Six features, four documentaries and three series receive funding

FEATURE FILMS

• After us, the Flood (Jälkeemme vedenpaisumus)
  Grant: NOK 1,000,000
  Recipient: Art Films Production, Finland
  Producer: Arto Halonen
  Director: Arto Halonen
  Writer: Ossi Hakala
  Domestic distribution: Scandinavian Film Distribution
  Logline: Epic drama with sci-fi elements, that moves through different time layers. Story about relationships, identity, greed, and the reasons why humans are unable to prevent climate change.
  
  Principal photography for the film from the award-winning Finnish documentary and fiction filmmaker (Princess, White Rage) is scheduled to begin mid- September, with a delivery in the fall 2024.
• Back to Reality (WT)
  Grant: NOK 3,000,000
  Recipient: Zentropa Entertainment, Denmark
  Producers: Sisse Graum Jørgensen, Sidsel Hybschmann
  Director: Anders Thomas Jensen
  Writer: Anders Thomas Jensen
  Domestic distribution: Nordisk Film
  World sales: TrustNordisk
  Logline: Fresh out of jail, bank robber Anker is on his way to collect the loot. The only one who knows where the money is buried is his traumatized brother, Manfred, who has meanwhile fled into an alter ego, and now knows nothing about the money. Hoping to unlock Manfred’s memory, the brothers travel to their childhood home and start digging.
  
  The feature project by the acclaimed director of Riders of Justice is being co-produced by Zentropa Sweden, Film i Väst, with co-financing so far, from TV2 Denmark, Film Fyn, the Danish Film Institute.

• Heartbeat (Så länge hjärtat kan slå)
  Grant: NOK 1,300,000
  Recipient: Breidablick Film Produktion, Sweden
  Producer: Gila Bergqvist Ulfung
  Director: Ella Lemhagen
  Writer: Malin Lagerlöf
  Domestic distribution: TBA
  Logline: Hanne works in elderly home. In her contract it reads: I’m loyal to Senectus and stand by the company's values. But what does this loyalty actually mean? A reality-based story about courage, loyalty and about who you want to be when it really matters.
  
  Details of the anticipated project from the director of The Crown Jewels and HBO Max’s series Lust will soon be announced.
• Honey Honey
  Grant: NOK 1,500,000
  Recipient: Toolbox Film, Denmark
  Producer: Maria Stevnbak Westergren
  Director: Natasha Arthy
  Writers: Mette Eike Neerlin, Natasha Arthy
  Domestic distribution: Scanbox Entertainment
  Logline: Honey is 12 years old and has a hard-working mother, a sister with Down's, a father who is at odds with the law and a sick grandfather. It can be a bit overwhelming when you've just started a new class and are just trying to fit in.
  
  Filming of the new film by the multi-awarded Nathasha Arthy (Fighter, Carmen Curlers) is due to start September 18.
• Iza & Alice
  Grant: NOK 1,500,000
  Recipient: Stella Nova, Sweden
  Producers: Lena Rehnberg, Johan Lundström-Loflin
  Director: Emma Bucht
  Writers: Bengt Braskered, Jonna Bolin-Cullberg
  Principal cast: Hedda Stiernstedt, Josefin Asplund
  Domestic distribution: Nordisk Film
  Logline: Can you say no to love if it's the wrong time, wrong place and wrong person, or must you dare to let in the unknown? A musical drama about choices in life.
  
  The feature debut of seasoned TV drama director Emma Bucht (Love & Anarchy, Solsidan) is being co-produced by Nordisk Film, Film i Väst and SVT, with support from the Swedish Film Institute.
• When the Light Breaks (Ljósbrot)
  Grant: NOK 1,500,000
  Recipient: Compass Films, Iceland
  Producers: Heather Millard, Rúnar Rúnarsson
  Director: Rúnar Rúnarsson
  Writer: Rúnar Rúnarsson
  Domestic distribution: Samfilm
  Logline: The first loss and the journey that follows. When laughing turns into crying and beauty coexists with sorrow.
  
  The anticipated new film by the multi-awarded Icelandic director of Volcano and Sparrows is due to start filming early this fall.

TV SERIES

• Stayer
  Format: 6X30’
  Grant: NOK 1,500,000
  Recipient: Monster, Norway
  Producer: Kristoffer Sindre Vittersø
  Main writers: Pia Lykke, Kjetil Indregard, Mads Løken
  Director: Aksel Hennie
  Principal cast: Aksel Hennie, Ane Dahl Torp, Jeppe Beck Laursen, Marian Saastad Ottesen
  Commissioner: Viaplay
  Global sales: Viaplay Content Distribution
  Logline: Norwegian rockstar Even Elstad is forced to return to his hometown when his ex-girlfriend dies in a car crash, leaving him with Annie, his 16-year-old daughter whom he has never taken responsibility for.
  Star actor Aksel Hennie will play the title role, direct, and interpret the songs that he has composed with acclaimed Norwegian music producer Jørn Dahl. The series is due to premiere on Viaplay in 2024.

