Exclusive: More than 80 Nordic films and TV projects will be presented at Haugesund’s mini-market, set to open on August 22 with 3 Things.

The Danish thriller 3 Things starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Birgitte Hjort Sørensen is among 20 new Nordic films screening at the market, the majority unveiled for the first time to the 300+ international delegates.

“Industry people attending Haugesund already have a good knowledge of Nordic films so we always focus on market premieres", said New Nordic Films Managing Director Gyda Velvin Myklebust. Among the most anticipated films are Per Fly’s Backstabbing for Beginners sold by Fortitude Films, TrustNordisk’s Eternal Road by AJ Annila and Darling by Birgitte Stærmose, as well as the Cannes winner The Square, Locarno selection Winter Brothers, Venice Orizzonti’s Under the Tree and San Sebastian New Directors’ entry Ravens.

The popular Works in Progress (WiP) session will present 20 titles, including 7 experimental films vying for the €50,000 Eurimages Lab Project Award. “Last year some sales agents and distributors were disappointed by our selection because the distinction between experimental and traditional films was not clear and some projects were still in development. We have therefore decided to create two distinct WiP strands for cutting edge films and ‘normal’ films, and all projects are in post-production", explained Myklebust. Among the WiP are the music biopics The Way to Mandalay by Ole Bornedal about Danish legendary musician John Mogensen, and Ted-Show Me Love by Hannes Holm featuring Swedish pop artist Ted Gärdestad, the Icelandic animated film Ploey:You Never Fly Alone, the Danish fantasy film Wild Witch, Finnish suspense thriller The Guardian Angel and Norwegian minority co-production History of Love by rising Slovenian director Sonja Prosenc whose feature debut The Tree was Slovenia’s Oscar candidate.

The Nordic Co-production and Finance Market has 20 projects from the Nordics, Estonia, Canada, Turkey, Georgia and Germany, including for the first time two TV projects: Kone og klone (Mer Film, Norway) and The Voyager-Call of the Vikings (Gebrüder Beets Filmproduktion, Germany). “It makes sense to include TV drama as producers are increasingly working both in film and television. But our main focus remains film,” said Myklebust.

The Nordic Genre Boost line up supported by Nordisk Film & TV Fond comprises seven titles to be pitched by the directors or producers who will attend a second and final workshop in Haugesund, (for more information on Nordic Genre Boost - click here).

Two new strands will complement the programme: the Scandinavian Debuts talent lab co-organised with New Danish Screen and Stockholm Debut and Books in Haugesund where five books suitable for screen adaptation will be pitched by Nordic literary agents on August 22. “In 2019, Norway will be the focus on the Frankfurt Book Fair so this is an opportunity for us to start focusing on literary works from our region and to collaborate closely with Germany, our Focus country,” added Myklebust.

Finally the Europa Distribution seminar on Thursday 24 will focus on ‘International Audience’s taste in Nordic film and today’s challenge of releasing Nordic films in cinemas’.

‘New Nordic Films’ is supported, among others, by Nordisk Film & TV Fond.

Full list of Works in Progress 2017 (*cutting edge)

Denmark

  • C4* by Kasper Skovsbøl (Good Company Films) 
  • Holiday by Isabella Eklöf (Dharma Film) 
  • The Way to Mandalay by Ole Bornedal (Miso Film) 
  • Wildwitch by Kasper Munk (Good Company Films) 
  • The Return* by Malene Choi (Walenciak Film) 

Finland

  • The Guardian Angel by Arto Halonen (Art Films Production) 
  • The Violin Player by Paavo Westerberg (Mjölk Movies) 
  • Impaled Rektum by Jukka Vidgren and Juuso Laatio (Making Movies) 

Iceland

  • Mihkel by Ari Alexander Ergis Magnússon (Truenorth) 
  • Ploey: You Never Fly Alone by Árni Ólafur Ásgeirsson (GunHill) 
  • Alma by Kristín Jóhannesdóttir (DUO Productions) 

Norway

  • The Second Sex* by Katja Eyde Jacobsen (Mer Film) 
  • The Tower* by Mats Grorud (Tenk.tv) 
  • Norske Byggeklosser by Arild Fröhlich (74 Entertainment) 
  • Los Bando Immortale by Christian Lo (Filmbin) 
  • History of Love by Sonja Prosenc (Incitus)

Sweden 

  • Ted-Show Me Love by Hannes Holm (StellaNova Film) 
  • Ridge* by John Skoog (Plattform Production)

Germany 

  • Uchronia* by Azin Feizabadi (Amerika Film) 
  • Ego Ego* by Zora Rux (Fred Burle).

For more information check: www.newnordicfilms.no