New films by Moodysson, Gandini and Eklöf
Production funding in June is packed with major internationally successful names from the Swedish film world, in both fiction and documentary. Lukas Moodysson, Ellen Fiske, Erik Gandini, Isabella Eklöf and Daniel Espinosa can all be found among the 25 projects to be granted production and market funding.
Together 99 (Tillsammans 99), written and directed by Lukas Moodysson (Show Me Love), tells the story of a group of very different individuals who in 1975 lived in a commune called “Together”. Now it is 1999, 24 years later, and the collective has turned into the world's smallest. The commune consists of only two people - Göran and Klasse. Feeling a bit lonely, the idea occurs of a reunion with their old friends…
The documentary Leaving Jesus by Ellen Fiske (Tribeca competition Scheme Birds, together with Ellinor Hallin) follows a group of Christian ex-fundamentalists who gather at a retreat centre in San Francisco to free themselves from the community they were born into, and the traumas and inner demons that came with it.
Erik Gandini (Videocracy) directs After Work, a documentary about artificial intelligence and work. The majority of the jobs that exist today could vanish in a few decades. As automation and artificial intelligence exceed human capacity, we will be forced to rethink the role work plays in our lives. This film explores this future scenario. With characters and narratives across four continents, the film seeks an existential answer to what work means today, and what things could be like in the future.
Daniel Espinosa (Safe House) is back in Sweden and directs Madame Luna, written by Maurizio Braucci and Suha Arraf. An Eritrean refugee is washed ashore in Libya. After being forced to flee to Italy, she finds herself progressing quickly within the illegal networks that exploit refugees. Eventually, Luna has to choose between a good life in the Mafia or saving the young Eritrean girl Eli, who forces Luna to confront her past. The film is based on an idea by Binyam Berhane.
Kalak is directed by Isabella Eklöf (Holiday) and written by Eklöf and Kim Leine. It is a film about Jan, father and nurse, who has fled his past after being sexually abused by his father. He now tries to become part of the Greenlandic collectivism culture the only way he knows how: by fucking his way there. Based on a true story.
Among the shorter films are Visit Varberg by Simon Vahlne, who competed in Cannes with his previous short, Fight on a Swedish Beach!!. American photographer Nick finds himself in Varberg to take pictures for its tourist campaign. He instantly falls in love with the town, it’s beautiful and very photogenic. But what are these ‘ragger-cars’ the ad agency wants him to delete?
Features
After Work. Photo: Fredrik Wenzel
After Work
Director Erik Gandini
Screenplay Erik Gandini
Producers Jesper Kurlandsky, Costanza Bani
Funding recipient Fasad Production AB
Target group Adult
Film type Documentary
Technique Live action
Film commissioner Klara Grunning
Funding granted 1 700 000 SEK
Production company’s presentation The majority of the jobs that exist today could vanish in a few decades. As automation and artificial intelligence exceed human capacity, we will be forced to rethink the role work plays in our lives. This film explores this future scenario. With characters and narratives across four continents, the film seeks an existential answer to what work means today, and what things could be like in the future.
King’s Land
Director Nikolaj Arcel
Screenplay Nikolaj Arcel, Anders Thomas Jensen
Producer Lizette Jonjic
Funding recipient Zentropa Sweden AB *
Target group Adult
Film type Fiction
Genre Historic
Technique Live action
Film commissioner Hanna Lejonqvist
Funding granted 1 300 000 SEK
Production company’s presentation A gripping drama about a time when the heath of Denmark was still to be conquered. It is about raw forces of nature, big dreams and even greater sacrifices. About revenge and discipline, love and damnation. A tale of a proud and uncompromising man and the woman who becomes his allies in the fight against evil and death.
*Swedish coproducer. Main producer: Zentropa Entertainments4, Louise Vesth, Denmark
Bortbytingen (English title tba). Photo: Elin Berge
Bortbytingen (English title tba)
Director Elin Berge
Screenplay Elin Berge
Producer Fredrik Oskarsson
Funding recipient Bautafilm AB
Target group Adult
Film type Documentary
Technique Mixed
Film commissioner Cecilia Lidin
Funding granted 700 000 SEK
Production company’s presentation The Swedish author Stina Stoor had a remarkable breakthrough in 2015. She seemed to come from out of nowhere. The cultural world loved the story of the specially gifted "problem child" from the north. She was invited to TV, Radio, won fine prizes... Then there was total silence.
