EFA Award To Anthony Dod Mantle

December 15, 2009
Copenhagen-based cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle (photo) was awarded a European Film Academy (EFA) award last Saturday night for his work on Lars von Trier's Antichrist and Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire.

Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke was the biggest winner of the evening with three major wins (Best Film, Best Director and Best Script) for The White Ribbon that had scooped last May a Palme d'or in Cannes. Haneke's drama will be released in Sweden on December 18 (Folekts Bio), in Norway on December 26 (Arthaus) and in Denmark on January 14, 201 (Camera Film).

 

 

Let The Right One Wins BIFA Award

December 8, 2009
Thomas Alfredson's Let the Right One In was voted Best Foreign Film on Sunday evening at the 12^th annual British Independent Film Awards in London. The film produced by EFTI, with support from Nordisk Film & TV Fond, beat other festival favourites such as The Wrestler and Sin Nombre.

Two Danish filmmakers were also awarded for their English language films: Lone Scherfig for An Education (Best Actress to Carey Mulligan) and Nicolas Winding Refn for Bronson (Best Actor to Tom Hardy).

HBO Acquires Sunshine Boy

December 8, 2009
Fridrik Thor Fridriksson's documentary film about autism The Sunshine Boy has been acquired by US television channel HBO, part of Warner Bros Entertainment. According to Icelandic newspaper Fréttabladid, HBO plans to submit the documentary film for an Oscar selection. Produced by Frontier Filmworks with support from Nordisk Film & TV Fond, The Sunshine Boy focuses on producer Margret Dagmar Ericsdottir as she meets world experts on autism in the hope to improve the condition of her 11-year-old autistic son Keli. Kate Winslet is the narrator for the English language version. The film had its world premiere in Toronto last September. As such, it was eligible for the Fund's High Five Toronto International Cinema Distribution support.

Wedding Photographer Draws Swedish Crowds

December 8, 2009
Nils Malmros's The Wedding Photographer (Bröllopsfotografen) passed the magic 300,000 admissions last weekend in Sweden, after eight weeks on general release through Sandrew Metronome. The film was produced by Jan Blomgren for Bob Film Sweden, with financial support from the Swedish Film Institute, TV4, Film i Väst, Sandrew Metronome, and Nordisk Film & TV Fond. Sandrew Metronome is launching it in Finland this Friday. World sales are handled by Nonstop Sales.

Jesper Christensen At EFA Ceremony

December 8, 2009
Danish born Jesper Christensen (photo) will be one of the top European actors to present the individual awards at the 22nd European Film Awards (EFA) ceremony this Saturday in Bochum, Germany. The Danish actor who will play ‘Mr White' in the next James Bond film will be joined on the stage in Bochum by a dozen other big European names such as Aksel Hennie (Norway), Sir Ben Kingsley (UK), Victoria Abril (Spain) and Caterina Murino (Italy). Several Nordic films and talents are nominated in the main EFA categories such as Let the Right One In (Best Feature Film), Lars von Trier (Best Director, Antichrist), and Noomi Rapace (Best Actress, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo).

Finnish Spotlight In Slovenia - Niko Rolls On

December 8, 2009
As many as 70 films from Finland are screening since December 7 until the 13^th at the Animateka International Animation Film Festival in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The retrospective covers five decades, starting from the 60s and ending at the 2000s. Most titles are short animations, but the programme also includes some documentaries and fiction films, many of them made with techniques close to animation such as Hannes Vartiainen and Pekka Veikkolainen's documentary Hanasaari A. 

Prior to the opening of the festival, on Friday December 4, the Finnish box office success Niko and the Way to the Stars had its Slovenian theatrical premiere. The animation feature film by Michael Hegner and Kari Juusonen passed the 2 million admissions world wide. After Slovenia, the film supported by Nordisk Film & TV Fond will open in Spain (December 25).

Cecilia Lidin Takes Charge At EDN

December 8, 2009
Copenhagen-based European Documentary Network (EDN) has appointed Cecilia Lidin (photo) as their new head. She will oversee the daily running and strategic planning of the 1,000 member network, with Network Manager Hanne Skjødt.

Both will be referring to the EDN Executive Committee. Commenting on her appointment and vision for EDN future, Lidin said: "We want to be a more flexible and vibrant organization, which means incorporating our extensive network much more in our workshops, seminars and development programs." Lidin will formalize a network of EDN Experts who will be involved in EDN workshops and seminars, and also strengthen their internal team.

Among EDN upcoming events are ‘Below ZERO', an international pitching session for documentary projects focusing on life above the Arctic Circle, scheduled to take place in Tromsø, Norway from January 20-23, and ‘Twelve for the Future-Part 2', a co-production workshop for young Nordic documentary producers and directors, set to take place in Helsinki on January 26 and 27. The EDN has also launched its new website: http://www.edn.dk/

New Shorts And Doc Film Commissioner At DFI

1 December 2009
Dorte Høeg Brask (photo) has been appointed Shorts and Documentary Film Commissioner at the Danish Film Institute. She will take on her new position on February 1, 2010. Dorte Høgh Brask graduated from the Danish Film School's documentary department in 2001. Among the films she directed are Dufte af Beirut for Barok Film and Et hul I himlen (Scattering clouds) for Ovidia Film, both supported by Nordisk Film & TV Fond. She has also worked as a teacher at the Danish Film School and acted as chairman of the Danish Film Directors Association

Svensk Believes In The Hypnotist

1 December 2009
Scandinavian major Svensk Filmindustri has acquired rights to the Swedish best-selling crime novel The Hypnotist by writing duo Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril and husband Alexander Ahndoril, known under the pseudonym of Lars Kepler.

