30/01/2003 - Director decides against the prequel of Elling in favour of Béa, made with a contribution from the Norwegian Film Fund, and about a 16-year-old's difficult approach to adulthood

Two new film projects are to be financed by the Norwegian Film Fund.
Béa is the new film by Norwegian director Petter Naess (the man behind Elling [+see also:
trailer
film profile]). He boarded this project that was written by Johan Boagaeurs a few days after deciding against directing the prequel to his hit Elling, Elling’s Mother. Béa narrates the difficult entry into adulthood of a sixteen-year-old boy. In an interview with Norwegian daily, “Aftenposten”, Naess said that he brought the same emotional intensity to Béa that audiences worldwide appreciated when they flocked to Elling. Béa will be made with a DKR10.5million budget ( Euros1.8milllion), with the Norwegian Film Fund contributing DKr7.5million (just under Euros1m).
The second film that will be partly financed by the Norwegian Film Institute is the directorial feature debut of Annette Sjurson and is entitled Bent, Frank & Susie. Sjurson came to the forefront of public attention with her short film, Tid. This film is about one man’s life-changing visit to a new hairdresser. Made with a budget of DKR10.5million (Euros1.4m), the film received a DKr7.5m (over Euros1m) from the Norwegian institution.
Both films were produced by Norway’s Maipo Film, who were also behind foreign film Oscar candidate Elling and Jens Lien’s debut Jonny Vang, selected to premiere at the Panorama section in Berlin.