Three films, two TV series and three documentaries receive funding

PRODUCTION SUPPORT 

Feature Films

• The Emigrants (Utvandrarna-sista brevet till Sverige)
  Grant: NOK 3.5 million
  Recipient: SF Studios Production, Sweden
  Producer: Fredrik Wikström Nicastro
  Director: Erik Poppe
  Writers: Anna Bache-Wiig, Siv Rajendram Eliassen
  Domestic distribution: SF Studios
  World Sales: REinvent Studios
  The ambitious epic is co-produced by Paradox, Fantefilm in Norway and SF Studios in Denmark, with co-financing from Film i Väst, C More/TV4, support from the Swedish Film Institute, the Norwegian Film Institute and the Danish Film Institute.
  
  Story: A young mother leaves poverty-stricken Sweden in the 1850s to set out on a dangerous journey, hoping to find a better life for herself and her children in America. The film is based on Vilhelm Moberg’s classic book series The Emigrants, told from the point of view of the character Kristina Nilsson, interpreted in Jan Troell’s 1971 film version by Liv Ullmann.
  
  Filming is due to start early September in Sweden.
  
  Fredrik Wikström Nicastro, SVP International Production at SF Studios said: “Adapting these [The Emigrants] books has been a dream of mine for 30 years, so hard to grasp its finally coming together! There will be high expectations as this is such a beloved story, so it's really crucial all pieces come together as strongly as possible. We are staying focused, but also trying to enjoy the ride.”
• Sailor, My Love
  Grant: NOK 2 million
  Recipient: Making Movies, Finland
  Producers: Kaarle Aho, Kai Nordberg
  Director: Klaus Härö
  Writers: Jimmy Karlsson, Kirsi Vikman
  Domestic distribution: Nordisk Film
  The film is co-produced by Ireland’s Samson Films, Belgium’s Umedia, with co-financing from Screen Ireland, Irish section 481 cash rebate, Ireland’s Wrap Fund, support from the Finnish Film Foundation, Yle, Finland’s Konstsamfundet.
  
  Story: A retired and widowed sea captain falls in love with his home aid. But his middle-aged daughter does not approve of the relationship. Sailor, My Love is the multi-awarded director Klaus Härö’s first foray into English-language filmmaking. Filming on the West coast of Ireland is set to start in the fall.
• Chicken Boy (Berdreymi)
  Grant: NOK 1.2 million
  Recipient: Join Motion Pictures, Iceland
  Producer: Anton Máni Svansson
  Writer/Director: Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson
  Domestic distribution: Sena
  
  Story: A teenage boy, raised by a self-claimed psychic mother, takes a bullied kid into his group of violent misfits. As the boys’ troubles escalate to life-threatening situations, an inner voice awakes in the boy, and with the help of his mother and his new friend, he manages to find his own path."
  
  Guðmundsson’s sophomore film after his acclaimed debut Heartstone, is co-produced by Denmark’s Motor and Sweden’s Hobab, with support from the Icelandic Film Centre among others. Pre-sales have been secured with Mer Filmdistribusjon in Norway and Scanbox for the rest of Scandinavia.
  Filming is set to start in September, with a delivery date penned for spring 2021. 

TV Series

• TROM
  Format: 8x45’
  Grant: NOK 3.5 million
  Recipient: REinvent Studios, Denmark, KYK Pictures, The Faroe Islands
  Producers: Rikke Ennis, Jón Hammer
  Writers: Torfinnur Jákupsson (head-writer) and Donna Sharpe
  Concept director: Kasper Barfoed
  Commissioning broadcasters: Nent Group’s Viaplay, KVF
  World sales: REinvent Studios International
  The series is co-financed by ZDF/Arte, VRT and DR.
  
  Story: TROM is the first fiction drama series from the exotic and violently raw Faroe Islands, a green oasis on the periphery of the Arctic Circle, where the body of an animal rights activist surfaces in the bloody waters of a local whale killing. Filming is set to start in March 2021.

• PLAN B
  Format 8x45’
  Grant: NOK 3 million
  Recipient: Tordenfilm, Norway
  Producer: Nina B. A. Figenschow, Ingunn Sundelin
  Creator/head writer: Kathrine Valen Zeiner
  Conceptual director: Marit Moum Aune
  Commissioning broadcaster: NENT Group’s Viaplay
  The series is co-financed by Storyline Studios, Filmparken, with support from the Norwegian Film Institute.
  
  Story: Plan B centres on a fertility doctor who refuses to give up the dream of her own child. Elin (40) is driven by instinct, and in her clinic, she has the means to play God. She is both powerless and powerful. How far will she go to get what she wants?
  Filming is set to start November 3^rd, 2020.

Documentaries

• Balloon Wars
  Grant: NOK600,000
  Recipient: House of Real, Denmark
  Producers: Marie Schmidt Olesen, Jesper Jack
  Director: Sissel Morell Dargis
  Distribution: DR, SVT, VGTV, Al-Jazeera English
  
  Story: In 1998, Brazil was the first country in the world to imprison people who released hot-air balloons. But far from ceasing to exist, the balloon culture simply went underground. The film follows the two gang members Jabá and Ton, who belong to two of the most infamous balloon gangs in Brazil over five of the most dramatic years in recent Brazilian history.
  
  Marie Schmidt Olesen says that the first shooting period done in 2014 is nearing post-production. As Covid-19 prevented the team from filming a final period, animation was introduced to strengthen one of the themes in the film which is “power of artistic expression when under pressure”. “The idea is to do the animation on top of some of the material we have from the favelas, where of course, life is intolerable at present” said the producer.
  The premiere is set for April 2021.

• The Most Beautiful Boy in the World (Världen’s vackraste pojke)
  Grant: NOK 800,000
  Recipient: Mantaray Film, Sweden
  Producer: Stina Gardell
  Directors: Kristina Lindström, Kristian Petri
  Distribution: TriArt
  The film is co-financed by SVT, ZDF/Arte, private investors Jonas Gardell Production and Filminvest in Örebro, with support from the Swedish Film Institute.
  
  Story: At the premiere of Death in Venice, Italian director Luchino Visconti proclaimed his Tadzio ‘the world’s most beautiful boy’. A shadow still, 50 years later, weighs Björn Andrésen’s life. The film is about a dark family history and the price of beauty.
  
  The premiere is set for late August 2020.
• The Missing Films
  Grant: NOK 700,000
  Recipient: Danish Documentary Production, Denmark
  Producer: Sigrid Dyekjær
  Directors: Tomas Gislason, Jacob Thuesen
  Distribution: TV2 Denmark, NRK, SVT
  The film was supported by the Danish Film Institute.
  
  Story: Making film wears down director Lars von Trier, but he is not able to live without them. The film depicts the celebrated director’s all-consuming love for film, and his long-time friendship with Tomas Gislason and Jacob Thuesen.The premiere is schedule for May 2021.

DISTRIBUTION SUPPORT

• NOK 92,000 to Scanbox for the theatrical release in Sweden of the Danish film Into the Darkness by Anders Refn.