Janus Metz's Armadillo, winner of a Grand Prix at the last Critics' Week in Cannes, has become the second most successful Danish documentary film ever on Danish screens. Behind the film is Frithjof Film, a company headed by the young entrepreneurial Ronnie Fridthjof, (photo) who has shown flair in connecting with the audience with only a handful of feature length films made over the last three years. The producer spoke to us.
For Fridthjof, the fact that so many people have seen Armadillo and are part of the debate - about war in Afghanistan - is a success not only for the film but for Denmark as a nation.
Armadillo is likely to reach 100,000 admissions in Denmark. You must be overjoyed...
Of course I'm very happy that Armadillo - a documentary film - is scoring like a feature film. In fact our strategy with Nordisk Film was precisely to position Armadillo as a film based on reality, not like a documentary. After the film's great launch in Cannes and media frenzy, Sara Stockmann (head of Fridthjof Film Doc) and I agreed with Nordisk Film to release it earlier than scheduled. The release - with digital prints - enabled us to move things faster.
Do you know in which other territories the film will be released? It will open late August in Norway (Arthaus) and in Sweden (Folkets Bio). Other territories that have acquired the film include Iceland (Sena), France (Distrib Films) and the UK (Soda Pictures).
Armadillo has shown the power of film as a medium and its ability to touch people's consciousness. Was that your intention from the very outset?
Armadillo was part of six documentaries in the series Vores krig (Love & War) produced for TV2 Danmark that focused on war in Afghanistan from a human perspective. From the very beginning my idea with Kasper Torsting was to make documentary films that would make people react to war. My feeling was that fact-based documentaries didn't have the same impact on people, so we decided to focus on the emotional side of war. The other five documentaries were shown to great success on TV2 Danmark last winter and one of them Hurry Home (Skynd dig hjem) by Laurits Munch-Petersen is touring festivals, like Armadillo.
You've had a huge hit with your very first feature length documentary, and also scored with your two first feature films Take the Trash (Blå mænd-2008) and Christmas Party (Julefrokosten-2009). What is your recipe for success?
For each film, I get directly involved not only in the making of the film but also in the distribution side, whereas most other Danish producers expect distributors to do the entire job of positioning and marketing the film to the audience. My business model is to maximize the earnings for each film. I help distributors make money out of my film, and get a share of the box office receipts. Therefore my films have to sell, which is why I think of the audience from the very beginning and try to create a unique strategy for each film.
On an artistic standpoint, my recipe is to find good people with good ideas, whatever the genre or format. What matters the most is the energy in a project. Then you try to make the film visible to a target audience. Armadillo was aimed at an up-market and army audience. Take the Trash was aimed at a young audience.
What projects (feature/TV/doc) are you working on?
I am developing with Sara Stockmann a new documentary series about love and sex. Just like with the Vores krig series, we will choose the best documentary filmmakers and let them create their own film. Janus Metz will probably direct one of the six documentaries. On the feature film side, I have a new comedy by the same creative team who made Take the Trash, including director Rasmus Heide. All for One (Alle for én) will be written by Mick Øgendahl. Filming is scheduled to start in August for Nordisk Film.
Do you have any project to be made with Nordic and or/European partners?
I actually have a children's feature project about a young boy in a coma who has created a fantasy world with his brother. The project with the working title of Alisia will be the first Danish family film in live stereoscopic 3D. It will be produced with Zentropa's Swedish and German production arms. The premiere is set for the fall 2012.