New Nordic Films, the special industry section of the Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund, ran from 23-26 August this year, with more than 300 accredited industry guests attending the event in total.

At the 17^th edition of the Nordic Co-Production Market, the Award for Best Project went to The Love Pill by queer Iraqi-Swedish writer-director Naures Sager, which was selected from among 23 projects (see the news). The story focuses on a love pill, which is dangerous, but will it help Zozo and Malik confess their love for each other? Being queer and Arab poses constant challenges for the lovers. Zozo and Malik are in for a wild ride from the first car crash to the final reveal.

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Having participated in the Nordic Debut section, The Love Pill is Sager’s first feature film, and the script was co-penned by the director and Elmira Arikan. Produced by Michael Detlef for Swedish production company The Uneven, which focuses on LGBTQ+ stories about people from the MENA region, and which also produced Sager’s previous short films. The project is budgeted at €130,000 and has already received the support of the regional film organisation Film i Skåne. According to the producer, shooting is set to start in August 2023, and the project is mainly looking for co-producers, but also sales agents and distributors.

The award enables participation in the Producers Network at the Cannes Marché du Film, and the winner was determined according to the votes cast by the audience after the Nordic Co-Production Market project-pitching session.