Seasoned producers Asle Vatn (Headhunters), Ruben Thorkildsen (Psychobitch) and Petter J. Borgli (Aberdeen) have joined the Oslo-based powerhouse.
Well-established across Scandinavia for its commercially-oriented fare (Captain Sabertooth and the Treasure of Lama Rama, Battle) and strong roots in animation, Storm Films has upped its ambitions during the pandemic, to become a bigger provider of premium Norwegian content for the local and international market, with the acquisition of the indie production brand Ape & Björn.
Under the pact, Ape & Björn’s co-founders-producer Ruben Thorkildsen and writer/director Martin Lund (The Games) as well as investor Geir Eikeland have joined Storm Films, bringing along several projects.
In a separate move, Storm Films has hired industry veteran Petter J. Borgli as Head of Production, while well-established producer Asle Vatn will join the company as partner next year. The latter was most recently film and TV commissioning editor at the Norwegian Film Institute, after two decades at Friland Film.
Speaking to nordicfilmandtvnews.com about his ambitions, Storm Films’ CEO and producer Frederick P.N. Howard said: “The Storm family works on huge international features and series along with our local content. We try to keep an open mind as to what we work with. Passion is and always will be a quintessential driver for our production endeavours. We will continue to deliver high-end family films, and have a clear goal to create blockbusters in every shape and form. “
“We will be picking up on our background as a leading European animation producer and you will also see us developing talent-driven films and high-end series from some of Norway's most extraordinary creatives.”
Heading the company’s slate is the family film Three Wishes for Cinderella, feature film debut of seasoned TV director Cecilie Mosli (Mammon, Thin Ice). The modern version of the 1973 Czech/German classic, set in the Norwegian’s Arctic winter stars Norwegian electro pop singer/songwriter Astrid Smeplass (Astrid S) as Cinderella and Skam actor Cengiz Al as Prince Charming. The ambitious feature supported by Nordisk Film & TV Fond is set to open November 12 via Nordisk Film. (See our separate story: CLICK HERE).
Other projects include Full Dekning by Arild Andresen starring Agnes Kittelsen, Nicolai Cleve Broch and Thorbjørn Harr. The Norwegian version of the Italian film Perfetti sconosciuti, adapted by Lars Gudmestad (Headhunters) is set to open January 21, 2022.
On the TV side, the animated family series Vikingskool ordered by Disney and co-produced by Academy-award nominated Irish company Cartoon Saloon, is currently in production while the TV drama Speed, directed by Martin Lund from a script by Thorkild Schrumpf is being developed for NRK. The TV project was pitched earlier this year at the Berlinale Co-Pro Series market.