The 54th Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund, running from 22-28 August, will once again bring together film professionals from around the world for New Nordic Films, taking place from 25-28 August. Now preparing its 32nd edition, the Nordic film and co-production market remains a key meeting point for the region’s industry, promoting Nordic cinema internationally while encouraging co-production and co-financing opportunities. This year’s programme will once again showcase a broad range of stories and filmmaking approaches, from intimate coming-of-age dramas and family adventures to historical films, genre titles and socially engaged stories.

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On 27 August, the market’s Works in Progress session will present 15 features currently in post-production. Selected scenes from each film, accompanied by short presentations from their directors and/or producers, will give industry guests an exclusive preview of the upcoming productions. The session, held at the Edda Cinema, will be moderated by film journalist and Cineuropa contributor Marta Bałaga.

Norwegian cinema brings along a diverse selection of stories, beginning with The Excursion, directed by Fanny Ovesen, which follows a school class on an educational trip to Auschwitz, where plans for drinking and teenage escapades are shattered as they confront the reality of one of history’s greatest tragedies. In The Horsemen of the Apocalypse, filmmaker Lene Berg investigates the mystery surrounding her father, acclaimed Norwegian director Arnljot Berg, who was arrested and accused of murder in Paris in 1975 after being found with his dead wife.

A near-future vision of Oslo emerges in Joe’s Assignment, directed by Jens Lien, where a cheerful ambulance driver is replaced by a robot and sets out to find the mysterious assignment meant to secure his place in a world increasingly dominated by AI. The Midnight Train Robbery, directed by Gunnbjörg Gunnarsdóttir, follows a group of students who attempt to steal a famous painting from the night train between Oslo and Bergen, embarking on a chaotic ski-crossing of the Hardanger plateau. Meanwhile, ViQueens, directed by Harald Zwart, follows a Viking princess and her fearless friend on an epic journey from Lofotr to China, where they discover that the heroes they admire are feared as raiders and return home determined to reshape their own future.

Danish cinema is strongly represented with Bully, directed by William Sehested Høeg, which follows Stine (Emma Sehested Høeg), who enrols her son Otto in a new school, only for her efforts to protect him from his struggles to develop into a power struggle among parents and the school. The Closed Book, directed by Charlotte Sieling, is set in 1880s Copenhagen, where a young woman engaged to a conservative priest falls for a member of Georg Brandes’ radical circle. Based on Jette A Kaarsbøl’s international bestseller, the film explores the price of choosing love and freedom over convention.

Momentum by Jonas Risvig follows a promising ice-hockey talent whose career begins to unravel after an injury, while opioids offer a shortcut to keep playing and numb the pain. Rawhood, directed by Christian E Christiansen, centres on a teacher returning to her former school and a troubled 16-year-old pupil whose confrontation develops into a power struggle fuelled by harassment, secrets and lies. In Saviour, Ludvig C N Poulsen follows a freelance journalist who infiltrates a deeply religious community to investigate conversion therapy, only for his carefully calculated assignment to become increasingly personal.

Swedish cinema is represented by Love and Other Disorders, directed by Daniel Sawka, a romantic dramedy about a young couple on the autism spectrum trying to navigate the uncertainties of falling in love. Family animation comes in the shape of Millie and the Secret of the Crocodile, directed by Esben Toft Jacobsen, which follows a fearful young mouse who must overcome her anxieties to save her best friend, leading her to a mysterious crocodile and an unexpected discovery about loneliness. Also drawing on Scandinavian folklore, Saajve, directed by Oskar Östergren Njajta, follows young siblings Bräjta and Aanta as they journey into a magical parallel world to return a sacred figure and prevent the giant Staaloe from destroying the world’s knowledge.

Finland is represented by You Crazy Thing, directed by Miia Tervo, following Aino, a broke mental-health nurse who despises the wealthy and is preparing a performance with her patients for a TV talent competition, only to fall for one of her patients, a wealthy investment consultant. Meanwhile, Iceland contributes Just a Kid, the debut feature by Vala Ómarsdóttir, which follows 16-year-old Júlía after her move from Norway to Iceland, as she struggles between caring for her younger sister and her desire for independence. She ends up finding friendship and belonging through her school newspaper while confronting a painful secret.

Here are the selected Works in Progress projects at the 32nd New Nordic Films:

The Horsemen of the Apocalypse – Lene Berg (Norway)
Producer: Ellen Ugelstad (Twentyone Pictures)

Rawhood – Christian E Christiansen (Denmark)
Producers: Louise Vesth, Ida Harder (Zentropa)

The Midnight Train Robbery – Gunnbjörg Gunnarsdóttir (Norway)
Producer: Ole Marius Elvestad (På Film)

Joe’s Assignment – Jens Lien (Norway)
Producer: Kristin Emblem (Einar Film)

Just a Kid – Vala Ómarsdóttir (Iceland)
Producer: Hlín Jóhannesdóttir (Ursus Parvus)

Saajve – Oskar Östergren Njajta (Sweden)
Producer: Therese Högberg (Bautafilm AB)

The Excursion – Fanny Ovesen (Norway)
Producers: Christian Fredrik Martin, Lotte Sandbu (Maipo Film)

Saviour – Ludvig C N Poulsen (Denmark)
Producer: Mette Mikkelsen (New Tales ApS)

Momentum – Jonas Risvig (Denmark)
Producer: Jasmine Hermann Naghizadeh (Nimbus Film)

Love and Other Disorders – Daniel Sawka (Sweden)
Producers: Emma Åkesdotter Ronge, Ann Lundberg (Anagram)

Bully – William Sehested Høeg (Denmark)
Producer: Sofie Bergstein (Miso Film)

The Closed Book – Charlotte Sieling (Denmark)
Producers: Lars Bredo Rahbek, Mette Marie Munch-Petersen (SF Studios Production)

You Crazy Thing – Miia Tervo (Finland)
Producer: Marko Talli (Yellow Film & TV)

Millie and the Secret of the Crocodile – Esben Toft Jacobsen (Sweden)
Producer: Petter Lindblad (Snowcloud Films)

ViQueens – Harald Zwart (Norway)
Producer: Veslemøy Ruud Zwart (Zwart Arbeid)