On the strength of Black's Game's box office success, Iceland's production house ZikZak Filmworks is expanding into genre movies with several projects in development on both sides of the Atlantic

For Thor Sigurjonsson (pictured) who heads Zik Zak Filmworks with Skúli Fr Malmquist, the new emphasis on genre movies is a natural expansion for the company that has been concentrating so far on quality arthouse films such as Rúnar Rúnarsson's Volcano or Dagur Kári's The Good Heart.

Axelsson's next feature I Remember You is based on crime writer Yrsa Sigurðardottir's eponymous best-seller, translated into nearly 30 languages. The ghost thriller is set in an isolated village in the Icelandic Westfjords. Sigurjonsson will be looking for co-producers during the Cannes Film Festival.

ZakZak's other Icelandic project is Cold Spring by Hafsteinn Sigurðsson whose previous film Either Way (Nordic Council Film Prize nominee 2012) was successfully turned into the US film Prince Avalanche. The project focuses on a man in his 30s, working as a teacher in a small town, whose life is turned upside down by the sudden re-appearance of his absent father. Sigurjonsson is negotiating with potential German and French co-producers and filming is set to start in June.

Another Zik Zak project that should finally roll before the end of the year is the English-language post-apocalyptic sci-fi Z for Zachariah based on a Robert C.O. Brien's eponymous book. The project has picked up speed since this summer with the signing  of Tobey Maguire as actor/producer and Craig Zobel (Compliance) as director. Icelandic Hollywood mogul Joni Sighvatsson (Palomar Pictures) is also attached as producer and casting with A stars is under way.

Meanwhile Sigurjonsson has been busy sharing his production activities with the Copenhagen-based Profile Pictures, founded in 2011 with up and coming producers Jacob Jarek and Ditte Milsted.

Jarek was co-producer on Nicolas Winding Refn's anticipated Only God Forgives and Sigurjonsson executive producer. Profile has a genre film in development - Honeymoon Hotel -to be directed by Torben Bech (co-director of Nuummioq) based on his short film selected for a Ridley Scott YouTube competition.