The 53rd Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund, running from 16-22 August, will once again gather film professionals from around the world for New Nordic Films, taking place from 19-22 August. Now preparing its 31st edition, the market remains a cornerstone of the Nordic film industry, showcasing completed films, works in progress and projects in development, and offering a rich programme of panels and networking opportunities. This year’s line-up continues to highlight regional diversity, bold storytelling and emerging talent, while also focusing on how technological advances and global challenges are shaping the sector’s future.

On 21 August, the market’s Works in Progress section will present 16 features currently in post-production. Selected scenes from each film, along with brief presentations by their directors and/or producers, will offer industry guests an exclusive preview of upcoming Nordic cinema.

Among the Norwegian highlights is Elle Sofe Sara’s Árru, the world’s first joik musical. Set against the stunning backdrop of Sápmi, the film follows Maia, a reindeer herder fighting to protect her ancestral grazing lands, as the return of a Sámi leader both reignites hope and reopens old wounds. Debutant Martin TB Thomas delivers the tense survival-thriller Face of Fear, which follows two city friends who become unwittingly entangled in a cult’s deadly rite of passage deep in the forest. Fighter by Irasj Asanti (Høvdinger [+leggi anche:
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scheda film]) tells the story of a young MMA hopeful juggling a troubled marriage, sporting ambitions and a forbidden attraction. Genre cinema makes a strong impression with Pål Øie’s Kraken (see the news), a large-scale suspense drama about a marine biologist investigating strange phenomena in the Sognefjord.

Finland and Spain collaborate on Jarmo Lampela’s 12th feature, the warmhearted buddy movie Don Quixote of Barcelona, which centres on two men with mental-health struggles who form an unexpected bond on the streets of the Catalonian capital. Family ties and generational clashes take centre stage in Aleksi Salmenperä’s (Void [+leggi anche:
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scheda film]) Father’s Day, where identical twin girls search for their biological father, disrupting their mother’s carefully laid plans. In The Kidnapping of a President, Samuli Valkama follows a group of far-right officers in 1930s Finland whose drunken plan to kidnap the former president spirals out of control, while the president’s sharp-witted 70-year-old wife takes command of the chaotic situation (see the news). Epic storytelling comes courtesy of Antti J Jokinen’s historical revenge saga Son of Revenge – The Story of Kalevala, an adaptation of the national epic charting the bloody path of a young man driven by vengeance.

From Sweden, Lisa Forslund’s debut, Clementine Orange, explores the fallout when a woman discovers that her prison pen pal has been catfishing her, shattering a romantic illusion. Linda Hambäck’s (Gordon & Paddy [+leggi anche:
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scheda film]) animated family adventure Dante adapts Frida Nilsson’s novel into a tale of an unlikely friendship between a banker on the run and a rat who scavenges treasures from the trash. Kim Sundbeck’s drama The Greenest Grass examines infidelity and misguided attempts at reconciliation, delving into the emotional fallout and unintended consequences that follow. Sunniva Eir Tangvik Kveum’s Nipster exposes the darker side of climate activism when a teenage girl discovers her new group’s eco-fascist beliefs.

From Iceland, Bragi Thor Hinriksson’s psychological thriller Disturbed follows a young lawyer confronting the possibility that she is haunted by a murder victim from her own home. In Tears of Concrete, Elvar Gunnarsson portrays two neighbours struggling with addiction, grief and toxic relationships during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Nitesh Anjaan’s debut fiction feature, Lucky, tells the story of a young Indian man chasing the dream of a better life abroad, only to face harsh realities in Denmark. Also making her debut, Charlotte Brodthagen’s drama Three of a Kind brings together three generations of women under one roof, where long-held grudges erupt after a family secret comes to light.

Here are the selected Works in Progress projects at the 31st New Nordic Films:

Lucky – Nitesh Anjaan (Denmark)
Producer: Charlotte Hjordt (Zentropa Entertainments)

Fighter – Irasj Asanti (Norway/Sweden)
Producer: Ole Marius Araldsen (Anagram Norway)
Co-producer: Mia Welin (Anagram Sweden)

Three of a Kind – Charlotte Brodthagen (Denmark)
Producers: Sophie D’Souza, Anne Falkesgaard Hansen (Zentropa)

Clementine Orange – Lisa Forslund (Sweden)
Producers: Elisabeth Marjanović Cronvall, Marta Dauliute (MDEMC Produktion)
Co-producers: Andra Lasmanis (SVT), Anne-Marie Söhrman Fermelin (Film Stockholm)

Tears of Concrete – Elvar Gunnarsson (Iceland)
Producer: Hjalti Sveinsson (Tár úr sementi)
Co-producer: Hero Productions Iceland

Dante – Linda Hambäck (Sweden/Denmark/Norway)
Producer: Linda Hambäck (LEE Film)
Co-producers: Claus Toksvig Kjaer, Elena Ø Alexa (Nørlum), Lise Fearnley, Tonje Skar Reiersen (Mikrofilm), Kristina Börjeson (Film i Väst)

Disturbed – Bragi Thor Hinriksson (Iceland/Denmark)
Producer: Valdimar Kúld (H.M.S. Productions)
Co-producer: Stephanie Wiese (Rocket Road Pictures)

Son of Revenge – The Story of Kalevala – Antti J Jokinen (Finland)
Producers: Johanna Enäsuo, Marko Röhr, Antti J Jokinen (ReelMedia Oy, Finland Storm Inc)

Don Quixote of Barcelona – Jarmo Lampela (Finland/Spain)
Producer: Jarmo Lampela (Vegetarian Films)
Co-producers: Tamara Garcia (Buenos Bandidos Producciones), Peter Keydel (Mago Production)

Kraken – Pål Øie (Norway)
Producers: John Einar Hagen (Nordisk Film Production), Einar Loftesnes (Handmade Films in Norwegian Woods)

Father’s Day – Aleksi Salmenperä (Finland)
Producer: Miia Haavisto (Tekele Productions)

Árru – Elle Sofe Sara (Norway/Sweden/Finland)
Producer: Elisa Fernanda Pirir (Stær)
Co-producers: Mimmi Spång (Garagefilm International), Jani Pösö (It’s Alive Films)

The Greenest Grass – Kim Sundbeck (Sweden)
Producer: Ann Lundberg (Anagram Sweden)

Nipster – Sunniva Eir Tangvik Kveum (Sweden)
Producer: Adam Lunneborg (Carbs Film)

Face of Fear – Martin TB Thomas (Norway)
Producers: Anders Graham (Graham Film), Martin TB Thomas (Para Film & Teater)

The Kidnapping of a President – Samuli Valkama (Finland/Czech Republic/Netherlands/Estonia)
Producers: John Lundsten, Melli Maikkula (TACK Films)
Co-producers: Jakub Kostal, Vratislav Slajer (Bionaut), Rogier Kramer, Laura Bouwmeester (Labyrint Film), Madis Tüür (Münchhausen Films)