Three new projects received production support from Nordisk Film & TV Fond in its January round of support.

For Magnea produced by The Icelandic Film Company was granted NOK 1.700.000. The award-winning director Baldvin Z has teamed up again with his co-writer of Life in a Fishbowl, Birgir Örn Steinarsson.

When Magnea meets Stella at the age of 15, everything changes. Dragged into a world of drugs, serious consequences occur for the two girls. Twelve years later, their paths cross again, and a reckoning between them becomes unavoidable. Producer Julius Kemp says For Magnea will be Baldvin Z’s most ambitious feature project to date, with complex cinematography and the casting of two actresses for each main character of Magnea and Stella, corresponding to the two periods in their lifetime. Casting will be announced before filming in August. The €3m film is produced by The Icelandic Film Company’s Kemp and Ingvar Thordarson, in co-production with Solar Films (Finland) and 41 Shadows (Denmark), with co-financing from RUV, support from the Icelandic Film Centre. Sena will release it in Iceland and 41 Shadows Distribution in Denmark. Kemp said he is looking for a Spanish co-producer as part of the shoot will be set in Spain.

The Danish documentary The Great Game produced by Haslund Film was granted NOK 700,000. Andreas Dalsgaard (The War Show) has followed producer Michael Haslund as he and his elder father go on a trip to seek the truth about their respective grandfather and father Henning Haslund. An explorer, arms smuggler and secret agent, he took part in an expedition, that helped shape modern China. The film is a story about memory, family and great adventures. “We have shot almost 75% of the production, prepared archives and have now been editing our first stage of postproduction since November,” said Haslund. “In August we start our second editing period until final cut. “ delivery is set for March 2018. The film is co-produced by Sweden’s Mantaray Film & TV, with co-financing from TV2 Denmark, SVT, YLE, VRT (Belgium), Yes (Israel), support from the Danish Film Institute, Swedish Film Institute among others.

The 8x45’ Norwegian series State of Happiness (Lykkeland) produced by Maipo Film was granted NOK4 million. The drama commissioned by NRK is written by Mette M. Bølstad (Nobel), based on an idea by producer Synnøve Hørsdal. Petter Næss (Elling) directs, together with Pål Jackman. 

State of Happiness focuses on four young people in a small town in Norway. The story begins right before the first big discovery of oil, and we follow the main characters through the whirlwind of opportunity and change that follows. Mette M. Bølstad said: “State of Happiness is a metaphor for the rise of prosperity in the western world at the end of the 20th Century. It is relevant to a Norwegian audience, to see how much of our wealth is built on luck, and to an international audience to see what happens when a few good people decide that the oil should belong to the nation and the people, not just to some random lucky companies or families who happen to be in the right place at the right time.”

The series was pre-sold to DR, YLE, RTL (Ireland) and received support from Stavanger region and the Norwegian Film Institute. Filming is set to start this spring. State of Happiness will be pitched next week at the Berlinale CoPro Series. DR Sales handles world sales.

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

  • NOK 250,000 to NonStop Entertainment for the Swedish release of Tom of Finland 
  • NOK 120,000 to 41 Shadows for the Danish release of The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki 
  • NOK 110,000 to Finnkino for the Finnish release of Marcus & Martinus-Together 
  • NOK 90,000 to Heimili kvikmyndanna for the Icelandic release of The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki

Haugesund’s Norwegian Film Festival received NOK 530,000 for its New Nordic Films market as part of the Fund’s Film Cultural Initiatives support.