The US streamer has announced its first Swedish and Norwegian original films and the global acquisition of Bornedal’s WW2 drama Shadows in my Eyes. 

The latest Netflix investments in Nordic original content, was announced today by Lina Brouneus, Director of Licensing and Co-Productions Netflix Northern Europe at the Stockholm International Film Festival. 

The Swedish Netflix Original Film Red Dot is produced by Niklas Larsson for SF Studios. The action thriller is directed by Alain Darborg (Alex) from his own script, co-written with Per Dickson. The story tells of a hiking trip in the mountains of the young couple David and his pregnant wife Nadja, which suddenly goes wrong. Darborg said his ambition is "to do a hair-raising film with high speed and spectacular scenes and with an emotional core”. 

The Norwegian original Cadaver (Grøsser) is produced by Espen Horn and Kristian Strand Sinkerud of Motion Blur (The 12th Man). The horror film written and directed by Jarand Herdal, is set in the aftermath of a nuclear disaster. Through the story of a couple and their daughter, stuck in a hotel where eerie events occur, the film explores how far people are willing to go to survive. 

Both Red Dot and Cadaver will be distributed globally exclusively on Netflix. 

Meanwhile Bornedal’s ambitious WW2 drama Shadows in My Eyes produced by Miso Film Denmark, will be launched globally on the US giant streamer, four months after its theatrical release in Denmark via SF Studios. The €10m film is co-financed by TV2 Denmark, Sirena Film in the Czech Republic, SF Studios, with support from the Danish Film Institute. 

Based on a script by Ole Bornedal, Shadows in My Eyes centres on the bombing of the Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen in 1945, one of the most tragic events in Denmark during WW2, when the Royal Air Force mistakenly bombed the French School in Copenhagen, killing several children and nuns. In the starring roles are Danica Curcic, Alex Høgh Andersen, Fanny Bornedal and Mads Riisom. The film just started shooting. 

Commenting on Netflix’s latest move in the Nordics, Brouneus said: ”We are very happy to be taking this exciting step in offering our members in the Nordics more local content, as well as bringing more great content from the Nordic region to our global members,” she said. “These three films are all unique in their own way; strong genre films with engaging plot lines that are driven by talented creatives. Together they form a strong package of different genres which will showcase the versatility and high quality of Nordic movies.” 

For Peter Bose, co-founder of Miso Film, behind Netflix’s first Danish original TV drama The Rain 1&2, the US streamer’s significant bet on Nordic feature film is a perfect illustration of the way film financing has evolved. “We have new international players in the market who are willing to invest in quality content, in a totally different way than international sales companies,” he told nordicfilmandtvnews.com. “With a WW2 drama, it is hard to raise foreign coin, as other countries such as France, Great Britain, Germany, which were involved in the conflict, have their own stories to tell. Without Netflix’s investment, Shadows in My Eyes would have been difficult to produce,” said Bose.