Danish star Pilou Asbæk will receive the inaugural Nordic Flair honorary prize on Thursday September 21 in Helsinki.

Anna Möttölä, head of the industry event Finnish Film Affair (September 19-21) and the Helsinki International Film Festival, said she and her team created the new award to celebrate the festival’s 30th anniversary and the unique talent pool in the Nordic region. She said: “The honorary prize is an extension of the celebration of talents that we’ve had in previous years with agents panels and networking events. The Nordic Flair award will honour all Nordic talents behind and in front of the camera, including actors, writers, composers or cinematographers."

Nordic Flair honorary prize-winner Pilou Asbæk will discuss in an on-stage interview, his roles in hit series and films including Borgen, A War, Game of Thrones and in the upcoming Finnish film The Guardian Angel to be pitched by director Arto Halonen at the works in progress.

Ten works in progress, ten projects in development, 28 completed films and two finished TV series will be introduced to international guests.

Möttölä stressed the record number of projects directed by women (22 out of 50) and children and youth films, such as the works in progress Pony and Pigeonboy, picked up by East-West Distribution, and the animated Moomins and the Winter Wonderland with voices by Stellan Skarsgård and Alicia Vikander.

Among the Finnish films in development are The Dark Christ by Klaus Härö, Nimby Teemu Nikki - currently in Toronto with Euthanizer - and Scenes from a Dying Town by 2016 Nordic Talents winner Kaisa El Ramly.

Punk Voyage by Jukka Kärkkäinen and J.P. Passi, co-winner of last year’s Best Pitch award with Tom of Finland - will screen as opening film of Finnish Film Affair. “It’s a pleasure to present the sequel to Punk Syndrome and the story of the band Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät (PKN) as they split up. The material is amazing; it will be a riot,” said Möttölä.

Major international companies attending include The Match Factory, Films Boutique, Europa Corp, Studiocanal, Lionsgate, Altitude Film Sales, Wild Bunch, BBC Films and US industry veteran Adam Leipzig will moderate two panels: ‘VOD, from A,B,C to X,Y,Z and Å too’, and ‘Getting Repped’. Panellists confirmed include Bobby Allen (MUBI), Adam Chapnik (Dsribber), Aram Terzakian (XYZ Films), Dana O’Keefe (Cinetic Media), Camille McCurry (United Agents) and Justin Littman (Gotham Group).

Full list of works in progress:    

  • Iron Sky: the Coming Age by Timo Vuorensola (Iron Sky Universe)
  • The Guardian Angel by Arto Halonen (Art Films Production)
  • Stupid Young Heart by Selma Vilhunen (Tuffi Films) 
  • The Violin Player by Paavo Westerberg (Mjölk Movies) 
  • Pony and Pigeonboy by Mari Rantasila (Pohjolafilmi) 
  • Laugh or Die by Heikki Kujanpää (Inland Film Company) 
  • The Mercurius Of Molenbeek by Reetta Huhtanen (Zone2 Pictures ) 
  • East of Sweden by Simo Halinen (Kaiho Republic ) 
  • Entrepreneur by Virpi Suutari (Oktober) 
  • Moomins and The Winter Wonderland by Jakub Wrónski & Ira Karpelan (Filmkompaniet) 

Full list of Films in development: 

  • School of Hope by  Mohammed El Aboudi (Illume) 
  • Conductivity by Anna-Karin Grönroos (Tuffi Films) 
  • Fleak from Another Dimension by Antti Haikala (Animaa Vitae) 
  • Brooklyn King by Olli Koivula (Brooklyn King) 
  • Bleeding Eyes by Maria K. Mononen (Silva Mysterium) 
  • Theia by Mari Mantela (MADE) 
  • Carcass by Mare Jatkola (Mutant Koala Pictures) 
  • Scenes From a Dying Town by Kaisa El Ramly (Zodiak Finland) 
  • NIMBY by Teemu Nikki (It's Alive) 
  • Dark Christ by Klaus Härö (Making Movies)

For further information check: www.hiff.fi