03/09/2025 - The market comes on the heels of Helsingborg’s initiative, in collaboration with Film i Skåne, to boost filming in the city; the festival has also announced its Audience Awards

Filmmaker Isla Badenoch (left) and moderator Zahraa Aldoujaili during the pitch for Not Drowning (© Damian Duro)

The third edition of the Gåsebäck Film Festival, which took place in Helsingborg, Sweden, from 28-31 August, wrapped on Sunday night. This year saw the launch of the festival’s first market: Hel's Kitchen.

A decidedly boutique event, the market presented one documentary and seven fiction projects from Sweden, Ireland, the UK and the USA to an audience of 35 industry guests from the USA, UK, Tunisia, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden. The full list is below.

Feature-length projects at early stages of script development were presented, with the filmmakers in attendance. “We did not offer a pitching prize at the first Hel's Kitchen market this year,” festival director Hussain Currimbhoy told Cineuropa. “The projects and filmmakers need space to develop their stories and connect with the right partners first. They need to build friendships with those who want to support them for their creative approach. The projects are nascent; it is too early to be judging a film through a prize. This is about exploring partnerships with international collaborators. Now is the time to try something new, keep a market intimate, keep the idea active and be responsive to the new climate of production out there.”

In addition, a music-video production workshop was held with regional artist Salomé Elliot, in collaboration with youth empowerment organisation Fryshuset. 

The city of Helsingborg has recently focused on fostering the creative film community through its organisation Boost HBG and through collaboration with the regional centre for film and video Film i Skåne. The agreement means that for three years, Helsingborg will contribute circa €181,600 (SEK 2 million) annually to Film i Skåne's co-productions. In exchange, Film i Skåne undertakes to invest twice as much – that is, €363,000 – in productions carried out in Helsingborg or by Helsingborg-based production companies. This has already attracted production company Anagram Sweden, which will be shooting the feature Love and Other Diagnoses by Daniel Sawka in Helsingborg and the surrounding area. It is the second film to shoot in the city this autumn, after Fredrik Moe’s The Boyfriend Tests.

Much like its market, the festival selection itself is small and carefully curated. Among the nine features and 14 short films, it hosted the Swedish premieres of Alexe Poukine’s Kika [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alexe Poukine
film profile] and Paris Barclay’s Billy Preston: That's the Way God Planned It. The only awards were given out by the audience, with Michael T Workman and Kei Pritsker’s The Encampments (USA) winning the Best Feature Documentary Award, Lee Knight’s A Friend of Dorothy (UK) picking up Best Short, and local filmmakers Danjin Malinovic, Rex Brådhe and Michaela Hennig’s We Are Champions walking away with Best Helsingborg Short.

Here is the full list of Gåsebäck Film Festival Audience Award winners:

Best Feature Documentary
The Encampments - Michael T Workman, Kei Pritsker (USA)

Best Short
A Friend of Dorothy – Lee Knight (UK)

Best Helsingborg Short
We Are Champions - Danjin Malinovic, Rex Brådhe, Michaela Hennig (Sweden)

Here is the full list of Hel’s Kitchen projects:

Not Drowning – Isla Badenoch (Ireland/UK)
Producers: Lowri Roberts, Maisie Williams

Concrete’s Nest - Salomé Elliot (Sweden)
Producers: Salomé Elliot, Jaqueline Elamiri

Into the Mystic - Michael Emami (USA/Sweden/UK)
Producer: Michael Emami

Yalla, Love Me! - Naures Sager (Sweden)
Producer: Michael Detlef

Metanoia - Crystal Moselle (USA)
Producers: Crystal Moselle, Derrick B Harden

Water Nights - Mohanad Salahat (Sweden, documentary)
Producer: Kassandra Smith

The Golden Games – TBD (Sweden)
Producer: Vanessa Ho