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DODREAM & PEBBLE PRESENT
8 DIRECTORS
6 COUNTRIES
4 FILMS
ONE FEATURE
NORDIC
FACTORY
1
2014 – Denmark / Finland – 62 min – colour – 1.85 – DCP – Danish
WELCOME TO
NORDIC FACTORY
DODREAM & PEBBLE in partnership with
DIRECTORS ‘ FORTNIGHT
FINNISH FILM FOUNDATION
AND NEW DANISH SCREEN
Present
NORDIC
FACTORY
4 films, 8 directors
We are very proud to present four short
films; the results of a multitude of unique,
international collaborations. We thank
everyone who has come on board! For their
courage, their curiosity, their will and good
spirit, for their inspiration and hard work.
Film is always a team effort, Nordic Factory
is a team dream: the concept depends on
a spirit of collaboration, on fast decisionmaking, and on a will to share. Four stories – all of them diving into
meetings between people, into challenging
relationships – long or brief – forced or
sought out. The encounters all spring
from four unique directorial meetings, and
while one can definitely sense a Nordic
atmosphere, the stories all share a deep,
human emotional core that resonates from
many nationalities and regions. 2
Why this artwork then, you may ask? We
saw Iiu Susiraja’s pictures when working in
Helsinki, they touch you, they shock you. To
quote from her website: ”Ecce homo, look
at the person! Maybe Susiraja’s pictures can
entice people to look at their own reality,
to find the strength to be their own unique
selves, to ignore the vanity of the market.”
This ability to entice, to look at the person,
is one that all four films hold. It also speaks
to the core of Nordic Factory: two directors
looking at each other, looking at the world,
finding a unique way into telling a story of
their reality, together.
SUNDAYS
by Kræsten Kusk/Denmark
and Natalia Garagiola
/Argentina
artist blindly, as everyone has trusted this project,
yet with our eyes open. All the results, we believe,
can speak and stand on their own.
This is the 2nd time that a Factory-project
premieres at Directors’ Fortnight. We thank
Dominique Welinski, Christophe Leparc and
Edouard Waintrop for inviting us to become part
of this great, intense, collaborative initiative.
The films now begin a new journey – they are
ready to travel the world. Greet them well! LISTEN
by Hamy Ramezan/Finland
and Rungano Nyoni/Zambia
VOID
by Milad Alami/Denmark
and Aygul Bakanova
/Kyrgyzstan
Valeria Richter & Helene Granqvist
Nordic Factory Producers
THE GIRL
AND THE DOGS
by Selma Vilhunen/Finland
and Guillaume Mainguet/
France
The Factory idea creates a space where it’s
only about film, about story, about working
together – the market, and its vanities, were
ignored, at least for a while. We trusted the
MAINSTREAM
3
The core producer team has many people to thank for keeping Nordic Factory’s tight
development and production schedule: kick off December 1st 2013 and premiere
May 15th 2014. A special thanks to our production office, Uitch Iscratch and our
dedicated production managers, assistants and extended team!
4
HELENE
GRANQVIST
DoDream / Sweden
Producer
VALERIA
RICHTER
Pebble / Denmark
Producer
DOMINIQUE
WELINSKI
DW / France
Associate producer
Helene is one of the
2 main producers of
Nordic Factory. She
graduated from The
Royal Theatre School
in Cph. 1988 and spent
a decade working as a
set designer for film,
theatre/TV. Helene is
innovative as a person
and talented as a
networker. She’s produced features, shorts
and documentaries
and been the main
producer for prize winning transmedia
project Granny’s Dancing on the Table.
In 2011 she started her
company DoDream.
Valeria is one of the
2 main producers of
Nordic Factory. She
is Head of Studies at
TorinoFilmLab since
2008, tutor/coordinator for the POWRworkshop at the Baltic
Event/Tallinn and she
teaches film adaptation at the Univ. of
Cph. since 2013. She
works internationally
as a script consultant,
development producer, tutor/lecturer, and
creates new workshop
formats. She has an
MA in Film & Media
and is a member of
EFA since 2009.
In 2012, after more
than 20 years in distribution, she set up
the Factory concept,
in partnership with
Cannes’ Directors’
Fortnight, which started in Taipei in 2013,
and will travel around
the world over the
coming years. She’s
developing Oblivion Verses by Alireza
Khatami at House on
Fire production, and
Burning Birds by Sanjeewa Pushkakumara
with Neon Production.
NYNNE
SELIN EIDNES
First Lady Film / Denmark
Producer for the shoot &
post-production
Nynne entered the
Danish film industry
in 1995, working in
PR. She moved on
to work as an AD,
and has worked in all
fields of production:
editor, post producer
and technical director
before moving on to
producing. She is one
of the founders of
the independent film
school Super16. In 2012
she started First Lady
Film that focuses on
fantastic films for a
young audience. She
is a member of EDN
and an EAVE 2011
graduate.
