With a seventh Oscar nomination for the Danish live action short film Helium, M&M Productions’ co-founder Kim Magnusson (pictured) is using his experience to boost the presence of Danish talents in the US while continuing to make local films for a mainstream audience, such as Anders Thomas Jensen’s upcoming comedy as a director Men and Chicken starring Mads Mikkelsen.

Since the creation of M&M Productions in 1995, the company co-headed by Tivi Magnusson and his son Kim Magnusson have had a record 11 Live Action Short Films shortlisted at the Oscars, seven nominations and three wins: Election Night (1999), This Charming Man (2003) and The New Tenants (2010). Helium that was selected last week is the second submission by up and coming Anders Walter whose previous short 9 Meters was also shortlisted at the Oscars. “At M&M we have a long tradition of supporting short films, a tradition that started in the mid-90s” says Magnusson whose US education and connections in Hollywood have also helped for the Oscar submission process.

While anxiously waiting for the Oscars night on March 2, Magnusson is concentrating on M&M’s two upcoming feature projects. The prolific scriptwriter Anders Thomas Jensen and Susanne Bier’s usual collaborator is readying his fourth film as a director, Men & Chicken (Mænd og høns). Jensen who hasn’t directed since Adam’s Apples in 2005, will shoot his own original script about two brothers who get together for a family reunion and discover a disturbing truth about themselves and their relatives. Co-financiers for the black comedy set to start filming on April 28 include the Danish Film Institute, Film Fyn, DR and Disney that has Scandinavian rights. The second project is the 2D animation film Albert based on Ole Lund Kirkegaard’s character from his best-selling children’s books. Karsten Kiilerich (Help I’m a Fish) will direct and animation specialist A Film will co-produce.

Besides M&M, Magnusson is wearing his producer’s cap for the newly created Dansk Film Kompagni specialised in international mainstream projects. The producer who spends half of his time in LA sees his new company as a hub for Danish talents in the US. Projects include The Last Witness written by Stefan Jaworski (The Candidate) executive produced by Kasper Barfoed on which 20th Century Fox has an option and a US remake of DR’s hit series The Eagle.