmakers, had female-driven narratives:

• The Nix (Nordic Factory Film, Sweden), elevated chiller by debut director Niclas Gillis. Liv Ullmann, Ane Dahl Torp and newcomer Elsa Brisinger are cast as a grandmother, mother and daughter fighting against the ancient Scandinavian spirit, known for luring humans to their demise. Non-Stop Entertainment is co-producing and picked up rights for the Nordics.
• Je’Vida (Oktober, Finland) by Katja Gauriloff (Baby Jane), first film spoken in Skolt Sámi, set in three time periods. A woman pressured to forsake her Sámi background, reconnects with her origins and who she is. The €1.8m project is due to start filming in March 2022.
• Stranger (Motor, Denmark) by newcomer Mads Hedegaard, story of survival set during the Stone Age, with a 16-year old girl in the title role. Co-produced by Poland’s Opus Film (Cold War), with Scanbox as distributor.
• Stormskerry Maja (Solar Films, Finland) by seasoned director Tiina Lymi. Story of resilience, female empowerment, set in 1840. Maja, married off to James, a fisherman, learns to love him and to fend for her family.
• Twilight of the Gods (Vilda Bomben Film, Sweden) by debut director Morgane Dziurla-Petit. Set in a near future, the feature follows Nora (18), stuck in a remote village, whose life takes a new turn when a group of refugees arrive. Filming is slated for summer 2022.
• Amina (Art & Bob Film & Drama, Sweden) by rising talent Ahmed Aboullahi. A single mother of muslim origin, struggles between her passion for mixed martial arts (MMA) and motherhood. TriArt will release it in Sweden.
• Four Little Adults (Tuffi Films, Finland) by award-winning Selma Vilhunen. To save her marriage, Juulia starts a polyamorous relationship. Co-produced with Hobab, Sweden and Manny Films, France. To be released in Finland by Aurora Studios.

Coming of age stories, family and couple dynamics and were also central themes to the 17 works in progress.

Among the projects backed by Nordisk Film & TV Fond were Bubble by Aleksi Salmenperä (Rabbit Films, Finland), Diorama by Tuva Novotny (Nordisk Film, Sweden), The Emigrants by Erik Poppe (SF Studios), So Damn Easy Going by Christfoffer Sandler (Cinenic, Sweden) and The Wait by Aku Louhimies (Backmann & Hoderoff, Finland).

Meanwhile new Nordic voices were celebrated at Haugesund’s main awards ceremony where debut documentary filmmakers Petter Aaberg and Sverre Kvamme received the Audience Award for their personal film Young & Afraid (Nattebarn) about choosing life. “The audience award goes to a contemporary movie which pulls your heartstrings and gave the jury a real punch to the gut. This is a movie that everyone needs to see,” said the jury’s statement. The film was produced by Indie Film.

Among the 10 graduation film students selected for the Next Generation strand, Finland’s Anna Äärelä won the top prize for her 15-minute feature Mad from the Sun, described by the jury as “a beautifully worn, euphoric and gripping film about love.”

Other festival awards were the following:

• Critics’ Award to the US movie Swan Song by Todd Stephens
• Andreas Award or ecumenical award to Academy-award nominated Tunisian film The Man Who Sold his Skin by Kaouther Ben Hania.
• Ray of Sunshine Award to Sundance winner Coda by Siân Heder.
  

For further details about New Nordic Films, check: http://newnordicfilms.no/