EDOUARD WAINTROP
Artistic Director, Directors’ Fortnight
“The filmmaker, like any artist, is known as a lonely person. So why not try
to break this solitude and make him work with at least one other director?
Together with the Factory team and with the support of the Finnish Film
Foundation and New Danish Screen, we had the idea to make four young
filmmakers collaborate, work in tandem. Thus, two Danish and two Finnish
began to imagine films with four other young directors, coming from all
over the world, one Argentinian, one Kyrgyz, one Zambian and one French.
Their specific goal? Create four short films that will be presented for the
opening of the Fortnight on May 15. In Copenhagen, where the Nordic
Factory was shot, there have been four mixed doubles. These young artists
have been able to compare their way to film the world, their methods; and
they have been able not only to achieve a film, but also to confirm that they
are not alone in the world.”
Foto: FestivalKino/MiguelBueno
NORDIC FACTORY
PRODUCER TEAM
Nordic Factory is a Residency, Workshop and Film Production Concept that stimulates cultural and
cinematic meetings between young film directors, while giving them an international platform to
present their first feature project.
MARIE SCHMIDT OLESEN
JOONA LOUHIVUORI
“Nordic Factory is a conceptual approach to producing short films on a collective basis. Ideally, it is
a substantial opportunity for the talents involved
to get creatively as well as artistically challenged
by their peers at what they all know best – film.
It is the precision required by the short format,
which makes it a formidable place to cultivate
and innovate the language of film, and we got involved to see how far mutual inspiration can take
a team and an idea. Can what young talents learn
from one another and their respective film traditions now, pave the way for stronger visions and
immersive filmic languages of the future? For
stories to be told in evermore resonating ways?
Or will the talents and films emerging from Nordic
Factory succeed on far less pretentious terms?
That is one of many hopes.”
“This collaboration between Finland and Denmark
offers a unique opportunity for two talented Finnish directors to create something extraordinary
within a workshop for promising international
young film makers. The fact that the films are
going to premiere in the most prestigious environment, Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes, makes the
project exceptionally interesting. The Finnish
talents are Selma Vilhunen, a recent Oscar nominee, and Hamy Ramezan, whose latest work takes
Finnish short films to the next level. The Finnish
Film Foundation sees the Nordic Factory as an important stepping-stone for both of our talents on
their way to the global film market. We are always
happy to collaborate with the Danes, whose film
culture has long been an inspiration for us. Like
Finland, Denmark is a small language area still
being able to communicate with the rest of the
world with its relevant cinematic content.”
Commissioning editor, New Danish Screen
Commissioning editor, The Finnish Film Foundation
5
“Nordic Factory has been a great experience. It has been really inspiring to get so close to
seven directors from very different cultural backgrounds and listen to all their stories about
how they make films in their own countries. And I can only say the same about directing a film
together with Natalia. It has been fantastic and I am ready to do another one.”
Kræsten Kusk
SUNDAYS
CAST
Anne Signe Egholm Olsen
Theodor Stig Hoffmeyer
Daniel Mads Riisom
Cigarette guy Behrouz Bigdeli
TEAM
a film by Kræsten Kusk/Denmark and
Natalia Garagiola/Argentina
Like every Sunday, Anne picks up her father Theodor at the nursing home. They seem
to have their weekly ritual, but this Sunday will not turn out like all the many others.
2014 – Denmark / Finland / France – 15min – color – 1.85 – DCP
Production managers
Christian Thomsen & Christina Jæger
DOP Adam Morris Philp DFF
DOP assistant Thue Garde Finnich
Editor Morten Højbjerg
Sound design Kristoffer Salting
Sound recordist Jens De Place Bjørn
Composer Sune Martin
Production design Casper Nilsson
Colorist Carsten Dahl
“On a personal level, Nordic Factory was a space where I
was truly able to explore different processes, on the creative as well as on the production side. I was lucky to share
this road with both talented and inspiring directors and
colleagues. Moreover, it was a true satisfaction to work
alongside Kræsten Kusk, the co-director of our film, to whom
I’ll be eternally thankful for his generosity. A big thanks and
congratulations to the production team, who made us feel
at home every day and steered the whole project in the best
direction.”
Natalia Garagiola
2014 - DK / FI - 13 min - colour - 1.85
DCP - Danish - EN / FR subt.
6
7
“There is your comfort zone and then there is where
the magic happens. Guess where I am now.”
