Gothenburg Film Market’s popular Works In Progress presentations included previews of films including Ruben Ostlund’s much-anticipated Turist [pictured] and Danish werewolf story When Animals Dream.

Turist (Sweden)
dir Ruben Ostlund, dir; Erik Hemmendorff and Marie Kjellson, prods
A family is caught in an avalanche at a ski resort, and their dynamic changes when the father doesn’t live up to his traditional protector role. “I have spent a lot of time in ski resorts around the world, and since I’ve been to film school, I’d been looking for something to get me back into the Alps.” Sales agent Philip Bober of Coproduction Office added: “It’s treated in a non-Hollywood way, it’s a close to life way. People who see the film will have a lot to discuss afterwards, it’ll have great word of mouth.”
Contact: Coproduction Office, info@coproductionoffice.eu

Itsi Bitsi (Denmark)
dir Ole Christian Madsen, prod Lars Bredo Rahbek
In 1962, a peace activist/beatnik writer Eik Skaloe meets Iben love of his life. Madsen says: “25 years ago I did a small documentary about a Danish rock band called Steppenwolf (not that Steppenwolf). While shooting it I realised this was a huge love story, one of the biggest love stories from the 60s from Denmark, or from Scandinavia. The documentary was about more than a band, it was about a man and a woman. And I’ve wanted to make it into a feature.” It is set in 27 countries. The film is ready for June and will be launched locally on Jan 15, 2015.
Contact: The Match Factory, info@matchfactory.de

Beatles (Norway)
dir Peter Flinth, prod Jorgen Storm Rosenberg
Four teenage boys in Oslo start their own band, The Snafus, in the midst of Beatlemania. The project has the rights to use the Beatles’ original music. Rosenberg said: “The book is one of the most important and successful books in modern history [in Norway]. All these boys think about is music, and the Beatles. It’s a coming of age story, it’s about growing up and finding your way in life.” The film will be ready for early May and it will open in Norway on August 29.
Contact: Jorgen Storm Rosenberg, jorgen@stormrosenberg.no

Out of Nature (Norway)
dir Ole Giaver, prod Oistein Refseth, Maria Ekerhovd
A family man in his 30s reconsiders his life when he takes a solo hiking trip. Giaver says: “I’ve noticed my mind is changed with my environment…when I’m in nature, my mind and thoughts run more freely and I have much richer inner life…I wanted to put that character in that environment.” The film will be delivered in April and the project is looking for a sales company.
Contact: Maria Ekerhord, maria@merfilm.no

The Modern Project (Sweden)
Wr/dir Anton Kallrot; prod Camilla Malmberg
Two psychology students conduct an experiment by bringing together young people at an isolated country house. “It’s a drama comedy about young people trying to find the meaning of life,” Kallort says. The film needs finishing funds to finish post for a summer delivery.
Contact: Camilla Malmber, Camilla@filmbruk.se

The Idealist (Denmark)
dir Christina Rosendahl, prod Jonas Frederiksen
Based on the true story of plane carrying nuclear weapons that crashed in 1968 in Greenland; 20 years later an ambitious journalist tries to uncover the scandal of the workers from the crash site who suffer side effects. “It’s in the vein of All the President’s Men or Erin Brockovich,” Rosendahl says. It will be delivered in mid-September.
Contact: LevelK, alex@levelk.dk

Borning (Norway)
Dir Hallvard Braein, prod Johm M Jacobsen
A car racing comedy film in the vein of Cannonball Run, about a 2200-km street race. Also the story of a father reconnecting with his daughter. Troll Hunter cinematographer Braein, who directs, describes it as “a car movie with Norwegian flavour…we want it to be just as entertaining for the kids and the parents and the grandparents.” It also has a strong father-daughter story – “the story of the race is also about will they find reconciliation or not,” he adds. It will be released in cinemas in Norway on Aug 13.
Contact: Svensk, international@sf.se

Dirk Ohm – The Illusionist (Norway)
dir Bobbie Peers, prod Maria Ekerhovd
An illusionist arrives in a small town where a young woman has disappeared. He joins in the search for her and starts to fall in love with the missing woman. The story, partly in the English language, is based on real events from 2003.Svensk will release in Norway in the autumn
Contact: Films Distribution, info@filmsdistribution.com

 

Paris of The North (Iceland)
Dir Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson, prods Thorir S Sigurjonsson, Sindri P Kjartansson
The director of Either/Way (which David Gordon Green remade as Prince Avalanche) presents this story of a man living in a remote Icelandic town has been teaching elementary school and he is confused about the next steps in his life.Sigurdsson says: “It’s a story about people, it’s a bit funny and a bit sad. It’s about the claustrophobia of a small town.” The film is editing now and will have its local launch in September.
Contact: Sindir P Kjartansson, spk@simnet.is

Summer Children (Iceland)
Dir Gudrun Ragnarsdottir, prod Anna Maria Karlsdottir
A young brother and sister are sent away to a remote children’s home for the summer, but they want to escape to reunite with their mother. Karlsdottir says: “The essence of the film is that children should be loved, they have to be loved, they need to be loved. And they are not in this place.” She adds: “We have a lot of liberties by setting it in the early ’60s, it gives us the opportunity to do it as a once upon a time story, like a fairytale.” The film is about halfway through editing and will be delivered in the autumn.
Contact: Anna Maria Karlsdottir, amk@ljosband.is

