Major Nordic companies head to the Croisette with a raft of new projects

In less than a week, Cannes will host the buzziest – and busiest – industry event of the year, the Marché du Film, running this year from 14-22 May.

Next week, three of the major production firms from the Nordic region - Matila Röhr Productions (MRP), Maipo Film and SF Studios - will set sail to the French Riviera. There, these outfits will present their projects in the works and forge new partnerships. NFTVF reached out to take a closer look at their slates of productions.

First, we reached out to SF Studios. At the Marché, the team will be presenting four key projects. The first is Mikkel Serup’s Kingmaker (Mørkeland), starring Anders W. Berthelsen, Nicolas Bro, Charlotte Munck and Patrick A. Hansen in the leading roles. The story, based on the book series revolving around journalist Ulrik Torp, is penned by Marie Østerbye (The Nurse / Sygeplejersken). SF Studios reps bill it as “a topical and thrilling political thriller about the state of democracy”.

In terms of family-orientated content, the team will focus on Ida Sagmo Tvedte’s Stargate, billed as a “heart-warming Christmas adventure about a father and his two daughters Melissa and Ronja”. Set in Oslo, the story begins when the man loses his job as a Christmas tree seller. While their father drowns his sorrows in the titular pub, the two girls are forced to fend for themselves, and dream of a different reality. “It’s a film about a father who does his best, but is not enough; about an older sister who has far too big shoes to fill; and about a little sister who never stops hoping,” adds SF Studios.

The third project is Zinnini Elkington’s debut, a psychological drama titled Second Victims (Det andet offer), spearheaded by Trine Dyrholm and Özlem Saglanmak. The helmer describes it as “a call for empathy” which aims “to challenge the prevailing narrative about medical misjudgments while also exploring timeless human dilemmas”. The feature is set against the backdrop of an understaffed stroke unit. It follows skilled neurologist Alexandra, whose unwavering confidence is put to the ultimate test when a routine case spirals into tragedy.

The slate is rounded off by Erik Poppe’s much-anticipated high-end period drama Quisling – The Final Days (Quislings siste dager). The picture, led by Gard B. Eidsvold and Anders Danielsen Lie, zooms in on the infamous Vidkun Quisling, Prime Minister of Norway and a notorious Nazi collaborator responsible for one of the greatest betrayals during WW2.

The article continues below the picture.

Next, Maipo Film will whip out four aces at this year’s Marché – Charlotte Blom’s dramedy Three Men and Vilma (Tre menn til Vilma), Bård Breien’s boxing drama Shadow of Victory (Havnaa), Mikkel B. Sandemose’s animated folk tale The Polar Bear Prince (Kvitebjørn), and Endre Skandfer’s CGI-animated family-orientated adventure Rufus - the Sea Serpent Who Couldn’t Swim (Ruffen -sjøormen som ikke kunne svømme). The first three titles are sold by TrustNordisk, whilst Skandfer’s feature is repped by Sola Media.

Meanwhile, the Oslo-based company is also working on the international financing of three projects backed by the Norwegian Film Institute.

Jakob Rørvik’s Eternal Summer (Evig sommer) tells the story of Elisabeth and Christian. When the man is diagnosed with cancer and has to start treatment, they face the situation with optimism and courage. Then they receive the message: Christian will not recover. Elisabeth refuses to accept reality and escapes into a relationship with a much younger man. As the new bond develops, it becomes evident that her lover is more than a distraction. He reminds Elisabeth of the young Christian she once fell in love with.

Arild Fröhlich’s Vampire (Vampyr) follows a struggling author obsessed with Edvard Munch. He finds himself on the verge of madness when he’s dragged into a dark and dangerous murder mystery uncovering the horrifying truth about the famed painter.

Fanny Ovesen’s The Excursion sees a group of tenth graders embarking on an excursion to Auschwitz. The chaperones want to give these teens a sense of the brutality behind one of the biggest tragedies in history. For the kids, however, this is first and foremost an opportunity to get away from their parents and daily obligations.

Speaking about her planned activities at the Marché, Maipo producer Synnøve Hørsdal tells us: “We’ll meet with some of our long-time partners and some new ones, aiming to find financial partners as well as the right co-producers for the upcoming projects. […] The market projects going through various stages of post-production – Three Men and Vilma, Shadow of Victory, The Polar Bear Prince and Rufus - the Sea Serpent Who Couldn’t Swim – will be mainly introduced to potential partners by the sales agents.”

Finally we spoke to Ilkka Matila, of MRP, who shared the projects he is personally involved in.

“I’m completing a historical drama, titled Never Alone (Ei koskaan yksin) and helmed by Finnish director Klaus Härö. This is a co-production between Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Austria and Germany, and it will be released in Finland on 17 January. Our sales agent, The Playmaker Munich, will be selling it at the Marché.” The picture, toplined by Ville Virtanen, is predominantly set on the eve of WW2, when Finland started taking in refugees from Germany and Austria. The story centres on unsung hero Abraham Stiller, an elderly Jewish man who tries to prevent the Finnish government from handing over Jewish refugees to the Gestapo and to the Auschwitz concentration camp.

“In Cannes, I’m also presenting my next two feature-length projects. The first, Between the Rock and the Hard Place, is a historical film which delves into the personal struggles of ageing Finnish president Urho Kekkonen as he fights to maintain Finland’s independence against the political pressure from the Soviet Union while dealing with his newfound love. The second project, titled The Dark Architect (Pimeän arkkitehti), is a thrilling horror film selected for this year’s European Genre Forum. We’ll be seeking co-producers, a sales company, and pre-sales for both ventures.”

Matila also touched on the current climate for Nordic films, which he finds “quite difficult”. “Financing a feature film has been more challenging due to the devaluation of the Swedish and Norwegian currencies and the rising production costs in all Nordic countries. Meanwhile, commercial TV channels and public broadcasters are buying fewer films for lower prices. In addition, the Finnish government has imposed budget cuts, which will reduce public funding for domestic films. Regardless of the fact that the audience has returned to cinemas after the pandemic, this new development has created an unsustainable situation for the film market, and the future looks quite uncertain,”.