Norwegian director Håkon Gundersen has started principal photography for World War 2 thriller Deceit (Svik) in Budapest, Hungary.

The $3m (NOK 20m) thriller, starring Aqua singer Lene Nystrøm and Götz Otto, will be released in Norway on October 9 by SF Norge.

It is Gundersen’s directorial debut and he also wrote the script, which is set in the summer of 1943. He is mostly known for his work as a producer in Norway and the US,

Deceit focuses on a singer, Eva Karlsen (Nystrøm), whose acquaintances include Norwegian freedom fighters, German police, and black-marketeers who are all frequenting Oslo’s Havana Club. The story takes place during three days before the sabotage bombing of the Herøya aluminium factory.

Produced by Gundersen for his own Alphaville Productions, the film is co-produced by Norwegian distributor SF Norge, a subsidiary of Swedish major, Svensk Filmindustri. Under chief executive, Guttorm Petterson, the local arm has set up a production department to participate in three-four features annually, most recently the second package of Varg Veum thrillers for cinema and television.