Hamy Ramezan
CAST
Son Yusuf Kamal El-Ali
Mother Zeinab Rahal
Translator Amira Helene Larsen
Police woman Nanna Bøttcher
Police man Alexandre Willaume
LISTEN
TEAM
Production managers
Christian Thomsen
& Kamilla Hancke Rosado
DOP Lars Vestergaard
DOP assistant Mads Junker
Editor Rikke Selin Lorentzen
Sound design Thomas Jæger
Sound recordist
Hamid “Bongo” Alamizadeh
Composer
Kristian Selin Eidnes Andersen
Production design Jakob Stig Olsson
Colorist Theis Clausen
a film by Hamy Ramezan/Finland
and Rungano Nyoni/Zambia
Copenhagen. A police station. A woman, wearing a burqa, is there with her
young son to ask for help. Yet, it seems the translator is not willing to report
what she is telling.
“Our experience here has been intense to say the least. Being
part of Nordic Factory has given me the confidence to explore,
question, challenge, in ways I hadn’t before and it’s made me
become a far, far better filmmaker for it...really. The solidarity
we built among all of the Directors and our Producers in this
process is something I will always, always treasure.” Natotela!
(thank you!)
Rungano Nyoni 2014 - DK / FI - 12 min - colour - 1.85
DCP - Danish - EN / FR subt.
8
9
VOID
a film by Milad Alami/Denmark) and
Aygul Bakanova/Kyrgyzstan)
Night trip. The ferry to Bornholm. Over a beer, Daniel starts a conversation with
Amir, a handsome looking guy. But Daniel is not just after small talk, he is searching
for something from Amir, something… personal.
“Nordic Factory gave me a unique chance to write and direct a story that
takes place in an unknown country to me. I started to explore Denmark and its
people through the characters of our film. Just like them, I took the ferry trip to
Bornholm, in search for something, past or future.”
“Nordic Factory was an intense experience where I had
the opportunity to meet and work with inspiring people
from all over the world. I felt I had complete artistic
freedom and great support from both my co-directors
and the talented people in charge.”
Milad Alami CAST
Daniel Lars Mikkelsen
Amir Dar Salim
TEAM
Production manager
Christian Thomsen
Casting Gro Therp / ARTCAST
DOP Jakob Wiessner
DOP assistant Mads Junker
Steadicam Jonas Torp
Editor Henrik Vincent Thiesen
Sound design Kristoffer Salting
Sound recordist Mikkel Holsøe
Composer Patrick Jonsson
Production design Joshua Beckford
Colorist Olesya Kireeva
2014 - DK / FI - 15 min - colour - 1.85
DCP - Danish - EN / FR subt.
Aygul Bakanova
10
11
“In Nordic Factory I have had the privilege of getting to know seven colleagues from around
the world and to share the same experience and to learn with them. It is not so often that
directors gather and talk about directing and directing alone. During these past few weeks
we have discovered that we share the same kinds of perceptions and ideas, same dreams and
challenges. Never before have I been so happy about other directors’ successes in their work as
during this workshop. The language of the cinema is very much alive and it is indeed universal.”
Selma Vilhunen
THE GIRL
AND THE DOGS
CAST
Mette Fillippa Coster-Waldau
Lina Caroline Stein Frandsen
Anna-Sophie Lea Monrad Post
TEAM
by Selma Vilhunen/Finland) and
Guillaume Mainguet/France)
Mette, Lina and Anna Sophie, three teenagers, are on their way to a party. A strange
discovery on a local beach changes their friendship – for a moment or forever.
2014 – Denmark / Finland / France – 15min – color – 1.85 – DCP
Production managers
Christian Thomsen
Emilie Marie Falk Hansen
& Stine Charles
Casting Kamilla Hancke Rosado
& Naja Jensen
DOP Niels Thastum
DOP assistant Mads Hoppe
Editor Andreas B. Monies
Sound design Thomas Jæger
Composer Ana Igluka
& Erwan Foucault
Production design Helene Granqvist
Dogs Dekormakarna
& Wonderland Prod.
Colorist Theis Clausen
“Directors occupy a unique position from which they create a
personal “world” as well as the required means to accomplish
it. Nordic Factory imposed the eight directors one part of their
“world” to be created and the means to be used. What did they
have to do then? Investing this unique time and space to develop
their own creativity and skills in filmmaking. Isn’t it a luxury? I
liked getting to know more through foreign ways of working,
dealing artfully with limitations, overcoming the uncommon
intensity of this process of filmmaking, achieving personal goals
and first of all codirecting in a permanent joy with Selma. For me,
Nordic Factory is one undeniable professional working stage.”
Guillaume Mainguet
2014 - DK / FI - 14 min - colour - 1.85
DCP - Danish - EN / FR subt.
12
13
IN DEVELOPMENT
FEATURE FILM PROJECTS
THE MOTEL OF A
THOUSAND ROSES
HOMECOMING
a film by Kræsten Kusk
a film by Hamy Ramezan
For some, a refugee camp is paradise on earth.
HAMY
RAMEZAN
(Finland),
Hamy Ramezan is a FinnishIranian film director and
scriptwriter. He studied film in
England, graduating in 2007.
