Marie Grahtø’s first film Teenage Jesus was granted NOK 750,000 and Harad Zwart’s The Oil Fund NOK 1.7 million in Nordisk Film & TV Fond’s February round of support.  

Emerging Danish writing/directing talent Marie Grahtø had received previously NOK 200,000 from the Fund as part of Nordic Genre Boost and attended Cannes’ Cinefondation Atelier in 2017 with her project.

The female-led psychotic realistic drama Teenage Jesus stars Victoria Carmen Sonne (Holiday, In the Blood) and Stine Fischer Christensen (After the Wedding, The Charmer) as two women on a course of collision. Viktoria, a young psychologist, accepts the suicidal Jenny as her patient. A psychiatric hospital becomes their church, where they as two primordial forces, seek meaning and forgiveness in faith, sex and violence. As nocturnal conversations reveal the truth about their lives, death looms ever closer. Suffering is a human condition - everyone and no one survives.

The film is produced by Amalie Lyngbo Quist and Julie Friis Walenciak of Beo Starling, in coproduction with Finland’s Bufo Film, and support from the Danish Film Institute’s New Danish Screen and the Finnish Film Foundation. Key crew members include DoP Catherine Pattinama Coleman (The Return), editor Linda Man and composer Pessi Levanto (The Midwife, Reunion 2) and production designer Josephine Farsø (Norskov, Team Hurricane).

Filming will start May 7, 2018 and delivery is set for early 2019.

The 10x25’ comedy drama series The Oil Fund (Oljefondet) is produced by Zwart Arbeid with Motion Blur for SBS Discovery Norway/TVNorge. Director Harald Zwart (The 12th Man, The Karate Kid), is co-creator/co-writer with his long-time collaborator Tom Guldbrandsen. Petter Holmsen is episodic director. 

The series takes an insider look at the colliding worlds of high finance and public service. Motion Blur’s producer Espen Horn said: The series portrays the ‘unsung’ heroes of Norway’s Oil Fund. They start their day in simple apartments, ride their bike to work and then take private jets out into the big world and buy shares of everything from Times Square to Harley Davidson. They deal with the richest Arabs and Asians, buy and sell billions in stocks, drink the finest wines, before retreating to their cabbage dinners at home. The humour comes from the contrast between our social-democratic values that led to the creation of the Oil Fund for future generations, and the business-minded guys who run it and try to double and triple its value.”

The series is produced by Veslemoøy Ruud Zwart, Espen Horn and Terje Strømstad, in co-production with Lithuania’s Art Box, and support from the Norwegian Film Institute.  Details of the A-list international cast and crew will be announced soon. 

Nordisk Film & TV Fond also allocated the following distribution support:

  • NOK 300,000 to Nordisk Film Distribution for the theatrical release in Denmark of the Norwegian film The Ash Ladd-In the Hall of the Mountain King in Denmark. The film also received NOK 95,000 in dubbing support. 
  • NOK 200,000 to Nordisk Film Distribution for the theatrical release in Denmark of the Norwegian film The 12th Man
  • NOK 100,000 to SF Studios Norway for the theatrical release in Norway of the Danish film Backstabbing for Beginners
  • NOK 170,000 to Studio Show for the theatrical release in Sweden of the Danish animated film The Incredible Story of the Giant Pear. The film was also granted NOK 75,000 in dubbing support.  
  • NOK100,000 to Cinema Mondo for the theatrical release in Finland of the Danish film A Horrible Woman. 

The Fund granted the following Film Cultural Initiative support:

  • NOK 530,000 to the New Nordic Films 2018, the industry sidebar of the Norwegian Film Festival in Haugesund.  
  • NOK 45,000 to Young Nordic Producers Club, an initiative of the National Film School of Denmark.