EXCLUSIVE: The Five Nordics has selected 10 feature film projects for the inaugural Spotlight on the Nordics, a works-in-progress showcase taking place during this month’s European Film Market (EFM, February 12-18).
Spotlight on the Nordics will take place on Thursday, February 12 at the Cinemobile behind the EFM’s main Martin Gropius Bau venue, by invitation.
Scroll down for the full list of projects
Each project will have a filmed introduction from its directors to industry guests, with a networking drinks held after the session.
The projects include Woman, Unknown, the new feature from Danish filmmaker May el-Toukhy. Set in post-Second World War Denmark over the course of three days, the film sees a young woman attempt to escape her carefully suppressed secret to embark on a new life.
el-Toukhy wrote the script with her Queen Of Hearts co-writer Maren Louise Kaehne; with Mikael Christian Rieks producing for Nordisk Film Production, and the title currently in production.
Also selected is Norwegian animation ViQueens, directed by Harald Zwart and with a voice cast including Rita Ora, Ella Purnell and Celebrity Traitors winner Alan Carr.
Currently in production, the film is produced by Veslemoey Zwart of Norway’s Zwart Arbeid, and follows a Viking adventure across oceans and empires, as two fearless girls defy tradition to return a stowaway boy to China.
Launched for the first time this year, the EFM’s Spotlight On programme aims to connect projects in development, production or post-production with key industry professionals.
The five film institutes of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden rebranded their umbrella organisation as The Five Nordics in 2024 (previously Scandinavian Films).
The Five Nordics EFM 2026 showcase
Synopses provided by The Five Nordics
Woman, Unknown (Den) dir. May el-Toukhy
Hoping to secure her future through marriage, a young housemaid finds her new social status jeopardized as a suppressed secret from her past emerges
Girl Beast (Den) dir. Selma Sunniva
Sara is a girl beast, an object of desire and a being of desire. Girl Beast is a psychological drama with heightened reality. A tale of power, loss, liberation and self-destruction.
Just A Kid (Ice) dir. Vala Omarsdottir
16-year-old Julia is loaded with responsibilities, caring for her eight year old sister while her mother works double shifts. She still longs for social life, friends and intimacy and finds herself at crossroads as opportunities present themselves.
Polyorama (Ice) dir. Graeme Maley
Aging Icelandic star of stage and screen premieres her new show tonight, and is confronted by a foreign journalist whose presence turns a routine premier into a backstage of regret and recrimination.
Blue Baby (Fin) dir. Klaus Haro
A drama about two women, motherhood and a fragile new life in the middle of a care crisis and nurses’ strike.
Halima (Fin) dir. Naima Mohamud
Halima is a 10-year-old Somali girl living in Finland in 1998. She loves dancing, pop music and Leonardo DiCaprio. Halima’s family is moving constantly because of her mum’s job and this makes her retreat into dreams of fame instead of friendships. In a yet another new town, everything changes: for the first time, Halima makes real friends. Through warm and funny mishaps, she discovers friendship, belonging and resilience.
Fighter (Nor) dir. Irasj Asanti
When Sara finally fulfils her dream to fight in her first MMA match, it collides with her arranged marriage, falling in love with a girl and an unwanted pregnancy. She has to make a choice that can ruin everything.
ViQueens (Nor) dir. Harald Zwart
An epic Viking adventure across oceans and empires, where friendship, action and humor collide on a journey that challenges old legends and proves that courage and choosing your own way can change the course of history.
Bloody Men (Swe) dir. Jens Sjogren
A coming-of-age story full of darkness and humor about the love for an incapable mother, about a bunch of damn men, and about not becoming one yourself.
Saturn Return (Swe) dir. Agnes Skonare
Three sisters, a mother, and a blood moon collide in a chamber drama / dark comedy about transitions – between ages, roles, and desires.
No comments yet