• The Commoner (Harald & Sonja)
  Format: 4x50’
  Grant: NOK 3,500,000
  Recipient: Paradox Film, Norway
  Producers: Finn Gjerdrum, Rebecca Mathisen
  Director: Vibeke Idsøe
  Head-writer: Vibeke Idsøe
  Principal cast: Sindre Strand Offerdal, Gina Berhhoft Gørvell, Anders Baasmo, Annette von der Lippe
  Logline: The series is a sensational and glamorous love story that crosses the biggest of class divide. It focuses on Norway’s current monarchs-King Harald and Queen Sonja- how they fought for nine years to be together, keeping secret their relationship due to Sonja’s status as a commoner, before finally receiving the permission to marry in 1968.
  
  The premiere on Viaplay for the Norwegian royal biopic is set for 2025.
• The Pirate Bay
  Format: 6X45’
  Grant: NOK 2,600,000
  Recipient: B-Reel Films, Sweden
  Producers: Frida Bargo, Fredrik Heinig
  Head-writer: Piotr Marciniak
  Concept director: Jens Sjögren
  Commissioner: SVT
  Logline: In the early 2000s, the internet offered more than a young generation ever could have dreamed of - a new world without borders, rules, and authorities. When big corps came and tried to control this new world, three young nerds decided to fight back.

DOCUMENTARIES

• Hacking Hate
  Grant: NOK 600,000
  Recipient: Nonami, Sweden
  Producers: Elin Kamlert, Simon Close
  Director: Simon Close
  Domestic distribution: SVT
  Logline: A Swedish investigative journalist infiltrates white supremacists online to expose how the success of the far right is amplified by Big Tech.
• The Andersson Brothers (Bröderna Andersson)
  Grant: NOK 500,000
  Recipient: Cinenic Film, Sweden
  Producers: Annika Hellström, Erika Malmgren
  Director: Johanna Bernhardson
  Domestic distribution: TriArt
  Logline: In a final attempt to reunite her father, Leif, and his two remaining brothers, Kjell and celebrated director Roy Andersson, Johanna Bernhardson explores what it means to be a family and if there is still time for reconciliation.
  
  The documentary is being co-produced by Finland’s Making Movies, Film i Väst, SVT, with support from Swedish Film Institute, Finnish Film Foundation, AVEK, the Swedish Arts & Grants Committee, City of Gothenburg and Stiftelsen Längmanska Kulturfonden, in association with YLE and DR. Delivery is scheduled for this August.

• The Corporate Spy
  Grant: NOK 900,000
  Recipient: Indie Film
  Producer: Carsten Aanonsen
  Director: Håvard Bustnes
  Domestic distribution: NRK
  Logline: A portrait of a middle-aged man at the low end of his life. He is trying to save his name and reputation, after being slandered in several of the largest papers in Britain and the USA.
  
  The documentary by the multi-awarded director Håvard Bustnes (Golden Dawn Girls, The Raging Grannies) is being co-produced by Germany’s Gebruder-Beetz, with backing from the Norwegian Film Institute, Midtnorsk filmsenter, Viken Filmsenter, Fritt Ord Foundation, among others. Delivery is slated for 2024.
• Untold Arctic Wars-The Cold War
  Grant: NOK 750,000
  Recipient: NTRNZ Media, Finland
  Producer: Anna-Reeta Esksymä
  Directors: Teemu Hostikka, Anna-Reeta Esksymä
  Domestic distribution: Yle
  Logline: During WW2, an iron curtain started to form in the north. Superpowers were trying to utilise the territory for their own aims. 
A geographic location turned the Arctic into one of the hottest fields of action in the Cold War.
  
  The documentary co-financed by DR, NRK, SVT and RÚV is due to premiere in 2024.

DISTRIBUTION AND DUBBING SUPPORT

• NOK 300,000 in slate distribution to Bío Paradís, Iceland for the release of the films Let the River Flow, A Matter of Trust and Hit Big.
• NOK 250,000 to Nordisk Film, Finland for the release of the Norwegian animation film Three Robbers and a Lion.
• NOK 150,000 to Arthaus, Norway for the release of the Danish documentary Apolonia, Apolonia.
• NOK 150,000 to Filmbazar, Denmark for the release of the Norwegian documentary Songs of Earth.
• NOK 120,000 to Camera Film, Denmark for the release of the Norwegian film Let the River Flow.
• NOK 100,000 to Nordisk Film, Finland for the dubbing into Finnish of the Norwegian animated film Three Robbers and a Lion.