After 14 shorts and several awards, Swedish director Jens Jonsson has started principal photography for his first feature, King of Ping-Pong, in Norbotten,
northern Sweden.

Scripted by Jonsson with Hans Gunnarsson, the story is about the relationship
between an obese table tennis champion and his younger brother. Jan Blomgren is producing for Sweden's Bob Film with regional film centre Filmpool Nord, Denmark's Nordisk Film Production and Germany's Razor Film.

Already backed by $382,000 (Euros 280,000) Eurimages funding, King of
Ping-Pong received further $1m (Euros 765,000) from the Swedish
Film Institute, which has allocated $6m (Euros 4.5 million) for a
package of seven features, three documentaries and 21 shorts.

Another $1m went to Tomas Alfredson's Let the Right Person
Enter, a horror movie penned by John Ajvide Lindqvist from his own
novel, also produced up north by John Nordling and Carl Molinder for
Sweden's EFTI, Filmpool Nord and Sandrew Metronome Sweden.

Set in Blackeberg, suburban Stockholm, the film takes place in 1981, as
a 10-year-old boy is found killed with his throat cu. Bullied at school, 12-year-old Oskar is fascinated by the brutal murder and also by a young girl, who turns out to be a vampire.

The film institute also chipped in $1.2m (Euros 874,000) for
Metropia, an animated thriller for adults, which Tarik Saleh (Gitmo-New
Rules of War) directs from an original screenplay by Stig Larsson.
Kristina Aberg produces for Sweden's Atmo, Denmark's Zentropa
Entertainments and Norway's Tordenfilm.

That film is about a man living in the frightening future who learns his life is controlled by a conspiracy. Sandrew Metronome Sweden has scheduled domestic
release for May 2009.

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