Published earlier this year in Sweden, the novel fast became number one of the book charts and has now been sold to over 30 territories. The Hypnotist is the first book in a planned series featuring Inspector Joona Linna. The film adaptation will be produced by Svensk Filmindustri's Börje Hansson, in co-production with Peter Possne - photo - (Sonet Film). Filming is schedule to start in 2010-2011.

SF has also optioned rights on the second novel in the series to be published next year. "The Hypnotist is a very thrilling and cinematically told story with a lot of suspense, and I am convinced that the film will be fantastic, said Tobias Lennér, managing director for Svensk Filmindustri in Sweden.

Videocracy Sells In Europe

1 December 2009
Following the American Film Market in Los Angeles, international sales company TrustNordisk closed several deals on the Swedish documentary Videocracy by Erik Gandini, launched internationally at the last Venice Film Festival.

The film about the power of television under Italian media magnate turned Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was sold to Benelux (Fourcomers), Switzerland (Filmcoopi), Romania (Clorofilm) and Hungary (Mozinet). The film has already been released in Sweden (Folkets Bio) and in Italy (Fandango).

TrustNordisk also sold Norway's 2008-2009 champion at the box office Max Manus to MovieBank (Benelux); Harald Hamrell's Swedish thriller Beck: The Eye of the Storm, to DD Dream (China); and Lukas Moodysson's English-language film Mammoth to Vendetta (Australia/New Zealand).

Recipes For Disaster Hot On Governments' Agendas

1 December 2009
The Finnish documentary film Recipes for Disaster (Katastrofin aineksia) by John Webster (photo) is popular not only in film circles but also with world governments, as the United Nations' Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen is coming to a close.

In Ireland, the film has been invited by Eamon Ryan, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources to be screened at the ‘Green Screen tour of films'. In Germany, the Goethe Institute is screening it as part of a world wide campaign to provide information on climate change, and in the US, Recipes for Disaster was broadcasted four times in November on Discovery's Planet Green channel, a pay TV with 46 million subscribers. The 2008 Jussi winner for Best Documentary has so far been sold to over 22 territories by Deckert Distribution, including Denmark, Germany, Norway, Sweden, and the US. In February 2010, it will represent Finland at the EU's The Windows to Europe Film Festival tour in Australia and New Zealand.

The film was produced by Millennium Film with support from Nordisk Film & TV Fond.

 

Film i Väst Will Host Jan Troell

1 December 2009
Jessics Ask, head of Film at Sweden's main regional film centre Film i Väst said she was proud to host in a few months the shooting of Jan Troell's (photo) upcoming project Domen over död man, produced by Francy Suntinger for Filmlance. It will be the first time Film i Väst is involved as co-producer on one of Troell's feature films. The project will span from 1933 to 1945. It will be based on the true story of Swedish journalist Torgny Segerstedt who became famous during the Second World War for taking up the fight against Nazism. The film will also describe a passionate and intricate relationship between Segerstedt and three women. Shooting is schedule to begin in the summer 2010.

Photo: Anders Hansson

Icelandic Focus At Plus Camerimages

November 24, 2009
World cinematographers who will gather at the Plus Camerimage Film Festival in Lodz, Poland from November 28 until December 5, will be invited to view thirteen Icelandic films screening as part of a Special Focus on Iceland. Fridrik Thor Fridriksson (photo) will attend the event to present seven of his films along with Icelandic cinematographer Bergsteinn Bjorgulfsson, associated with four of the films on the programme: Ragnar Bragason's Children and Parents, and Baltasar Kormákur's Jar City and White Night Wedding.

The key event of Plus Camerimage is the main competition section where world cinematographers can run for the Grand Prix-Golden Frog. Among this year's candidates is Finnish cinematographer Tuomo Hutri, selected for his work on Letters to Father Jacob.

Marcel Zyskind Films Rune Schjøtt Debut

November 24, 2009
The Danish scriptwriter Rune Schjøtt has teamed up with the experienced cinematographer Marcel Zyskind (Mammoth) for his low budget directorial debut Skyskraber (Skyscraper) produced by Fine & Mellow. The romantic love story stars Lukas Thorsteinsson - photo - (The Gold of Valhalla) as a 17 year-old who lives in a claustrophobic little town and rebels against his father when he falls in love. The project that started principal photography on November 2, received DKK3m from the Danish Film Institute's Rå Film fund and another DKK650,000 from the institute's Regional Fund. The ‘Raw' Film Fund which supports films of under DKK10m with the potential to reach an audience of at least 75,000 people has backed four feature films so far, including Nicolo Donato's Brotherhood.

Burma VJ Short-listed For Academy Award

November 24, 2009
The Danish award-winning documentary film Burma VJ - Reporting from a Closed Country by Anders Østergaard has been shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination - Best Documentary. The film was produced by Magic Hour Films with support from Nordisk Film & TV Fond. Burma VJ has received more than 30 international awards, most recently the Grierson Best Cinema Documentary Award at the British Documentary Awards. The final Oscars nominations will be announced on February 2, 2010, and the Academy Awards ceremony will take place on March 7.