Five 2014 Nordic Talents To Watch

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ERICA CALMEYER (Director, Norway)
Oslo-born Erica Calmeyer (23) had her first filmmaking experience at the age of 10 when she made a film about a dance contest as part of a school project. She then attended the Elvebakken Upper Secondary School of Education where she studied communication. Her 2009 short film Through Thick and Thin won three awards including Best Fiction at the Amandus Children and Youth Film Festival in  Lillehammer. 2009. Shen then travelled to Australia where she enrolled for a film course at Melbourne’s Victorian School of Arts. A year later, she applied for a directing course at the Norwegian Film School in Lillehammer. Her graduation film Lea tells of 16 year-old Lea (Marie Hammer Boda) who travels with her father (Thomas W. Gabrielsson) on his business trips. Their tightly knit bond is tested when her father’s business partner (Trond Espen Seim) seduces her.
Vision
“I love character-based drama, working with moods, using visuals to create emotions. As a director I enjoy working closely with the actors so that they feel they can carry the film." Among Calmeyer’s role models are Ang Lee, Asghar Farhadi and Steve McQueen.
Project pitched
Storm (fiction): A young girl is accused of pushing her brother into the river, causing his death. Her father Jacob is left with the impossible dilemma: to bury the accusations or investigate the death, knowing he may find his own daughter guilty. 

JOHAN FASTING (Scriptwriter, Norway)
Oslo-born Johan Fasting (26) studied theory of film before turning to the art of storytelling and the Norwegian Film School of Lillehammer where he enrolled for a scriptwriting course. His graduation film The Little Death directed by Simon Tillaas is a rites of passage tale for 12 year-old Julia who spends a night on a ferry with her father, has her first period and enters into an adult world she has never experienced before.
Vision
“I want to tell complex stories that stay with you and to work across different genres and formats. “
Projects pitched
Storm (fiction) (see Calmeyer)
Noise (TV series): A group of teenagers in a rock band go through the pain of high school and the ordeals of their dysfunctional families. Although life seems to pull them apart, they try to find a way to stick together.

JUHO FOSSI (Scriptwriter/Director, Finland)
Born in Turku, Juho Fossi (30) had his first film revelation while watching Robocop at the age of 8. After finishing high school he had various jobs before signing up for a film course at Tampere University of Applied Sciences. He writes and directs his own movies and has also directed several music videos. Filmmakers that inspire him include the Coen brothers, Michael Haneke and Gaspar Noé. His graduation film 1,048 illustrates in fictive scenes, four real-life stories about threatening messages sent in social media that eventually led to acts of violence. The short film has screened at the Tampere and Huesca Film Festivals 2014.
Vision
“I’m interested in character-driven dramas, about relationships and learning from one another. I want to tell stories that stick with you.”
Projects pitched
Wherever We Go (fiction): The film deals with bullying and its consequences in the life of a teenage boy, his bully and their teacher.
Manboys (TV series). The 10 episode dramedy focuses on a group of men in their 40s, balancing between carefree youth and single life and becoming adults.

FANNI METELIUS (Scriptwriter/Director/Actress, Sweden)
Born in 1987 in Gothenburg, Fanni Metelius is already a recognisable face on world screens for playing one of the four main characters in Ruben Östlund’s award-winning film Force Majeure. Acting is just one of the talents of Metelius who chose to follow the footstep of some of the members of her family (her aunt is director/writer Susanne Osten) after work experiences in retail, bars and restaurants. She enrolled at Gothenburg’s Valand Academy where she learnt the ropes of filmmaking from scriptwriting, editing to directing. She has directed the short films Banga inte and The Sexual Monologues (2011) and worked as assistant director to Lukas Moodysson on We are the Best. Her graduating film You Never Go Down on Me focuses on breakup, sex and intimacy. 
Vision
“In my films I focus on relationships in relation to gender, class and social structures. I also try to make films that provide power and energy, even on serious subjects.”
Project pitched
The Boyfriend (fiction). Mika has broken up from her best friend and first serious love, disillusioned by a sexless relationship. She tries to move but constantly questions why her relationship died. 

TROND KVIG ANDREASSEN (Cinematographer, Director, Editor, Norway)
Born in Bodø, Norway in 1986, Trond Kvig Andreassen studied theory of film in Agder University before signing up for documentary filmmaking at Lillehammer University College. His first film The Escapist Part 1 (Virkelighetsflykting) portraying Norwegian pop star Magnus Eliassen, having great success with his band Sirkus Eliassen and off stage, living an alternative lifestyle, was invited to a dozen international festivals. His other short film Se Litt tilbake was nominated for the Reykjavik Short Film Festival. His graduation film Six Degrees is based on the theory that everybody is connected, in six steps or less. The documentary shot in the US puts the theory to the test, capturing slices of lives with a strong intuition and sense of observation. Andreassen is preparing a follow up to The Escapist while directing commercials.
Vision
"As a documentarist, I love the idea of experiencing something new, and bringing the viewer along for the ride. It can be a person, a place or a feeling - let the viewer experience it."
Project pitched
The Escapist Part Two (documentary): The music doc is the follow up to the director’s first film focusing on pop sensation Magnus Eliassen from Sirkus Eliassen. The musician returns to solitude to find new inspiration, from Lofoten to L.A. and Oslo.