Nordisk Film Norway's current head of production Aage Aaberge will be the company's new managing director as of April 2008 and will be a minority shareholder.
Both Stein-Roger Bull, head of Nordisk Film Norway, and Aaberge had the idea to set up a specialised production arm to relieve some of the production weight from another entity and to label it differently from Nordisk Film, which is very much identified as a company focusing on mainstream family films.
"Our production department at Nordisk has become very big, with approximately five feature films produced each year," stressed Aaverge. "So we agreed that it would be interesting to split our production unit and set up a separate structure dedicated to art films for adults," he said.
Next April, Aaberge will move with Neofilm to the production centre Filmparken at Jar where he used to be based a decade ago with his previous production outfit Yellow Cottage. Among the first Neofilm projects will be The Model (Modellen) to be directed by first-timer Per Olav Sørensen, based on a popular novel by Lars Saabye Christensen. Aaberge also plans to develop a 3D animated feature film.
Until then, at Nordisk Film, Aaberge will watch the theatrical release in 2008 of three of his productions: the family film SOS Save our Seal by Arne Lindtner Næss opening next February, Night of the Wolf (Ulvenatten) by Swedish filmmaker Kjell Sundvall, set to open on February 29, and Respect, the directorial debut of Norwegian actor Johannes Joner, scheduled for early March. Respect is described by Aaberge as "an experimental film for youth."
Aaberge will be replaced at Nordisk Film by Cornelia Boysen. As part of the Danish media group's strategy to increase its involvement in local productions, last February, Nordisk Film Norway took a stake in one of Norway's most successful production companies Maipo Film (The Art of Negative Thinking).