The Danish film Sons of Denmark by debut director Ulaa Salim will have its world premiere at the 48th Rotterdam International Film Festival unspooling January 23-February 3.

A graduate from the National Film School of Denmark, Salim first pitched the project for Sons of Denmark at Nordic Talents 2017 where he made a strong impression on the delegates and was selected by nordicfilmandtvnews.com as a ‘Talent to Watch’. The writer/director made the film with his school graduate colleague Daniel Mühlendorph with whom he set up the production company Hyæne Film.

The political thriller is set in Copenhagen, on the eve of the anniversary of a bomb attack in the Danish capital and of Parliamentary elections. The leader of the far-right movement Martin Nordahl (Rasmus Bjerg) is preparing for a landslide victory that could secure him the post of Prime Minister. Meanwhile Zakaria (newcomer Mohammed Ismail Mohammed), a radicalised youth, is moving on a dangerous track. He meets Ali (Zaki Youssef), who fights his own battle and carries a life-threatening secret. The film questions the enemy images created in the name of fear.

Sons of Denmark was produced with support from the Danish Film Institute’s New Danish Screen. The Danish release is set for April 11. New Europe Film Sales just picked it up for world sales.

With his second film Koko-do Koko-da Johannes Nyholm returns to Rotterdam where three years earlier he presented his feature debut The Giant. The elevated film mixing fantasy and reality tells of a couple, traumatised by the loss of their daughter who go on a trip in the woods to try to save their relationship. The Swedish/Danish co-production between Nyholm and Beofilm will have its world premiere at Sundance. Stray Dogs handles sales.

The Swedish documentary Transnistra by Anna Eborn (Pine Ridge) sheds light on the little-known self-proclaimed state of Transnistria between Ukraine and Moldova, where a group of youngsters, live on their own, on the fringe of society. “It's a coming of age story about being young outside of the norm and left alone”, said Eborn. The film is produced by Momento Film, in co-production with Denmark’s Adomeit Film and Belgium’s Clin d’oeil Films. Momento Film handles sales.