Record number of film & TV dramas shooting in West Sweden

“Never before have we co-produced that many film shoots at one time,” said Film i Väst’s Head of Production Peter Possne. 

A-list cast associated to projects shot fully or partially in the region include Alba August, Hermione Corfield, Hedda Stiernstedt, Toby Kebbell, Stellan Skarsgård and David Dencik. 

The leading Scandinavian film fund set up in 1992, is highly competitive with its €10m budget to invest or 10-12 films and 2-3 Swedish TV drama a year, high level of production expertise, and financial pulling effect of its quality brand. 

Essential criteria for Film i Väst to invest in projects are their potential to compete at A festivals, to attract international audiences, to support new talent and to do the shooting and post-production in Västra Götaland. “The number of film shoots has a positive effect on hotels, rental car companies, catering firms and other local businesses. The world of film is a golden example of the successful collaboration between public funding and private initiatives,” notes Possne. 

By the end of 2018, Film I Väst will have co-produced 18 films - both festival films and more commercial fare, as well as 2-3 TV dramas. For 2019, Possne says he has ‘high festival hopes’ for Hans Petter Moland’s film adaptation of the Norwegian best-seller Out Stealing Horses. In terms crowd pleasers, he says the third season of Vår tid är nu (The Restaurant) ‘should be an obvious favourite’, while Ninja Thyberg’s feature debut Jessica exploring female sexuality should be ‘an interesting watch’. 

Full list of Film i Väst co-productions, filming in Västra Götaland:  

International co-productions: 

• Seas Fever (Ireland/Belgium/Sweden)  
  Directed by Neasa Hardiman (Happy Valley)  
  Starring Hermione Corfield, Ardalan Esmaili, Connie Nielsen 
  Produced by Fantastic Films, in co-production with Frakas Productions, Bright Pictures.

• Daniel (Denmark/Sweden/Norway)
  Directed by Niels Arden Oplev 
  Starring Esben Smed, Anders W. Berthelsen, Toby Kebbell 
  Produced by Denmark’s Toolbox Film, in co-production with Cinenic Film, Hummelfilm, Deluca Film.
  Expected premiere: September 2019 

• Out Stealing Horses (Norway/Denmark/Sweden) 
  Directed by Hans Petter Moland Starring Stella Skarsgård, Danica Curcic, Tobias Santelmann
  Produced by 4 ½ Fiksjon, in co-production with Zentropa Denmark, Zentropa Sweden, Helgeland Film, Nordisk Film. 
  Expected premiere: March 2019 

Swedish co-productions

• My Life as a Comedian (En Komikers uppväxt) 
  Directed by Rojda Sekersöz Starring Johan Rheborg, Anna Bjelkerud 
  Produced by Anagram Sweden in co-production with SF Studios 
  Expected premiere fall 2019 

• The Perfect Patient (Quick) 
  Directed by Mikael Håfström
  Starring David Dencik, Jonas Karlsson, Alba August, Linda Ulvaeus, Suzanne Reuter
  Produced by Brain Academy, in co-production with Umedia Belgium, Nordisk Film
  Expected premiere: fall/winter 2019 

TV Dramas 

• Alex season 2 
  Directed by Alain Darborg 
  Starring Dragomir Mrsic, Rakel Wärmländer 
  Produced by SF Studios for Viaplay in co-production with Nevision  Premiere in 2019 
  
  
•  The Simple Heist season 2 (Enkelstöten 2) 
  Directed by Felix Herngren
  Starring Sissela Kyle, Lotta Telje
  Produced by FLX for C More/TV4 
  Expected premiere spring 2019
  
  
• The Restaurant season 3 (Vår tid är nu 3) 
  Directed by Andrea Östlund 
  Starring Suzanne Reuter, Peter Dalle, Hedda Steirnstedt 
  Produced by Jarowskij for SVT and Viaplay Expected premiere in 2019 

• Everything I Can’t Remember (Allt jag inte minns) 
  Directed by Beata Gårdeler 
  Produced by Black Spark Film & TV and Kärnfilm for SVT Expected premiere late 2019/early 2020

Feature films to be shot later this year: 

• Jessica (Sweden/the Netherlands)
  Directed by Ninja Thyberg Starring Bidisha Larsson, Dan Worthington 
  Produced by Plattform Production in co-production with Lemming Film 
• Suicide Tourist (Denmark/Germany/Norway/Sweden) 
  Directed by Jonas Alexander Arnby  Starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Tuva Novotny, Robert Aramayo  Produced by Snowglobe in co-production with DCM, Mer Film, Charades, Garagefilm International. 

Productions supported by Nordisk Film & TV Fond include Daniel, Out Stealing Horses, My Life as a Comedian, The Perfect Patient, Call Mum!, Everything I Can’t Remember.