TrustNordisk Opens Appetites with ‘Nordic By Nature,’ Unveils Göteborg Film Slate (EXCLUSIVE)

EXCLUSIVE: Matthew Modine (Stranger Things, The Dark Knight Rises) is the latest addition to the cast of Christopher Nolan’s anticipated film Oppenheimer for Universal Pictures.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentTrustNordisk has sold “Nothing to Laugh About,” Petter Næss’s Norwegian drama comedy which played at the Zürich Film Festival in 2020. Næss is best known for his Oscar-nominated film “Elling” and has been working in TV and theatre in recent years.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentNordic production powerhouse Miso Film, which looks to make a splash at the Berlinale Series with its daring HBO Max show “Lust,” is developing high-end international dramas with Scandinavian creatives such as Pilou Asbæk, Ole Bornedal and Fenar Ahmad. The company is part of FremantleMedia.Ahead of the Berlinale, Miso founders Peter Allen and Jonas Bose discussed with Variety about their ambition to find new voices and original ways to tell stories. The banner, which just started shooting the third season of “Those Who Kill” and is about to begin filming season 3 of “Face to Face” with Lars Mikkelsen, recently shot “Blasted,” the first Norwegian sci-fi comedy, for Netflix.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentTrustNordisk has closed a flurry of sales on a pair of 3D-animated family features, “Little Allan — The Human Antenna” and “The Super,” underscoring the market appeal of independent youth-skewing movies.“Little Allan – The Human Antenna” marks Danish film Amalie Naesby Fick’s follow up to her commercially successful debut “The Incredible Story of The Giant Pear,” which premiered in the the Generation Kplus section at Berlin in 2018. This year, the helmer has her daring drama series “Sex” selected for the Berlinale Series.The film takes place during summer vacation, when introverted, 11-year old Allan starts acting as a human antenna for his old neighbor, who thinks a huge invasion fleet from the outer space is on its way.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentOne of Scandinavia’s leading film distributors, Scanbox Entertainment is changing ownership with a new board including CEO Thor Sigurjonsson. The company was bought back from Scanbox Chairman Joni Sighvatsson. New owners include COO Kim William Beich, commercial director Torben Thorup Jorgensen, and producer Chris Briggs.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentNordic streamer Viaplay is partnering with filmmaker Mikael Håfström to produce the ambitious period film “Stockholm Bloodbath.” The female-led epic adventure movie will mark the service’s second English-language film original, following Oscar-nominated helmer Lasse Hallström’s biopic “Hilma,” which will premiere later this year.Set in 1520, “Stockholm Bloodbath” explores a dark chapter in Sweden’s history, which saw the infamous massacre of nearly 100 nobles and civilians in the Swedish capital. The story is told through the eyes of Anne and her foster sister Freja as they seek revenge on the men who murdered their family at Anne’s wedding.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Yanagawa,” which this week won the top prize at the Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinemas in France, has been set as the opening title of the 17th Osaka Asian Film Festival in Japan. The festival, which runs as an in-person event, March 10-20, 2022 will close with multinational co-production “Miss Osaka.”Yanagawa, was directed by Korean-Chinese auteur Zhang Lu, and was filmed in China and Japan.

A number of films have been nominated for International Film (previously known as Foreign Film) and Documentary Feature, but none have earned nods in those categories and Animated Feature. That is until today when Jonas Poher Rasmussen pulled off that remarkable feet with “Flee.” Denmark’s submission to the Academy Awards is also the first documentary to earn an Animated Feature nomination in the 20 year history of the award.

Annika Pham 2021 was another annus horribilis for cinemagoing in the Nordics, due to on-going and strict Covid restrictions that halved admissions compared to pre-pandemic levels.Released late September/early October when cinemas for once ran at full capacity, “No Time to Die” literally saved the film year, and even ranked No.  1 among all James Bond movies ever released in Denmark. Aside from Sweden, strong homegrown offers such as “Checkered Ninja 2” in Denmark, “Class Reunion 3” in Finland, “Cop Secret” in Iceland, “Three Wishes for Cinderella” in Norway enabled the Nordic nations to secure bullish market shares.In 2021, “No Time to Die” smashed all B.O.