His short film Over the Fence,
2009, was a worldwide festival
hit and was screened at more
than 40 international film
festivals, earning many awards,
incl. Best Live Action Short at
Toronto Worldwide Short Film
Festival and Special Mention
at Clermont-Ferrand Short
Film Festival. Recently, Keys
of Heaven won 4 prizes at the
Tampere Film Festival 2014.
SYNOPSIS: Suren (14) has been saved. He leaves behind a ruthless war and
looks forward to a promising future. His family has found paradise on earth in
a refugee camp in Yugoslavia. His parents are euphoric, while the repetitive,
compulsive games of the camp’s children soon turn savage. The Motel of a
Thousand Roses is a fearless coming of age story about separation, loss and
the never-ending journey of the refugee.
INTENTION: I spent a couple of years of my youth in a Yugoslavian refugee
camp in the late 80s. The run down Motel of a Thousand Roses had been
transformed into a residence for hundreds of people fleeing war. Despite the
many mental ordeals and near-death experiences, I consider these the finest
and most beautiful days of my life. With this film I want to represent human
behaviour in extreme conditions and explore how someone can find joy and
happiness in such an environment, especially from a child’s point of view.
CONTACT: Producer Jussi Rantamäki / Aamu Filmcompany Ltd.
M +358 40 73 55 977 E [email protected].
Director Hamy Ramezan E [email protected]
90 min/35mm/DCP/shooting summer 2016/premiere 2017/budget € 1.6M
How do you get back to your family, village and life after
killing a teenage boy in a drunk driving accident?
SYNOPSIS: Martin is released from prison. Two years earlier he ran down two
teenage boys in a car accident. One died, one was paralyzed from the belly
down. Martin was influenced by alcohol. Returning home, his wife and two
teenage sons are waiting. Everything has changed. His wife wants him to act
in a special way, to feel guilty. His sons are bullied and the small community
has not forgiven him. Especially the parents of the dead boy are extremely
angry. Martin’s life is falling apart. Everybody tells him that everything he
does is wrong, and his fight to get his life back has just begun.
INTENTION: 8 months ago, not far from the small community where I was
born and raised, a father of 3 went to a party, had fun, got drunk and decided
to sleep in his car. The next morning he felt sober, but on the way home he
got involved in an accident and hit 2 teenage girls. One was seriously hurt
and later pronounced dead. He had still been over the legal limit to drive and
was sentenced to jail. My first thought was: how will he ever get his life back?
And this is what I want to make a film about.
CONTACT: Producer Jesper Morthorst / SF Film Production
T +45 27 15 17 21 E [email protected]
Director Kræsten Kusk E [email protected]
90 min/HD/writing 2014/shooting spring-summer 2015
(Denmark),
Born 1976, Denmark. He has a
Master of Arts in Film Studies
& Art from the Univ. of Cph.,
2005, and graduated from the
independent film school Super
16, 2008. During the last 10
years he has directed over 15
short films that have participated in festivals like Rencontres
Int. (FR), Odense Int. FF (DK),
Roshd Int. FF (IRA), Circuito
Off Venice Int. Short FF (IT),
Going Underground (DE) and
many more. Selected films are
Where the Light Gets in (2013),
Black Man (2008) & Next
to the Road (2004).
THE INHERITOR (working title)
a film by Guillaume Mainguet
STUPID YOUNG HEART
directed by Selma Vilhunen / written by Kirsikka Saari
SELMA
VILHUNEN
14
(Finland),
Finnish director/screenwriter
of both fiction and documentary films. Her latest works
as a director incl. feature
documentary Song, which
premiered in theatres in Finland, April 2014; International
premiere is at Visions du Réel;
Oscar-nom. short Do I Have
to Take Care of Everything?,
and the TV-drama Pietà. She
is co-owner of the Helsinkibased production company,
Tuffi Films.
THE CHARMER
a film by Milad Alami
I’ll stand by you whatever you decide. But is an abortion
totally out of the question?
A young Iranian gigolo living in Denmark falls in love with
his client’s daughter and is forced to confront his own
identity and past.
SYNOPSIS: A lightly built, carefree, Lenni (15), raised by a single mom is
confronted by the pressures of adult life when his girlfriend informs him that
she is pregnant. Set in an urban neighbourhood in Helsinki during the winter,
Lenni starts looking for father figures to learn from as he discovers that
responsibility and parenthood do not always go hand in hand.
INTENTION: This story paints a picture of today’s suburban life in Helsinki,
where social problems are often inherited from one generation to the next.
Frustration is smouldering in young men’s hearts when they lack expectations for their futures. Conflicts arise between different groups of people,
often for no real reason. Through Lenni and Kiira we want to portray all this,
and what’s more, in a moving, uplifting, often very funny way, the story
reveals hope and beauty in each of its characters – pregnant with everything
young, and stupid.
