Denmark which is co-producing the film is also coming to Panorama Dokumente with Joshua Oppenheimer's The Art of Killing and at the Forum with The Weight of Elephants (co-produced with New-Zealand). Klose and Oppenheimer's documentaries are both supported by Nordisk Film & TV Fond.
Commenting on the films' selection, Karolina Lidin, Documentary Consultant at Nordisk Film & TV Fond said: "We are immensely proud of the Nordic documentary presence at the Berlinale this year. The one-of-a-kind The Act of Killing is finally launching in Europe after having captivated and shaken audiences worldwide and TPB AFK screening as a world premiere is an in-your-face film about Pirate Bay in particular and piracy in general. True to the spirit of the film, TPB AFK will be the first film in the history of the Berlinale to be released simultaneously online, for free and for sale. Both films are strong examples of creative collaborations, The Act of Killing is a Danish-Norwegian-UK co-production, but effectively involving a global team, and TPB AFK is a Swedish-Danish-Norwegian co-production bringing together a team with the very best of Nordic talent. We wish both films the best of luck at the Berlinale and beyond!"
The Act of Killing was one of the most talked about films at the last Toronto International Film Festival and went on winning the DOX:Award in Copenhagen last November. The film was produced by Final Cut for Real, also co-producer of TPB AFK with Norway's Piraya Film and Sweden's Anagram as main producer. The portrait of the Pirate Bay founders also raised over $51,000 via crowd-funding from 1,737 backers.
The second Swedish film on show at Panorama Dokumente is Mia Engberg's Belleville Baby produced by Story AB. The intimate film about love, time and things lost along the way will be screening first at Gothenburg's new Nordic Documentary competition programme.
The Generation KPlus entry Eskil & Trinidad is the story of the 11 year-old Eskil who moves from town to town with his father in Northern Sweden. He misses his mother and sucks at playing hockey. Things change when he meets Trinidad, a mysterious woman. The film was produced by Sonet Film. SF International handles world sales.
Daniel Joseph Borgman's first film The Weight of Elephants also features an eleven-year-old boy. Adrian sees the world in a dreamy manner and uses his imagination to escape the harshness of everyday life in small town New Zealand. The Danish/New-Zealand co-production between Zentropa and Severe Features is sold internationally by NZ Film.