Buyers and programmers of Nordic films have wide choice of film premieres at this year’s Cannes Market (May 14-23), including Festival entries The Salvation, Force Majeure, When Animals Dream, plus high profile features to discuss as pre-sales and festivals’ potentials.
The novelty this year will be the absence on the Scandinavian Terrace, 55 La Croisette of Scandinavia’s leading sales company TrustNordisk that will do business from the 4th floor of 23 rue des Etats-Unis.
Rikke Ennis, TrustNordisk CEO, says the lack of space to promote correctly the company’s €5-10m budget films is the main reason for her decision to move away from the Scandinavian Terrace. “We have great films and we want to create marketing materials that kick ass and wrap our entire apartment in the greatest artworks ever seen. Our new apartment at 23 rue des Etats-Unis is perfectly located – still very close to 55 La Croisette - and it has the right amount of square meters for us to promote our films and welcome our clients in a friendly and comfortable way”.
The other main Scandinavian-based sales agents Svensk Filmindustri, Yellow Affair and LevelK will continue to share their space at 55 La Croisette while Michael Werner’s Eyewell will be located at the Village International, Creative Europe Media Stand.
Spearheading TrustNordisk’s 2014 line up is Kristian Levring’s The Salvation premiering as a Midnight Screening on Saturday May 17. The film has already been picked up by a dozen territories including France. The company will focus on pre-sales of five high profile titles: the Danish films A Second Chance by Susanne Bier, The Absent One by Mikkel Nørgaard, The Shamer’s Daughter by Kenneth Kainz and Norwegian films Here Is Harold and Operation Arctic. (a full interview with Rikke Ennis will be published on May 16).
Svensk Filmindustri has two titles premiering at the Market: Colin Nutley’s comedy Medicine starring Helena Bergström and Nils Gaup’s crime film Glass Dolls. The company headed by Ann-Kristin Westerberg will start pre-selling Norway’s first car racing movie Børning, Heaven and Earth by Academy-Award nominated Kay Pollak, and the war love epic 1864 by Ole Bornedal.
Yellow Affair will premiere at the Market the Swedish-Norwegian Underdog by Ronnie Sandahl and introduce two films in post-production: Mika Kaurismäki’s The Girl King (shown as an 8mn promo) and JP Valkeapää's new feature They Have Escaped. "The Yellow Affair is looking forward to its 5th Cannes market. We feel excited about our line-up and believe it portrays our company well”, said CEO Miira Paasilinna.
LevelK will start discussing the Norwegian documentary Drone revealing critical secrets of the CIA drone war. The TV version to be shown on Arte, TV2 Norway, SVT, DR is available but the feature version is in the editing room. Tine Klint’s sales team will present scenes of the Danish thriller The Idealist starring Søren Malling, Peter Plaugborg and Thomas Bo Larsen, and a promo of Bille August’s new drama Silent Heart (working title).
Among the non-Scandinavia based sales outfits Coproduction Office is representing Ruben Östlund’s Force Majeure (Turist) which is having its world premiere at Un Certain Regard. Philippe Bober’s company was already sales rep to Östlund’s previous films Involuntary (Un Certain Regard 2008) and Play (Directors Fortnight 2011).
Coproduction Office will also start pre-sales on Sweden’s master Roy Andersson’s highly anticipated A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence.
Gaumont that had the flair to pick up the Danish genre film When Animals Dream by newcomer Jonas Alexander Arnby last November will support the film’s selection at the Critic’s Week and continue sales on the horror film already picked up by a handful of territories including the US, the UK and Germany.
Nordic titles that will premiere at the Market include Sweden’s The 100 Year-old Man that Climbed the Window and Disappeared (Studio Canal), Norway’s I am Yours (Premium Films) and Finland’s August Fools (Insomnia World Sales) and A Patriotic Man (Wide Management). Other Nordic films screening in Cannes include Denmark’s Antboy (Attraction Distribution), Norway’s A Thousand Times Goodnight (Global Media), Blind (Versatile), Dead Snow 2 (Elle Driver), Ballet Boys (Wide), and Sweden’s The Anderssons Hit the Road (Sola Media).