In a move to facilitate the international branding, the venerable Scandinavian group Svensk Filmindustri is abandoning its name associated since 1919 to Swedish film and rebranding to SF Studios.

“Re-branding Svensk Filmindustri to SF Studios is more than just cosmetics,” said the group’s CEO Jonas Fors. “Svensk Filmindustri is a complicated name to communicate outside the Nordics. In the US and Europe, they simply call us “Svensk”, which just means “Swedish”. We are in fact a Nordic company with affiliations in Norway, Denmark and Finland. SF Studios is a better reflection of who we are, and is more important as we internationalise as a company.”

SF Studios’ ambition to modernise and adapt to opportunities beyond the Nordic borders and on different platforms was also reflected in the group’s launch this spring of its kids-oriented SVOD service SF Kids. 

In Cannes, the Bonnier-owned film group will be represented by the Un Certain Regard selected Finnish film The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki, co-produced by the group’s affiliate Tre Vänner. 

Projects in post-production include the Norwegian film Børning 2 – On Ice produced by Filmkameratene and Danish WW2 drama Across the Waters produced by SF Film Production.

Preparations are underway for the anticipated remake of the classic The Emigrant to be directed by Daniel Espinosa and Babak Najafi’s English language Horizon Line written by Josh Campbell and Matt Stuecken will go into production in the fall. Fredrik Wikström Nicastro will produce for SF Studios with Fors acting as exec producer.