Furia, Blackport, Kamikaze, Dough among Nordic dramas to screen at Series Mania

Toplining the slate are the world premieres of Icelandic show Blackport (RÚV/ARTE), Norwegian Furia (Viaplay/ZDF) and Danish Kamikaze (HBO Max), showcased in the international competition. The three series mirror the wide breath of quality scripted content from the North, commissioned by a mix of public broadcasters and global streamers.

Both Blackport and Furia - supported by Nordisk Film & TV Fond - were first pitched to international distributors at the Berlinale Co-Pro Series 2018, where the Icelandic series came home with the CoPro Series Mania Award.

Blackport (Verbud) was co-created by Vesturport’s talents Gísli Örn Garðarsson (Ragnarok, Vultures), Björn Hlynur Haraldsson (Trapped, Fortitude) and Nína Dögg Filippusdóttir (The Valhalla Murders). London based Turbine Studios serve as co-producers.

In an earlier interview, (CLICK HERE) Garðarsson explained his vision for the drama about power, greed and jealousy, set against Iceland’s introduction of the fishing quotas in the 1980s.

“It's obviously a massive honour for an Icelandic series to have its world premiere in the main programme of such a prestigious festival,” said RÚV’s programme director Skarphéðinn Guðmundsson, underlying the show’s strong buzz on the market, ever since co-creator/actor/director Garðarsson first pitched it at Scandinavian Screenings four years ago. “It has been and still is highly anticipated, and I can assure you - from what I've seen- that it is surely going to live up to these great expectations.”

“It's an important highly relatable story, told in a fresh, daring and highly entertaining manner, giving a clever nod to the most memorable and loved series of the Eighties,” continues Guðmundsson. “We can't wait to see the reaction at Series Mania and when we premiere it at RÚV at the end of the year.” About Premium Content handles sales.

Furia (8x50’) was created by International Emmy winner Gjermund Stenberg Eriksen (Mammon), with Magnus Martens and Lars Kraume directing. Set between Oslo, Berlin and rural western Norway, the political thriller turns on two main protagonists: on one side Ragna (Ine Marie Willmann), a member of a far-right extremist terror cell, hellbent on carrying out an attack in Europe, and on the side side, former special ops officer Asgeir (Pål Sverre Hagen), part of an anti-terrorist operation. The series was produced by Norway’s Monster Scripted with Germany’s X-Filme Creative Pool for Nent Group’s Viaplay and ZDF. The premiere on Viaplay is scheduled for later this fall. Keshet International handles sales.

Kamikaze is the first Danish Original series ordered by HBO Nordic. Producers are Copenhagen-based Profile Pictures. The eight-episode series conceptualised by Annette K. Olesen, was written by Johanne Algren from Norwegian author Erlend Loe’s novel Muleum. Kaspar Munk is directing. The series centres on Julie (18) and her existential battle to find her way back to life after she has lost her entire family in a plane crash.

Selected for Series Mania’s International Panorama are two Nordic shows, including SVT's Dough, having its world premiere:

Pørni created by actor Henriette Steenstrup for production house Monster Scripted, had a smash premiere on Viaplay and was subsequently re-commissioned for another two seasons. Keshet International handles sales.

Dough (Deg) was created by Levan Akin (And Then We Danced) and Mattias J Skoglund. Nexiko is producing for SVT, with support from the Fund. The 8-part series follows two women, who have nothing in common but whose path will cross and who will have to stick together for better or worse. The premiere on SVT is set for August 30. Newen Connect handles global sales.

Elsewhere, Series Mania Forum has selected 21 titles from 19 countries for its ‘Forum Exclusives’, available online and on-site to registered participants between August 30-September 1^st.

Among those are two Nordic entries:

Journey (Vegferd) produced by Iceland’s Glassriver recently premiered successfully on the local Channel 2. The buddy road trip comedy starring Ólafur Darri Ólafsson and Víkingur Kristjánsson, was directed by Baldvin Z. Keshet International handles sales.

Threesome produced by Sweden’s Yellow Bird for Viaplay, is a romantic drama between a young couple - David (Simon Lööf) and Siri (Matilda Källström) - who has just moved to London, and their encounter with French art student Camille (Alma Jodorowsky). Eccho Rights handles global sales. The premiere on Viaplay is slated for August 29.

Finally two Nordic series in development part of a slate of 16 international titles will be pitched August 30 at the Co-Pro Pitching session.

Those are Cold Haven (Iceland) produced by Glassriver, and La Palma (Norway), produced by Fante Film.

For Series Mania’s full list of screenings, talks and guests, check: www.seriesmania.com