27/01/2017 - The industry side of the Göteborg International Film Festival takes place at the Biopalatset multiplex between 1 and 6 February

While Sweden's 40^th Göteborg International Film Festival – the largest showcase in the Nordic countries – will open tonight (27 January), head of industry and market director Cia Edström has until Wednesday 1 February to make the final preparations for the Nordic Film Market, which has registered a record number of 363 participants. 

The actual market takes place at Göteborg's Biopalatset multiplex, where screenings will start on Thursday 2 February – this year, Edström's line-up consists of 41 Nordic titles: 18 finished features, 18 works in progress and five new projects. Besides an extensive conference and seminar programme, there is also an Afternoon Industry Lounge at the Avalon Hotel. 

"Last but not least, be sure not to miss the social events at the Nordic Film Market," said Edström in her introduction to the 18^th edition of the gathering. Her top titles on the schedule, many accompanied by their filmmakers, producers and sales agents, include the following:

Darkland [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Fenar Ahmad (Denmark)
Letters for Amina [+see also:
trailer
film profile] – Jacob Bitsch (Denmark)
The Man [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Charlotte Sieling
film profile] – Charlotte Sieling (Denmark)
While We Live [+see also:
trailer
film profile] – Mehdi Avaz (Denmark)
Law of the Land [+see also:
trailer
film profile] – Jussi Hiltunen (Finland)
Star Boys [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Visa Koiso-Kanttila (Finland)
Tom of Finland [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dome Karukoski
film profile] – Dome Karukoski (Finland)
Cruelty [+see also:
trailer
film profile] – Anton Sigurðsson (Iceland)
Rift [+see also:
trailer
interview: Erlingur Thoroddsen
film profile] – Erlingur Ottar Thorodssen (Iceland)
Børning 2: On Ice [+see also:
trailer
interview: Hallvard Bræin
film profile] – Hallvard Bræin (Norway)
Handle with Care [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Arild Andresen
film profile] - Arild Andresen (Norway)
Karenina & I [+see also:
trailer
interview: Tommaso Mottola, Gørild Mau…
film profile] - Tommaso Mottola (Norway)
Kings Bay [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Stig Svendsen (Norway)
The King's Choice [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Erik Poppe
film profile] – Erik Poppe (Norway)
A Hustler's Diary [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Ivica Zubak (Sweden)
Beyond Dreams [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Evin Ahmad
film profile] – Rojda Sekersöz (Sweden)
The Ex-Wife [+see also:
trailer
film profile] – Katja Wik (Sweden) 
Citizen Schein [+see also:
trailer
film profile] – Maud Nycander, Jannike Ålund, Kersti Grunditz Brennan (Sweden) 

Another 18 Nordic features are being introduced as works in progress, including Danish director Milad Alami's The Charmer, Finnish filmmaker Aku Louhimies' The Unknown Soldier [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Icelandic director Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir's The Swan, Norwegian filmmaker Henrik Martin Dahlsbakken's The Outlaws and Danish director Janus Metz's Swedish film Borg/McEnroe.

Young and up-and-coming Nordic filmmakers are invited to attend the Nordic Film Lab co-funding talent platform, with a four-day introduction in Gothenburg and subsequent meetings in Copenhagen and Oslo. In Nordic Film Lab Discovery, five new film projects will be presented to potential partners: Danish director Puk Grasten's War - What If It Was Here?, Norwegian filmmaker Bård Røssevold's The Comet, and Swedish directors Viktor Johansson's Bonsai Kitten, Ninja Thyberg's Jessica and Viktor Lindgren's The Unpromised Land. 

At this year's sold-out TV Drama Vision conference on 1-2 February, the 295 participants will meet “Game Changers and Creators” and watch TV dramas from the Nordic countries, with Belgium featured as a special guest. US-French producer and former senior VP at HBO Anne Thomopoulos will talk about how she built up the Drama Series and Mini-Series departments at the US cable and satellite TV network.

Since 2014, the festival's Nostradamus initiative, set up with Lindholmen Science Park, has published an annual report looking ahead: where are we now, and what will happen in the next three to five years? At a seminar on 2 February, Finnish-Swedish media analyst Johanna Koljonen will present the 2017 topics, which include forthcoming developments in exhibition technologies and formats, and virtual-reality storytelling.