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PRODUCTION Scandinavia

Eurimages backs documentary on Finnish tango and other Scandinavian titles

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According to Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki, it was Finnish sailors who brought tango to South America when they landed at Buenos Aires in the 19th century. "The Finns are only happy when they are unhappy," he explained. Now German director Vivianne Blumenschein has decided to find out whether he is right, filming three Argentine musicians researching Finnish tango in Cheek to Cheek - Argentines Discover the Finnish Tango.

Produced by Germany's Gebrueder Beetz with Finland's Illume and Sweden's Eden Film, the documentary, which includes interviews with Finnish tango masters Allan, Reijo Taipale and MA Numminen has received €90,000 from Eurimages.

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At its recent Helsinki session, the Eurimages board also chipped in €250,000 for Finnish director Petri Kotwica's Rat King, a thriller-horror film about a high-school student addicted to online games who is introduced to a scheme where he gets factual assignments. Little by little, game and reality become one.

Scripted by Iiro Küttner and Kotwica (who has the award-winning Homesick and Black Ice [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kai Nordberg
interview: Petri Kotwica
film profile
]
to his credit), Rat King - which won Screen International's Best Pitch Award at last year's Tallinn - is currently shooting for Helsinki-based Making Movies. Sandrew Metronome Finland has scheduled local release for December.

Norwegian director Sara Johnsen has received €270,000 Eurimages funding for All That Matters Is Past, from her own original screenplay about the fatal reunion of two former lovers, which will be produced by Turid Øversveen, for 4½ Fiksjon.

In the film Janne runs into William - her childhood sweetheart - and leaves her boyfriend to spend the summer with him. A couple of months later, a canoeist finds her in the middle of the forest; she is barely alive and two dead men lie next to her.

Johnsen's first feature, Kissed by Winter [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
(2005) won her two Amandas - Norway's national film prize - and her second, Upperdog [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
(2009), scooped five. All That Matters Is Past will be domestically released by Scanbox Norway in August 2012.

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