SYNOPSIS: Ibrahim is a young Iranian man living in Denmark. He makes his
living as a gigolo and spends time with women for money. When Ibrahim
starts to fall for one woman’s daughter, another woman’s husband sets out
for revenge when he finds out that his late wife was Ibrahim’s former client.
As Ibrahim falls deeper in love, his façade as ‘the Charmer’ begins to crack. He
is forced to confront himself, his past and his choices in order to grab hold of
his unpredictable future.
INTENTION: The main character in The Charmer is based on my own experiences with identity issues. I was born in Iran and grew up in Sweden. For
many years I suppressed my Iranian background and distanced myself from
my parents’ culture. This gradually disconnected me from my own roots; I
never became a Swede, but I lost out on being an Iranian. This feeling of having your identity torn apart is something I want to explore in a dramatic story.
CONTACT: Producer Elli Toivoniemi / Tuffi Films Ltd. www.tuffifilms.com
T + 358 401 721 778 E [email protected]
Director Selma Vilhunen E [email protected]
CONTACT: Producer Stinna Lassen / Windelov / Lassen
T +45 2991 1584 E [email protected]
Director Milad Alami T +45 2054 0896 E [email protected]
80 min/HD/scriptwriting - grant by Finnish Film Found. & selected
for Equinoxe workshop 2013
90 min/HD/shooting late 2014
MILAD ALAMI
(Denmark),
Born in Iran, 1982, Milad grew
up in Sweden and now lives
in Denmark. He graduated
from The National Film School
of Denmark in 2011. His films
have been selected to among
others, Directors’ Fortnight,
New York FF, Clermont Ferrand Short FF and Karlovy
Vary Int. FF. His graduation
film, Nothing Can Touch Me
was selected to over 40
international film festivals
and won 10 awards. His latest
short, Mini, just premiered in
Denmark.
15
IN DEVELOPMENT
FEATURE FILM PROJECTS
I AM NOT A WITCH
a film by Rungano Nyoni
RUNGANO
NYONI
(Zambia),
Rungano Nyoni’s films have
screened at more than 200
film festivals worldwide. In
2012, her most recent short,
Mwansa The Great, was
nominated for an African
Academy Award and a
BAFTA. With her partner, she
wrote and he directed The
Mass of Men that premiered
at Locarno Film Festival,
it garnered more than 60
prizes and was shown at
100 film festivals. In 2013
she was selected for Cannes
Cinefondation Residency for
her 1st feature film, I am not
a witch.
After years in exile, a child witch must decide whether to stay
within the confines of a witch camp or return to the family that
previously condemned her.
SYNOPSIS: Set in the Northern Province of Zambia, in a makeshift witch refugee
camp, I am not a witch centers on a 9 year-old child witch, Shula. Shula has to decide whether to give up her powers to gain acceptance in her village or to remain a
witch and stay forever exiled in the camp. This is a bittersweet tale of what it means
to be an outsider and the ever-present struggle of remaining true to oneself despite
the overwhelming odds against it.
INTENTION: I am motivated by the recent stories of children being brutally
attacked, disfigured or killed for superstitious reasons, which were previously
something that was foreign in Zambia. The degree, to which human beings are able
to justify discriminating against one another, be it driven by religious or cultural or
personal reasons, continues to intrigue me. In this story I aim to explore themes of
belonging and lost identity through a child witch.
CONTACT: Producer Juliette Grandmont/Clandestine Films
www.clandestine-films.fr
T +33 1 43 58 28 66 E [email protected]
Director Rungano Nyoni E [email protected]
90 min/digital/development 2014/production 2015
16
(Kyrgyzstan),
Aygul Bakanova was born
and grew up in Kyrgyzstan.
In 2011 she received her MA
degree from the London
Film School. Her graduation
short, The Song of The Rain,
set in rural Kyrgyzstan, has
been screened at various film
festivals, including Locarno
and Clermont-Ferrand.
In 2013, she was selected
for Cannes Cinefondation
Residency and Jerusalem
Film Lab to develop her 1st
feature, Drifting Snows.
a film by Natalia Garagiola
A violent teenager reunites with his hunter father in the southern
woods, where he confronts his own ability to love and kill.
SYNOPSIS: Nahuel loses his mother abruptly while finishing high school
in Buenos Aires. He’s forced to spend the months before he turns 18 in the
custody of his father, a highly respected hunter who lives in a small village near
the mountains in the south, and whom he hasn’t seen for more than 10 years.
The deep south offers no “mother-nature” to welcome him. Instead, Nahuel
finds himself in a cruel and hostile environment, where survival of the strongest
prevails.
