The Nordisk Film & TV Fond has finally announced the recipients of its latest round of funding. On this occasion, the Oslo-based body awarded a total of 7 million Norwegian crowns (ca. €676,000) to five new productions.

The recipient of the grant of the biggest magnitude (2.5 million Norwegian crowns/ca. €241,500) is Tova Magnusson’s 6x45 TV series Missing People, produced by Patrick Ryborn for Sweden’s Unlimited Stories and commissioned by SVT. The story is set on a hot summer day, during which Erwin drives over the Öresund Bridge into Sweden, with eight smuggled Syrian refugees in his truck. Among them is a pregnant woman called Mouna and a young feverish boy, who cannot cope with the stuffy air in the tank. Erwin hides them in the back of his cabin, when he sees a police road check in front of him. The key cast of the series, set to premiere next year and sold worldwide by REinvent International Sales, includes Ville Virtanen, Sandra Stojiljkovic and Peter Viitanen. It is being co-produced by Film i Väst, with co-financing from NRK, DR, C More/MTV3, RÚV and the Benelux’s Lumiere Group. 

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The second series backed by the fund is Mikko Kuparinen’s Enemy of the People (1 million Norwegian crowns/ca. €96,600), staged by Finland’s Fire Monkey Productions. Commissioned by C More/MTV3, the story focuses on a news reporter called Katja, who incurs the wrath of her readers by writing a critical article about the hometown hero, a football star who appears to be mixed up in dubious business schemes. When the athlete is found dead in the swimming pool at his Mediterranean villa, Katja investigates the case.

The last awarded series is Anna Blom’s 12x12 Vesta-Linnéa (500,000 Norwegian crowns/ca. €48,300), commissioned by Svenska YLE and based on Tove Appelgren’s books published in 11 languages. The show, produced by Finnish outfit Långfilm Productions, deals with the universal themes of friendship, love, grief, envy and stress through the eyes of an 8-year old girl.

Moreover, two new features are in receipt of the agency’s bursaries. The first film is J-P Valkeapää’s crime comedy Hit Big [+lire aussi :
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interview : J-P Valkeapää
fiche film] (1.5 million Norwegian crowns/ca. €145,000), staged by Finland’s Komeetta Film. Currently in pre-production, the new feature is co-produced with Estonia’s Stellar Film and Spanish service producer Orange Valley Canarias, and co-financed by YLE. It also received support from the Finnish Film Foundation, the Estonian Film Institute and the tax rebate schemes offered by Spain and Estonia. 

The second film is Mårten Klingberg’s Second Act, awarded with a grant of 1.5 million Norwegian crowns (ca. € 145,000). Starring in key roles are actors Lena Olin, Rolf Lassgård, Lars Väringer, Görel Crona and Charlie Gustafsso. The project is co-financed by SVT, Film i Väst and received support from the Swedish Film Institute. It will be distributed domestically by Nordisk Film Distribution.

Finally, the body allocated 565,000 Norwegian crowns (ca. €54,600) in distribution grants and 100,000 Norwegian crowns (ca. €9,700) to back the Helsinki International Film Festival-Love & Anarchy’s Nordic Flair.