Ebba.
Ebba
Director Johanna Pykköö
Screenplay Johanna Pykköö, Jörgen Färöy
Producer Mimmi Spång
Funding recipient Garagefilm International AB **
Target group Adult
Film type Fiction
Genre Drama
Technique Live action
Film commissioner Helen Ahlsson
Funding granted 1 000 000 SEK
Production company’s presentation This film follows Ebba, aged 18, an outsider who admires success and wealth, and dreams about meeting the love of her life. One summer evening, she finds a man who has hit his head and lost his memory. He seems to be from Eastern Europe, and Ebba thinks he’s absolutely beautiful. On an impulse, she lies to the man. Ebba says she’s his girlfriend and that they’re hopelessly in love with each other, but as the man gets better Ebba discovers things about his past that frighten her, and she wonders how much he can actually remember.
** Swedish coproducer. Main producer: Oslo Pictures, Dyveke Björkly Graver, Norway
Glaspest. Photo: Emil Klang
Glaspest
Director Elina Sahlin
Screenplay Elina Sahlin
Producer Christian Kielberg
Funding recipient Makeriet AB
Target group Adult
Film type Fiction
Genre Drama
Technique Live action
Film commissioner Hanna Sohlberg
Funding granted 3 000 000 SEK
Production company’s presentation Fourteen-year-old Jackie lives with her mum and step-dad on a horse farm inland in northern Sweden. When her best friend falls victim to a drug-related accident, Jackie is not sure who is responsible. With the decisiveness of a teenager, she tries to find out what happened, even though it leads her into a game of life and death.
How to Save a Dead Friend.
How to Save a Dead Friend
Director Marusya Sroechkovsaya
Screenplay Marusya Sroechkovsaya
Producer Mario Adamson
Funding recipient Sisyfos Film Production AB
Target group Adult
Film type Documentary
Technique Live action
Film commissioner Anna Weitz
Funding granted 2 000 000 SEK
Production company’s presentation Like many other Russian teenagers, Marusya, aged 16, is determined to end her life. But on a grunge forum she meets her soul mate, Kimi. The two spend a decade filming their youthful euphoria and angst, joy and misery at the heart of the ‘depressing Russian federation’. The film is a cry from the heart, a tribute to a lost generation silenced by a violent, authoritarian regime.
Joyce Carol Oates: ”A Body In The Service of Mind”
Director Stig Björkman
Screenplay Stig Björkman, Dominika Daubenbüchel, Stina Gardell
Producer Stina Gardell
Funding recipient Mantaray Film AB
Target group Adult
Film type Documentary
Technique Live action
Film commissioner Juan Pablo Libossart
Funding granted 2 000 000 SEK
Production company’s presentation Following her great success with Blonde, director Stig Björkman tracked down Joyce Carol Oates. After nine years, she finally said yes to this documentary, and we get to meet the woman behind more than 100 books.
Kalak. Photo: Nadim Carlsen
Kalak
Director Isabella Eklöf
Screenplay Isabella Eklöf, Kim Leine
Producer David Herdies
Funding recipient Momento Film AB ***
Target group Adult
Film type Fiction
Genre Drama
Technique Live action
Film commissioner Madeleine Ekman
Funding granted 1 500 000 SEK
Production company’s presentation Jan, a family man and nurse, has fled his past after being sexually abused by his father. Now he tries to become a part of the Greenland collectivist culture in the only way he knows, by fucking his way in. Based on a true story.
***Swedish coproducer. Main producer: Manna Film, Maria Møller Kjeldgaard, Denmark
Leaving Jesus. Photo: Pia Lehto
Leaving Jesus
Director Ellen Fiske
Screenplay Ellen Fiske
Producer Michael Krotkiewski
Funding recipient Momento Film AB
Target group Adult
Film type Documentary
Technique Live action
Film commissioner Juan Pablo Libossart
Funding granted 2 560 000 SEK
Production company’s presentation A group of Christian ex-fundamentalists come together at a retreat center in San Francisco to free themselves from the communities they were born into and the inner demons and traumas that came with it.
Madame Luna. Photo: Juan Sarmiento G.
