Danish international sales agent TrustNordisk is preparing a robust and wide-ranging slate for the 76th Berlinale (12-22 February) and the accompanying European Film Market (EFM, 12-18 February). The line-up spans prestige drama, genre-driven titles, animation and documentary, with several completed films screening for buyers alongside high-profile projects in post-production and financing.

Leading the market screenings is Frank & Louis, the first English-language feature by Swiss filmmaker Petra Volpe, which premiered recently at the Sundance Film Festival. Starring Kingsley Ben-Adir and Rob Morgan, the film unfolds inside a US prison, where an inmate sentenced to life, who is caring for elderly prisoners with Alzheimer’s and dementia, forms an unexpected bond that offers a chance at redemption. The drama continues Volpe’s exploration of socially resonant environments, following the success of Late Shift [+lire aussi :
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interview : Petra Volpe
fiche film], which premiered at the Berlinale last year.

Also screening at the market is Kraken, the Norwegian monster action film by Pål Øie (The Tunnel [+lire aussi :
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The family and animation sector is represented by Unstoppable, a Norwegian 3D animated feature directed by Martin Lund (Psychobitch [+lire aussi :
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In terms of documentaries, TrustNordisk is showcasing The Talented Mr. F. by German filmmaker Igor Plischke. The film follows two young directors who discover that their animated short has been stolen and rebranded by an impostor in the USA, triggering a transatlantic quest for the truth. Produced by Neue Flimmer and executive-produced by Roland Emmerich, the documentary made its market debut at the American Film Market. Meanwhile, Danish projects include Home [+lire aussi :
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Among the upcoming titles, Woman, Unknown by May el-Toukhy (Queen of Hearts [+lire aussi :
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interview : Gustav Lindh
interview : May el-Toukhy
fiche film], The Crown) is in post-production. The Danish drama centres on a young woman whose carefully constructed social ascent through marriage is threatened by a secret from her past (see the news). Another Norwegian project in post-production is Vampyr by Arild Fröhlich (Fatso, Wisting), a thriller inspired by Edvard Munch, blending psychological tension with a murder mystery that challenges accepted historical narratives (see the news).

TrustNordisk’s slate also includes Unraveled by Pernille Fischer Christensen (Becoming Astrid [+lire aussi :
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interview : Alba August
interview : Pernille Fischer Christensen
fiche film]), which explores memory, denial and power dynamics as a former elite swimmer revisits her past following the publication of a controversial novel (see the news). Amanda Kernell (Charter [+lire aussi :
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interview : Amanda Kernell
fiche film], Sámi Blood [+lire aussi :
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interview : Amanda Kernell
interview : Lars Lindstrom
fiche film]) returns with Brace Your Heart, a Sámi-language drama set in northern Sweden, where a young woman inheriting a reindeer herd must confront love, jealousy and trauma in a tightly knit community (see the news). Swedish director Rojda Sekersöz (Beyond Dreams [+lire aussi :
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interview : Evin Ahmad
fiche film], My Life as a Comedian [+lire aussi :
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interview : Gizem Erdogan
fiche film]) presents Will You Care If I Die?, adapted from Nicolas Lunabba’s autobiographical book, following the fragile relationship between a youth worker and a troubled teenager with exceptional basketball talent (see the news).

Amongst the upcoming projects is Good Mothers by Amalie Næsby Fick, set in a quiet suburban community destabilised by allegations of sexual assault involving teenage boys, starring Sidse Babett Knudsen, Sofie Gråbøl and Asta Kamma August (see the news). Rounding off the slate is My Fairytale Life, a large-scale biographical drama by Nikolaj Arcel (The Promised Land [+lire aussi :
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fiche film], A Royal Affair [+lire aussi :
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interview : Mikkel Boe Følsgaard
interview : Nikolaj Arcel
fiche film]), currently in financing, which reimagines the early life of Hans Christian Andersen as a fierce battle for artistic recognition in 19th-century Copenhagen (see the news).