26/11/2008

The leading Swedish regional film fund, Film i Väst, has invested SEK9m into four new feature films by top local directors, including two major co-productions with Europe.

Two years after his successful debut Falkenberg Farewell [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Jesper Ganslandt is preparing Apan (“The Ape”), described by producer Jesper Kurlandsky (Fasad Film) as “a film with a strong sense of realism, even naturalism.” The film is shooting partly around Trollhättan in Western Sweden this autumn and winter.

Daniel Espinosa (Outside Love [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) is going to bring to the silver screen Jens Lapidus’s book Snabba Cash (“Quick Cash”), which sold over 450,000 copies in Sweden and was published in 18 countries. The thriller produced by Tre Vänner will start shooting in spring 2009.

“For Film i Väst, it is very exciting to continue our collaboration with Jesper Ganslandt and to start a new one with Daniel Espinosa,” said Jessica Ask, head of Feature Films at Film i Väst.

Two major European co-productions have also received co-financing. Simon and the Oaks, to be directed by Björn Runge in autumn of 2009, is based on Marianne Fredriksson’s bestselling book, which sold 4.5 million copies in Europe. The film with a budget of around €5m is produced by Christer Nilsson for Göta Film with Denmark’s Per Holst Film, Norway’s Filmkameratene and Germany’s Schmidtz Katze Produktion.

Sound of Noise, produced by Sweden’s DFM Fiktion with France’s Bliss, is the directorial debut of talented advertising duo Ola Simonsson and Johannes Stjärne Nilsson, awarded in Cannes for their short film Music for One Apartment and Six Drummers.