In its latest round of support, Nordisk Film & TV Fond has allocated production funding to the films Birds of a Feather, Memory of Water, Tove, Journey to Utopia and the TV series Love Story.

The two films Memory of Water and Birds of a Feather were granted earlier NOK 200,000 each in development support, as part of the Fund’s Nordic Genre Boost initiative.

Production support Feature films

  • Birds of a Feather (Pahanhautoja)
    Grant: NOK 2 million
    Recipient: Silva Mysterium, Finland
    Producer: Mika Ritalahti
    Director: Hanna Bergholm
    Writer: Ilja Rautsi
    Main cast: Siiri Solalinna, Sophia Heikkilä, Jani Volanen, Reino Nordin
    Story: Tinja (12) hatches the evil twin Alli out of a bird’s egg. Tinja's buried aggression and jealousy pushes Alli into increasingly violent attacks until no one is safe.

    The Finnish horror film Birds of a Feather is set to start filming August 15, 2019. Top animatronic designer Gustav Hoegen who worked on the Hollywood films Jurassic World-Fallen Kingdom and Star Wars-Episode IX will handle the special effects. The film is co-produced by Sweden’s Hob Ab, Norway’s Evil Doghouse Productions, with support from the Finnish Film Foundation, the Swedish Film Institute and co-financing from Yle. Nordisk Film will handle the Finnish and Swedish theatrical release and Europa Films the Norwegian release. 
  • Memory of Water (Veden vartija)
    Grant: NOK 2,050,000
    Recipient: Bufo, Finland
    Producer: Mark Lwoff
    Director: Saara Saarela
    Writer: Ilja Rautsi
    Story: In the dystopian drama, a young woman finds courage to start a battle over fresh water in the Scandinavian Union, a land dried by eco disasters and controlled by a harsh military government. The story is based on the eponymous novel by Emmi Itäranta, co-written by Ilja Rautsi.

    Memory of Water is produced by Finland’s Bufo, in co-production with Germany’s Pandora Film and Norway’s Mer Film, with co-financing from Yle, NRW, support from the Finnish Film Foundation and development support from Creative Europe. Filming in Lapland will begin this fall, with the main shooting period taking place in the spring 2020. The premiere is set for 2021. B-Plan will handle the release in Finland and Mer Film the Norwegian release.

  • Tove
    Grant: NOK 2,100,000
    Recipient: Helsinki filmi
    Producers: Andrea Reuter, Aleksi Bardy
    Director: Zaida Bergroth
    Story: Tove Jansson-artist, lover, author, icon. This is the untold story of her formative years in post-war Finland, her fight for recognition for her art and the passionate bisexual love triangle that inspired the internationally beloved Moomin books.

Documentary film 

  • Journey to Utopia (Reijsen til Utopia)
    Grant: NOK 600,000
    Recipient Magic Hour Films, Denmark
    Producer: Lise Lense-Møller
    Director: Erlend Eirik Mo
    Story: A Norwegian-Danish family of artists decides to take their responsibilities towards the climate crisis seriously and move to a self-sufficient, organic village, although this drastic life-style transition creates tensions within the family of six headstrong individuals.

    Journey to Utopia is produced by Denmark’s Magic Hour Films, in co-production with Norway’s Mosaikk Film, Indie Film, Sweden’s Vilda Bomben Film and Film i Väst, with support from the Danish Film Institute, Norwegian Film Institute, Swedish Film Institute, Sørnorsk Filmsenter, SVT, TV2, NRK and Eurimages. The premiere is scheduled for 2020. The film received the Best Pitch-Eurimages Co-production Development Award at CPH:DOX.

TV series

  • Love Story (Kj)ærlighet)
    Format: 8X42’
    Grant: NOK 1,900,000
    Recipient: Anagram Norway
    Producer: Anne Kolbjørnsen
    Writers: Ole Marius Araldsen, Marie Hafting, Jesper Sundnes, Patrik Syversen, Tone Mygind Rostbøll, Anna Neye.
    Directors: Eigill Langmark, Charlotte Sachs Bostrup
    Main Cast: Nicolaj Cleve Broch, Agnes Kittelsen, Lærke Winter, Johannes Nymark.
    Commissioning broadcasters: TV2 Norway, TV2 Denmark
    Global distribution: The Yellow Affair
    Story: The relationship drama is about the big and small and overriding dramas we all experience in different degrees in life. It focuses on two couples and their four perspectives, the trust and lack of trust in their relationships, and how even the smallest details end up having major consequences in their lives. The series is produced by Anagram Norway, in co-production with Finland’s Helsinki Filmi, with support from the Norwegian Film Institute. Filming is underway in Denmark. The premiere is set for this fall.

Distribution support

  • NOK 200,000 to Filmbazar, Denmark for the release of the Norwegian film Congo and Swedish documentary Push 
  • NOK 200,000 to Nordisk Film, Finland for the release of the Swedish animated film Bamse and the Thunderbell.
  • NOK 140,000 in slate distribution to Iceland’s Bió Paradís (Heimili kvikmyndanna ses) for the release of the Norwegian film Out Stealing Horses and Danish film Sons of Denmark.

Film Cultural Initiative 

  • NOK 200,000 to Yle, Finland for the TV showcase Scandinavian Screening in Helsinki.