INTENTION: Personally immersed in the universe of hunting, several images
began to shape in my mind, beautiful, yet also terrible: what turns a man into
a hunter? What makes someone want to possess what he admires; kill what
he loves? There is a wordless exchange in hunting, uniting the hunters on a
primal, common level. The transcendence of simultaneously joining a bloodline
and entering into communion with nature makes Hunting Season a portrait
of the characters’ inner landscape and of the scenery itself. A narrative, yet
observational eye will draw the truth out of the characters with a crude, raw
tone, furtive: like a hunter stalking his prey.
CONTACT: Producer Benjamin Domenech / Rei Cine www.reicine.com.ar
T +54 11 4555 1077 E [email protected]
Director Natalia Garagiola E [email protected]
90 min/HD DCP/principal photography May 2015/budget € 500.000
DRIFTING SNOWS
AYGUL
BAKANOVA
HUNTING SEASON
NATALIA
GARAGIOLA
(Argentina),
Born in Buenos Aires, 1982,
she has written and directed
3 fiction short films: Rincón
de López (2011) released at
BAFICI; Yeguas y Cotorras
(Mares and Parakeets; 2012)
premiered at Cannes’ Critics’
Week. Her latest short, Sundays (2014), premieres at the
Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight
as part of the Nordic Factory
(see page 6). Supported by
TorinoFilmLab, TyPA and
Rotterdam Lab, Temporada
de Caza (Hunting Season)
will be her first feature film.
THE INHERITOR (working title)
a film by Aygul Bakanova
a film by Guillaume Mainguet
After falling into a passionate affair with her husband’s
teen-cousin, 38-year old Saadat, is forced to make the most
vicious decision about her life.
After 10 years of silence, Vincent (30) is called back to the
countryside village of his childhood, only to discover that his
grandfather was gay.
SYNOPSIS: 38-year old Saadat lives in Bishkek with her teenage daughter
and a prosperous husband, Daniyar. One day, the stale family routine is
interrupted by the arrival of Aman, Daniyar’s 19-year old cousin from the
countryside. His short-term stay leads to a passionate romance between him
and Saadat. Their relationship comes to an abrupt end when she discovers
that she is pregnant. Torn between passion and family, she has to find a path
for herself and her unborn child.
INTENTION: I want to tell the story of a woman searching for meaning as she
approaches her 40’s. The story is set in modern Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, which has achieved a fragile independence since the collapse of the
Soviet Union. My heroine, Saadat, faces a disintegrating family and a growing
sense of ennui. For the first time she tries to be true to herself, while cultural
and social roles and masks stand in her way. By pursuing an erotic impulse,
Saadat breaks the biggest taboo and faces the toughest decision in her life.
SYNOPSIS: Vincent lives in Paris. He is a successful press agent, but his love
life is a disaster. When he is called to attend his grandfather’s funeral, being
one of the inheritors, he must return to his childhood village. Years ago, after
his father’s death, he ran far away from his rural roots. Soon, he hears that
his grandfather was gay. This revelation of a family secret pushes his sense of
privacy and changes his mind about his family.
INTENTION: I’ve always been interested in stories that question relations
between an individual and a social group, the first of which is always the family. I’m intrigued by how any kind of social group and every family generates
conflicting effects on humans: both destructive and protective. Vincent, being
far from his family, still lives with these effects in a daily, ordinary battle that,
when he is suddenly confronted with his roots and a changed past, challenges his self understanding.
CONTACT: Producer Altynai Koichumanova / Oy Art
T +996 775 98 30 90 E [email protected]
Director Aygul Bakanova E [email protected]
CONTACT: Producer Claire Lajoumard / Acrobates Films
www.acrobatesfilms.fr
T +33 1 82 83 35 35 E [email protected]
Director Guillaume Mainguet E [email protected]
100 min/HD/shooting 2015/budget € 500,000
90 min/HD Scope/final draft sept. 2014/shooting fall 2015/est. budget € 2M
GUILLAUME
MAINGUET
(France),
Born 1977 in Nantes, France.
He graduated in Cultural
Programs Management and
has promoted independent
films in different areas of
cinema distribution from
2000 - 2007. Then he started
working for the Festival of 3
Continents, where he is head
of the professional program,
Produire au Sud - their int.
training workshop. Since
2008, he has written and
directed 3 short films. He is
currently developing a 4th
short and writing the script
of his 1st feature film.
17
PRESENTING THE
NORDIC FACTORY
COPRODUCERS
We hereby invite you to get to know the five coproducers who played a
crucial part in making the production of the films possible.
COPENHAGEN FILM FUND LARSEN VFX
MAINSTREAM APS
“To make a film is a collective process even
though the director often is being honoured as a
one man band. More to this, the language of film
is universal. For me, as a former producer and
now head of a film fund, these two facts make
NORDIC FACTORY a very interesting project
for our fund to participate in. Directors have
been scouted, selected and brought together in
couples to realize a short story of their own from
beginning, middle to an end. This is really interesting and seen from the perspective of our fund,
which is there to attract film makers from all over
the world, I don’t see any better way of spending
our grants in an innovative way, and at the same
time welcoming people from all over the world to
our film friendly capital of Denmark.”
