31/03/2005

Nordisk Film part of the Scandinavian media group Egmont, announced yesterday (30 March) that they signed a first look deal with US based Fluid Film headed by Danish-born Nina Leidersdoff, and covering three of her feature films in development with budgets between 2 and 5 million dollars. Nordisk Film will handle Nordic distribution of the films and will act as a co-producer, covering up to 10% of each film’s budget. The deal –first of its kind in Denmark- was negotiated at the last Berlin Film Festival and will run for 2005 and 2006 with an option to renew. It is also part of Nordisk Film’s new strategy which is to co-produce up to eight foreign films per year.
Lars Hermann, the newly appointed Head of co-production said: “we are capitalizing on our strengths in production, distribution and facilities to secure films with a potential in the Nordic territories. Nina is a valuable partner”.

34 year old Nina Leiderstoff graduated from the American Film institute and established Fluid Films in 2004 for which she produced Alexandra Kerry’s Cannes 2004 and Sundance 2005 selected film The Last Full Measure. Her three new titles in development are:
-Solstice, a supernatural thriller written by Ernst Gossner and Clemens Aufderkamm and directed by Gossner. It tells the story of a young American couple who goes to Europe to join friends for a weekend in the Alps celebrating summer solstice. But the shortest night of the year turns out to be the longest in their life.
-No Dark Things is a children’s thriller written by A. Tad Chamberlain. Eleven-year old Tommy discovers a portal to the future in his bedroom closet. It takes him forty years into the future where he meets a psychotic killer to realize that the killer is actually himself, forty years older.
-El Machito is a drama written and to be directed by Alonso Filomeno Mayo, about a former top level football player who discovers a new talented player called El Machito.
Nina Leidersdorff stressed that her company was set up to produce films for US audiences, but also to make films with European sensibilities and financing, thanks to her network of relationships across Europe. On Solstice for example, she said that “working with Nordisk Film and Storm Ltd in Iceland secured 50% of the budget, which is a great starting point for any American producer”.