Madame Luna
Director Daniel Espinosa
Screenplay Maurizio Braucci, Suha Arraf
Producer David Herdiesä
Funding recipient Momento Film AB
Target group Adult
Film type Fiction
Genre Drama
Technique Live action
Film commissioner Hanna Lejonqvist
Funding granted 11 000 000 SEK
Production company’s presentation Inspired by true events, Madame Luna is a drama about an Eritrean refugee who is washed ashore in Libya and eventually is forced to flee to Italy, where she climbs within the illegal network that exploits migrants. In the end Luna has to choose between a prosperous life in the mafia or saving the young Eritrean girl Eli who forces Luna to face her past.
Sisters
Director Mika Gustafsson
Screenplay Mika Gustafsson, Alexander Öhrstrand
Funding recipient HOB AB
Film commissioner Anders Nylander
Funding granted 9 500 000 SEK
Production company’s presentation Three sisters, aged 7 to 15, live alone. Their mother vanishes for whole swathes of time, and the sisters have to get by themselves. When the social services demand a family meeting, oldest sister Laura has a week to find a stand-in for their mother. In her quest for a pretend mum, Laura starts a relationship with 35-year-old Hannah – something that changes not only Laura, but also the sisters’ situation.
Slow.
Slow
Director Marija Kavtaradze
Screenplay Marija Kavtaradze
Producer Anna-Maria Kantarius
Funding recipient Garagefilm International AB ****
Target group Adult
Film type Fiction
Genre Drama
Technique Live action
Film commissioner Hanna Lejonqvist
Funding granted 1 200 000 SEK
Production company’s presentation Elena, a contemporary dancer, and Dovydas, a sign language interpreter, navigate a new and personal description of intimacy in order to be together.
****Swedish coproducer. Main producer: M-Films (Ciobreliai), Marija Razgutė, Lithuania
Together 99 (Tillsammans 99)
Director Lukas Moodysson
Screenplay Lukas Moodysson
Producers Lars Jönsson, Anna Carlsten
Funding recipient Memfis Film AB
Target group Adult
Film type Fiction
Genre Drama
Technique Live action
Film commissioner Hanna Lejonqvist
Funding granted 10 000 000 SEK
Production company’s presentation Together 99 tells the story of a group of very different individuals who in 1975 lived in a commune called “Together”. Now it is 1999, 24 years later, and the collective has turned into the world's smallest. The commune consists of only two people - Göran and Klasse. Feeling a bit lonely, the idea occurs of a reunion with their old friends…
Untitled
Producer Patrick Ryborn
Funding recipient Unlimited Stories
Film commissioner Hanna Lejonqvist
Funding granted 9000 000 SEK
Short film
Galatea. Photo: Arvida Byström
Galatea (Den offentliga kvinnan)
Director Hampus Byström, Arvida Byström
Screenplay Arvida Byström, Hampus Byström
Producer Amelie Svenstedt
Funding recipient MADBUNNY FILM AB
Target group Adult
Film type Fiction
Genre Thriller
Technique Live action
Film commissioner Ami Ekström
Funding granted 240 000 SEK
Production company’s presentation A female, seemingly lifeless, body is found in the forest. Who was she, who has left her there, and is she really dead.
Hardened Heart. Foto: Henrik Hellström
Hardened Heart (Ett hjärta i dagens läge)
Directors Henrik Hellström, Anna Takanen
Screenplay John Ajvide Lindqvist
Producers Henrik Hellström, Anna Takanen
Funding recipient Aktiebolaget Overmars
Target group Adult
Film type Fiction
Genre Crime
Technique Live action
Film commissioner Ami Ekström
Funding granted 125 000 SEK
Production company’s presentation Lisa, 67, is interrogated after pushing a dark-skinned boy in front of a subway train, and as she is questioned a twisted world view becomes apparent.
The Film is Too White. Foto: Manne Indahl
The Film is Too White (Filmen känns för vit)
Director Sebastian Johansson Micci
Screenplay Sebastian Johansson Micci, Manne Indahl
Producers Sebastian Johansson Micci, Manne Indahl
Funding recipient Sebastian Johansson Micci
Target group Adult
Film type Fiction
Genre Comedy
Technique Live action
Film commissioner Ami Ekström
Funding granted 250 000 SEK
Production company’s presentation A final feedback meeting is held before Fläderholmen Folk High School releases its new commercial. Everyone approves, but suddenly the thought arises that it could be perceived as being too white. The discussion escalates into a debate about how this could happen, if it can be solved, and above all whose fault it is.