“We can’t help it! At Mainstream, we love doing
sound. We enjoy working internationally and we
see supporting and building talent as an obligation, but also as a challenge and as a big part of
our own chance to secure constant development.
Therefore, it was obvious for us to take part in
NORDIC FACTORY and thereby get the chance to
meet eight unique talents in the midst of a wild,
creative process. We have been inspired by their
individual energy, each with their own thoughts
on sound. And that experience is a reminder for
us who love to break the silence.”
THOMAS GAMMELTOFT, CEO
ABOUT
Copenhagen and its surrounding area have
everything that is needed: a beautiful and diverse
setting, a film business with world-class technicians and facilities, a strong infrastructure, and a
high level of service. The Copenhagen Film Fund
was founded in 2013 with a budget of € 4,7m., extending to 2016, the funding is allotted as investment capital. The focal point is the whole Capital
Region. We invest primarily in international
productions of high artistic merit with Danish coproducers, but Danish projects with international
distribution in place can also qualify. Our focus is
on productions shot within the region. We look
forward to hearing from you!
CONTACT
T: +45 40 72 88 42
E: [email protected]
http://cphfilmfund.com/en//
18
CARSTEN DAHL, CREATIVE PRODUCER
CHRISTINA JÆGER, POST PRODUCER
”Frame by frame we use our skills and precision
to structure the story that is to be presented
to the world. Our work is based on experience
mixed with talent, technology mixed with method, and it is constantly evolving. Our challenge
at Larsen VFX is to use our experience and talent
to create new methods of working; methods that
give us the opportunity to achieve a higher level
of creativity in the given production. We believe
that we can be better at doing post-production,
by being open minded, curious and by meeting
people that give us inspiration - and this is the
basic idea of NORDIC FACTORY, which is made
out of the same DNA that Larsen VFX is made
of – and that is the reason why this collaboration
was obvious from the beginning.”
ABOUT
Larsen VFX is a company founded on traditional
Danish craftsmanship, which also is the reason
why we named ourselves something as Danish
as “Larsen”. We offer post-production based
on visual effects in the disciplines of compositing, CGI/3D, motion graphics, color grading and
editing. We also offer visual supervision and
a process-oriented data lab to make sure the
workflow throughout the entire production runs
smoothly. We undertake visual tasks for both
Danish and international clients. One thing all our
productions have in common is the challenge
that requires superlative professional skills if the
production is to be completed in a reliable and
convincing way.
CONTACT T: +45 39 15 56 00
E: [email protected]
http://larsenvfx.dk/film-tv/
THOMAS JÆGER, SOUND DESIGNER
ABOUT
Mainstream is one of the largest sound facilities
in Scandinavia. We have been the main producer
of soundtracks for Danish cinema since 1990
and have won numerous awards for best sound
design over the years. The crew of Mainstream
can also take credit for several international productions. Our location in Copenhagen includes a
splendid mixture of technical, as well as creative
work skills in a relaxed and inspiring environment. Mainstream has 12 sound studios, including
two mixing stages, a foley and an ADR stage.
Furthermore, Mainstream has mixing facilities in
Trollhättan, Sweden.
CONTACT
T: +45 20 26 63 17
E: [email protected]
www.mainstream.dk/mainstreamaps-uk.html
RED RENTAL APS
ANDERS HOLCK, FOUNDER
MALTE UDSEN, FOUNDER
“Filmmaking is a collaborative process, a melting
pot of creative impulses, talent and not the least,
technical know-how. It is the early front-runner
of the globalization, tying people from across
the continents closer together through a common language. As the premier camera rental in
Denmark, we are pleased to support the Nordic
Factory teams with camera equipment and technical advice. Advancing technical standards and
“raising the bar” creatively has always been our
main drive, while also being available as a creative partner and collaborator. We congratulate
every person involved with the productions, and
hope you enjoy the four films from the NORDIC
FACTORY!”
ABOUT
Red Rental ApS was established in Feb. 2008
with an exclusive focus on digital film acquisition
and post-production. Six years later we are the
leading rental company in Denmark of professional camera equipment for film- and TV-production. Based in the “Nordhavn” harbour area
of Copenhagen, we rent out all types of cameras
and are experts in digital formats and workflows:
we bring our customers the right solutions and
the best possible choice of both format and
workflow, to ensure that they are consistent with
the project’s ambition and conditions – every
time!