Raspberry Boat Refugee (Finland/Sweden)
Dir Leif LIndblom, prods Ilkka Matila, Patrick Ryborn
This comedy is about “a Swedish man trapped in the body of a Finn.” He meets a Swedish psychologist who hates everything Swedish and they swap identities. It is editing now for completion in early June.
Contact: Patrick Ryborn, Patrick.ryborn@eyeworks.tv

When Animals Dream (Denmark)
dir Jonas Alexander Arnby, prod Caroline Schluter Bingestam
A 17-year-old girl in a small village begins to suffer from the same illness as her mother, as she starts to turn into a werewolf.Arnby says: “It’s a coming of age horror film…We wanted to do something to combine the realism and the horror.” Lars Mikkelsen (The Killing) stars as her father. The film is now in post and will be delivered in the spring. Gaumont has cut a teaser for the project.
Contact: Gaumont, gaumont.net

Swing Game (Finland)
dir/prods Pasi Riiali, Mikko Peltonen
The filmmakers set out to make a documentary about the gaming industry but it became a documentary about them as they set up their own gaming company. Their game will be out in the summer and the film will be completed for January 2015.
Contact: Mikko Peltonen, mikko.pelyonen@filmstone.fi

Zone 261 (Sweden)
Dir Fredrik Hiller, prodThabo Malmen
The Psalm 21 director offers an action film with a zombie flavour. A submarine crashes into a city where it spreads a dangerous virus. “We wanted to use the zombie metaphor to discuss xenophobia,” he says. It will be delivered this summer.
Contact: Eyewell, info@eyewell.se

Gentlemen (Sweden)
Dir Mikael Marcimain, prods Matthias Nohrborg, Gredrik Heinig
Based on the popular novel by Klaus Ostergren, who also wrote the script — about the Gatsby-like character of Henry Morgan recounting his stories of the past to a writer in 1978. Marcimain says: “It’s quite a huge project, we are painting on a huge canvas. I first read novel when I was 15, and the city of Stockholm and the world expanded for me.” The cast is led by David Dencik, “Since the book is so appreciated, there were a lot of expectations for the Henry Morgan character. Many people of our generation can related to Henry mrogan they have been carrying him close to their hearts.” The film is editing now for completion in early June and launch at an autumn festival.
Contact: Wild Bunch, wildbunch.biz

They Have Escaped (Finland)
Dir Jukka Pekka Vakeapaa, prod Aleksi Bardy
The story follows two teenagers who escape their care home but find even more trouble on the road. Vakeapaa calls it “an arthouse drama with pretty strong thriller elements.” It will be delivered in April.
Contact: The Yellow Affair, miira@yellowaffair.com

Here Is Harold (Norway)
Dir Gunnar Vikene, prod Maria Ekerhovd
A furniture salesman’s business goes bust when Ikea opens a new superstore nearby; he decides to kidnap Ikea’s founder Ingvar Kamprad. Harold is played by Bjorn Sundquist. Kerhovd notes: “Ikea has been informed of the project since the early stages. They are not involved but they accept it and they know about it.” No sales company is attached yet. Svensk will release in Norway on Oct 31.
Contact:  Maria Ekerhovd, maria@merfilm.no

Secret Flight (Denmark)
Dir Andreas Koefoed, prod Miriam Norgaard
Revealing the story of arms dealer Peter Bleach, who was charged with dropping 4 tons of weapons over West Bengal. Fridthjof Film, whose credits include Armadillo, produces and Oscar winner John Battsek of the UK’s Passion Pictures is also on board. Riina Sporring Zachariassen of Fridthjof says “in structure the film will be a documentary thriller.” She adds that the film will appeal to “a non exclusive documentary audience.” It will be released in Denmark on June 4. The Hunt and A Hijacking’s Tobias Lindholm wrote the script.
Contact: Riina Sporring Zachariassen, riina@f-film.com or DR, drsales@dr.dk

Suburbs (Denmark)
Dir Jeppe Ronde, prods Malene Blenkov, Michel Schonnemann
The Danish director heads to Wales with this feature, set in a small Welsh town plagued by teen suicide. He has cast some locals int eh film, and has spent 6 years going to Bridgend County to research. “Early on I realized it had to be a coming of age story,” he says, about a young girl who comes to town with her father, a policeman trying to solve the mystery of the suicides. No sales company is on board yet, and the project is in the final stages of editing.
Contact:  Michel Schonnemann, Michel@blenkovschonnemann.dk

Lonelyland (Sweden)
Dir Ronnie Sandahl, Annika Hellstrom

A young Swedish woman works as a housekeeper for a Norwegian middle-class family and changes the father and daughter. “It’s a low-budget indie relationship drama with a social subtext,” says director Sandahl. “It’s about the shifting power balance between Norway and Sweden, but also between employer and employee and father and daughter.” The film will be finished later this spring.
Contact: The Yellow Affair, yellowaffair.com