The Nest (Nästet)
Director George Ivanov
Screenplay George Ivanov
Producer Sofia Ferguson
Funding recipient Northen Fable AB
Target group Adult
Film type Fiction
Genre Thriller
Technique Live action
Film commissioner Ami Ekström
Funding granted 370 000 SEK
Production company’s presentation Desperate parents of a sick teenage son take to drastic methods. A twisted story of parenthood and power games. A film by George Ivanov, produced by Sofia Ferguson, starring Emelie Garbers (Aniara) and Arvin Kananian (Triangle of Sadness).
Ovias. Photo: Ann Holmgren
Ovias
Director Ann Holmgren
Screenplay Ann Holmgren
Producers Andreas Emanuelsson, Tony Österholm
Funding recipient Iris Film AB
Target group Adult
Film type Fiction
Genre Other
Technique Mixed
Film commissioner Ami Ekström
Funding granted 250 000 SEK
Production company’s presentation A young woman embarks on a journey into a dreamlike otherworld to discover that every tiny action we do in this world, has a direct resonance in a myriad of other realms.
Perro Means Dog in English: Image: Saga Krüsell
Perro Means Dog in English (Perro betyder hund på spanska)
Director Marie Strömberg
Screenplay Marie Strömberg
Producer Christopher Sanitate
Funding recipient Bright Images at Work AB
Target group Adult
Film type Fiction
Genre Drama
Technique Live action
Film commissioner Ami Ekström
Funding granted SEK 400 000
Production company’s presentation Unexpected friendships can arise in times of crisis, when rules are put out of play and the vulnerability in society is exposed. The film Perro… portrays this through the meeting between two unequal, lonely individuals who are both stuck in a lockdown during the corona pandemic.
Surprise
Director Laerke Herthoni
Screenplay Laerke Herthoni, Sissela Nelander
Producer Erik Torell
Funding recipient New Land Film AB
Target group Adult
Film type Fiction
Genre Drama
Technique Live action
Film commissioner Ami Ekström
Funding granted 330 000 SEK
Production company’s presentation The successful director and unconventional mother Ingrid decides to fly out and surprise her daughter on her 30th birthday. The trip does not turn out as planned, and both mother and daughter are confronted by the consequences of their life-choice.
The Conquest of Space. Photo: NASA
The Conquest of Space
Director Albin Biblom
Screenplay Albin Biblom
Producer Adam Marko-Nord
Funding recipient Alphaville 2.0 AB
Target group Adult
Film type Documentary
Technique Live action
Film commissioner Cecilia Lidin
Funding granted 420 000 SEK
Production company’s presentation Before Gagarin became the first man in space and before Neil Armstrong took his first steps on the moon, mankind had sent other species beforehand. Based on archival films from 1947-72, The Conquest of Space is about the animals that paved the way for human exploration of space.
Visit Varberg. Photo: Maja Karlström
Visit Varberg
Director Simon Vahlne
Screenplay Simon Vahlne
Producer Fredrik Lange
Funding recipient Vilda Bomben Film AB
Target group Adult
Film type Fiction
Genre Drama
Technique Live action
Film commissioner Ami Ekström
Funding granted 375 000 SEK
Production company’s presentation American photographer Nick finds himself in Varberg to take pictures for its tourist campaign. He instantly falls in love with the town, it’s beautiful and very photogenic. But what are these ‘ragger-cars’ the ad agency wants him to delete?
Market funding
The Final Race (Ett sista race)
Director Edward af Sillén
Screenplay Edward af Sillén, Lars Vasa Johansson, David Hellenius
Producers Tim King, Stefan H. Lindén
Funding recipient SF Studios Production AB
Target group Adult
Film type Fiction
Genre Comedy
Technique Live action
Funding granted 8 000 000 SEK
Production company’s presentation Street racing legend Dennis has lived his whole life on the wrong side of the law. But after neglecting his marriage and being absent for most of his 16-year-old daughter Hanna’s life, he’s decided to start living a quiet, responsible life. But his plans are scuppered when Dennis finds out his daughter intends to compete in a race with her new boyfriend Charlie. To stop Hanna, Dennis and his ex-wife Tove set out to bring their daughter home. This marks the beginning of a dizzying, roaring, high-speed last race across Sweden.
Untitled
Producer Patrick Ryborn
Funding recipient Unlimited Stories
Funding granted 5 000 000 SEK
Published 30 June 2022