CONTACT
T: +45 70 205 305
E: [email protected]
www.redrental.dk
19
FINNS DO IT WITH
ATTITUDE AND HIGH
CREATIVITY
FILMGEAR RENTAL APS
During our stay in Helsinki, the Nordic Factory directors
and team were introduced to Bufo at a great event at their
restaurant, B-Smokery, with the Finnish Directors’ Guild
SELO. We left with the feeling that Finns do it with attitude
and high creativity, and they inspired us so much that it was
an obvious choice to give them the final word:
OLE BENDIXEN, CEO & PARTNER
“Through our 17 years in the business, FilmGEAR’s
focus has been on the clients’ need for service,
advice and the latest technical equipment. But
also always looking for the new alternative
projects and talents to support, as a lot of the
new exciting projects come out of the strange
combination of energy, skill, experience and
people challenging the conventions. Therefore it
was a no-brainer for us to support the NORDIC
FACTORY project and we look forward to see the
results of all these lovely people’s hard work.”
20
MARK LWOFF
PRODUCER ON THE MOVE 2014 / FOUNDER & PRODUCER BUFO LTD / FINLAND
ABOUT
FilmGEAR is your one stop rental shop and a key
supplier of film equipment for professional film
production. We are based in Copenhagen, with
branches in Aarhus, Fyn, Malmö and Ystad in the
South of Sweden, with more than 8500 sqm of
warehouse and stage facilities. We are able to
accommodate any demand you can have, and
our 30 employees guarantee delivery and support anywhere, at any time. Depending on your
project profile, FilmGEAR offers financing and
investment. Interested? In order to evaluate the
project, let us know more about your script, cast,
production plans and needs and we can meet
up with you asap, as we are frequently in the
UK, Germany, Scandinavian and other European
capitals, so if you make the coffee…
If you want to bring your project
to Helsinki - or anywhere in
Finland - these contacts will
be useful for you:
CONTACT
T: +45 7022 0302
M: +45 2810 1243
E: [email protected]
www.filmgear.dk
Finnanimation
Finnish animation producers’ association
www.finnanimation.fi
The Finnish Film Foundation
- among other publications the
Finnish Film Industry 2014 brochure
is useful to download
www.ses.fi/en
FAVEX
Finnish Film & Audiovisual Export
www.favex.fi
Finland Film Commission
www.filmfinland.fi
The Finnish Film Affair
- at the Helsinki Int. Film Festival
23rd- 25th September 2014
www.finnishfilmaffair.fi
“I think that in today’s Finnish film industry it’s more a rule than an exception to be widely connected on a global level. International co-productions
are common and especially young people are participating in workshops
and networking events abroad more and more.
The experience and knowledge I have received from abroad, i.e. at EAVE,
has really encouraged this. Even if the driving force sometimes has been
to find more financing, I’ve ended up finding great connections and
talents with whom the shared responsibility has raised the project to a
new level.
What Directors’ Fortnight and Nordic Factory are creating is an opportunity for new directors to meet and connect internationally, at Cannes! - even
before their first feature film. Having worked with both very established
filmmakers and newcomers to the industry I find that the challenge of
moving beyond what you know is always rewarding and worth taking.
I believe Finland offers great possibilities for both shooting and postproduction. Even if it’s a small country, the working moral is something
that always surprises people abroad. There is also a strong practice in
making co-productions, so it’s easy to approach the Finnish industry with
proposals.“
ABOUT
Founded in 2007 by producers Misha Jaari, Mark Lwoff and screenwriter
Vesa Virtanen, Bufo has produced such films as Concrete Night (2013) by
Pirjo Honkasalo, The Good Son (2011) by Zaida Bergroth, The Interrogation
(2010) by Jörn Donner, and Akseli Tuomivaara’s 1st feature Korso (2014).
Contact via www.bufo.fi
To find more Finnish production companies:
http://ses.fi/en/film-industry/production-companies/
21
NOTES
22
NOTES
23
Nordic Factory
Contact
Valeria Richter
DK - +45 2613 3725
[email protected]
Helene Granqvist
SE +46 705 132141
[email protected]
Factory curator
& International events
Dominique Welinski
F +33 607 78 81 36
[email protected]
PR
Claus de la Porte
DK + 45 4062 4883
[email protected]
French PR
Annie Maurette
+33 660 973 036
[email protected]
24
www.nordicfactoryfilm.com
Artwork by Iiu Susiraja,
Finland, 2014
“Your varying reacts have
done me like a dead fish.
Even a seagull will not
touch it.”
Iiu Susiraja is a contemporary
Finnish artist, born 1975 in Turku.
iiususiraja.com
In a time where the selfie
has become a common
term in global vocabularies,
Iiu Susiraja’s self portraits
emerge as a grotesque
parody of this selfabsorbed gesture. Through
the selfie you can envision
yourself without really
doing anything. It is an
empty narcissistic gesture
that Susiraja humorously
dismisses as an inflated
self-promotion of the ego.
John Peter Nilsson
Director
Moderna Museet Malmö
Graphic Design:
Tina Schembecker