Espen Sandberg, Selma Vilhunen among latest Fund recipients

The largest grant of NOK3.2 million was handed out to Sandberg’s large-scale biopic about Roald Amundsen.

Feature Films:

• Amundsen produced by Norway’s Motion Blur, will be Espen Sandberg’s first Norwegian film since his 2012 epic Kon-Tiki co-directed with Joachim Rønning and his first solo project in years. The film is written by Ravn Lanesskog (The Last King) will focus on Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen’s life and achievements. Motion Blur’s producer Espen Horn said: “Roald Amundsen’s impressive explorations are all well documented, but his personal life is largely untold. Privately he was an equally fascinating person. He lied and betrayed his closest to achieve his professional goals, but the price he paid personally was high. This is also the story about Roald's brother, Leon, who faithfully helped his brother for more than 20 years.” The NOK 70m project is produced with SF Studios who has been ‘paramount’ in the financing of the film”, says Horn. Other co-producers will be announced at a later stage, as well as cast and crew. The film is currently in pre-production with a delivery date set for the fall 2018.
• Stupid Young Heart (Hölmö nuori sydän) produced by Venla Hellstedt and Elli Toivoniemi of Tuffi Films, Finland, was granted NOK 1.3 million. The new coming of age drama by Selma Vilhunen (Little Wing) is scripted by Kirsikka Saari who worked with the director on her Oscar-nominated short film Do I Have to Take Care of Everything? The film is an edgy and warm drama about suburban teenagers, who unexpectedly have to deal with grown up problems of pregnancy, while extreme right ideas enter their multicultural neighbourhood. Next to upcoming actors Jere Ristseppä and Rosa Honkonen are Ville Haapasalo, Pihla Viitala and Katja Küttner.
  
  The film currently shooting, is co-produced by Sweden’s Hob AB and the Netherland’s Windmill Film, in association with Nordisk Film and support from The Finnish Film Foundation, YLE, Eurimages, The Church Media Foundation, The Netherlands Film Fund, Dutch Film Fund Production Incentive, the Swedish Film Institute and Creative Europe. The film was awarded last month the Best Pitch award at the Finnish Film Affair in Helsinki. The Finnish theatrical release is set for October 2018.
• Beware of Children (Barn) produced by Yngve Sæther of Motlys, Norway was granted NOK 1 million. This is the second feature by Dag Johan Haugerud who picked up four Amandas, including Best Film in 2012 for his first film I Belong. The drama centres on 13-year-old Lykke, daughter of a left-wing politician, who kills by accident Jamie, son of a high-profile right-wing politician. It explores what it means to have children today and what we expect from our kids. In the main roles are Henriette Steenstrup as Liv, the principal of the primary school, and Thorbjørn Harr who plays the right-wing politician. The film is currently filming at Film i Väst’s studios in Trollhättan. Beware of Children will be released by Arthaus in Norway late 2018, as well as by TriArt in Sweden and Øst for Paradis in Denmark. 
  

Documentaries:

• Femimam produced by Jesper Jack of House of Real, Denmark, was granted NOK 500,000. The observational character-drive documentary by Marie Skovgaard (The War Show) focuses on the association Femimam led by a group of progressive Muslims who have opened the first Mosque in Europe led by female imams. They are breaking with centuries of traditional male leadership from within.
  
  Producer Jesper Jack said: “I personally believe that change must come from within. In 2006 I spent most of the year doing a research with TV2 on Danish imams to understand their work and role within the Danish society but we couldn’t access the closed world of imams and had to give up. Then several years later Marie Skovgaard got an opening that made it possible to make a film about the work of the Imams and this time around, it is even more interesting as the film deals with female imams who challenge the monopole of men Imams and the interpretation of the Coran."
  
  The film is co-financed by DR1, in collaboration with SVT, YLE, RUV, Ikon/EO in the Netherlands, with support from the Danish Film Institute, and the Hartley Foundation. Delivery is set for November 2018.

• My Heart Belongs to Daddy produced by Carsten Aanonsen of Indie Film, Norway, was granted NOK 520,000. In the film director Sofia Haugan decides to reconnect with her father, a notorious criminal addicted to amphetamine. After having been separated since she was 10 years old, she finds him on the edge of abyss and decides to help him. Aanonsen said: “This story is unique because it’s the director Sofia's own relation to her father that is the core of the film. Witnessing them growing closer to each other during the course of the shooting period is the driving force for the drama. Delivery date is scheduled for January 2018. Tarkovski Films handles world sales, excluding the Nordics. 

Distribution and dubbing support:    

• Øst for Paradis  was granted NOK 295,000 for the distribution in Denmark of the Norwegian films What Will People Say, From the Balcony and the Swedish film Småstad, 
• Another World Entertainment was granted NOK 125,000 for the distribution in Norway of the Finnish film Tom of Finland, 
• Scanbox was granted NOK 125,000 for the distribution in Denmark of the Swedish film The Nile Hilton Incident, 
• Nordisk Film was granted NOK 300,000 for the distribution in Finland and in Denmark of the Swedish film Borg vs McEnroe, 
• Reel Pictures was granted NOK 60,000 for the distribution in Denmark of the Finnish film Hobbyhorse Revolution, 
• Folkets Bio was granted NOK 120,000 for the distribution in Sweden of the Finnish Film Hobbyhorse Revolution, 
• Scanbox was granted NOK 150,000 for the distribution in Denmark of the Swedish film The Square, 
• Storytelling Media was granted NOK 100,000 for the dubbing of the Finnish animated film Moomins and the Winter Wonderland. 

Furthermore, the film cultural initiative Nordic Animation Forum was granted NOK 50,000.