Alissa Simon Film CriticDanish debut feature helmer-writer Tea Lindeburg’s period drama “As In Heaven,” that portrays a fateful summer day and night in 19th century farming society, came away the biggest winner at the 44th Göteborg Film Festival, scoring on Saturday the best Nordic film kudo, this year worth approx. $44,000.Meanwhile, Seidi Haarla of Finland’s Oscar-shortlisted drama, “Compartment No.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentHigh profile Danish playwright Christian Lollike spoke to Variety about his feature film debut “The Cake Dynasty” at the Goteborg Festival’s Nordic Film Market. Lollike is presenting the movie in the market’s work-in-progress sidebar.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentAnders Klarlund’s Nordic noir feature “The Last Client” with “Borgen” star Signe Egholm Olsen has been acquired by international sales and aggregation outfit LevelK. The thriller, produced by Morten Rasmussen (“Held for Ransom,” “White Sands”) at well-established Danish banner Deluca Film AS, revolves around the intense relationship between a psychotherapist and her dangerous new client. The strong cast is headlined by Egholm Olsen and Anton Hjejle (“Liberty”).“The Last Client” was written by Anders Klarlund and Jacob Weinreich, the creative duo known as A.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentIcelandic smash hit drama series “Blackport” won on Wednesday the 2022 Nordisk Film & TV Prize, Scandinavia’s top plaudit for drama series writing.The award was announced on site at the end of an intense first day of conference panels at the Göteborg Festival’s TV Drama Vision, with two of the series’ three writers, Gísli Örn Garðarsson and Mikael Torfason on stage to collect the Nordic TV Drama Screenplay Award, carrying a €20,000 ($22,600) cash prize. They were accompanied by producer Nina Dögg Filippusdóttir.

Gino D'Acampo may be blissfully married to his wife Jessica, but the This Morning chef won't be planning anything special for his loved one on Valentine's Day. Exclusive: Gino D'Acampo reveals surprising secret to happy marriage with wife of 20 years JessicaDuring an exclusive chat with HELLO!, the 45-year-old - who marked his 20th wedding anniversary last year - confessed he's always alone when 14 February rolls around each year.

Annika Pham Stockholm-based production house Hobab whose buzzy Cannes Directors’ Fortnight “Clara Sola” was snapped by New-York-based Oscilloscope Laboratories, is ramping up its ambitions, with female-led projects.“Our vision is to combine arthouse sensitivity with mainstream appeal, and to help talents – both Nordic and international – grow with care,” said Nima Yousefi, producer and joint owner with Peter Krupenin.Pedigree European shingles Finland’s Tuffi Films, Denmark’s Toolbox and Italy’s Intramovies have boarded as co-producers Hobab’s next Swedish feature drama “Sisters,” from first-time fiction helmer Mika Gustafson.Ruben Öslund’s former alumna at Göteborg’s Valand Academy, Gustafson had her international break with the short film “Mephobia,” followed by the doc-biopic “Silvana,” about rapper and feminist icon Silvana Imam. Due to start lensing in June, “Sisters” is penned by Gustafson with actor-screenwriter Alexander Öhrstrand, seen in “The Bridge” and “The Hunt for a Killer.”The coming of age story follows siblings Laura (16), Mira (12) and Steffi (7), fending for themselves in a Swedish working-class suburban housing estate, as their mother vanishes for lengthy periods.

The UK government has forged a £21M ($28M) Global Screen Fund to help build the nation’s reputation for independent film internationally.

NRK since 2013, will be joining Banijay Nordic’s scripted label Rubicon as its Chief Executive Officer.  Announced by Banijay Nordic on Monday, the appointment marks big news for Scandinavia’s TV sector as it prepares to gather tomorrow at Sweden’s Göteborg Festival for its annual TV Drama Vision confab.Under Kohn’s leadership, NRK emerged from the shadow of Denmarks’s DR (“The Killing,” “The Bridge,” “Borgen”) by producing a string of international hits such as, just recently, International Emmy winner “Atlantic Crossing,” Canneseries 2018 laureate “State of Happiness” and “22 July,” which won a Nordisk Film and TV Fond Prize in 2020.  Most recently for NRK, Izer Aliu’s “Countrymen,” a Rubicon production, picked up a Canneseries award last October for its ensemble cast, plus a nomination for this week’s Nordisk Film and TV Fond Prize. An institution in Norway, Køhn spent six years before joining NRK as the Norwegian Film Institute’s head of development and production.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentVice Distribution, the media brand’s commercial arm, has secured a new content partnership with leading Nordic streamer Viaplay. Under the pact, Viaplay will feature 210 hours of Vice programming on its service in the Nordic and Baltic regions, with titles spanning true crime, investigative documentary, entertainment, sport and lifestyle.The partnership with Viaplay — which covers Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — follows a string of similar deals recently signed by Vice Distribution with key platforms such as Pluto TV, Roku, Globo Brazil, and Discovery U.S.

The Guardian, Whishaw said he “[understood] the questions” surrounding straight actors playing gay characters, adding that “discussion” and “listening to each other” about the issues was important rather than disagreement.“I think Eddie did a beautiful job,” he said of Eddie Redmayne’s performance in The Danish Girl as trans pioneer Lili Elbe. Whishaw had a supporting role in the film.He continued: “And it’s done. Going forward, there will be other films in which the role is given to someone who lived that experience.

A woman has tragically been killed by a fallen tree in Aberdeen amid gale-force winds during Storm Malik.