The Norwegian Film Institute (NFI) has awarded production support to four new feature films following its latest market assessment round: Hvis ingen går i fella 2, Kielland, Tonje Glimmerdal and the animated title Pepperkakebyen. The decisions were confirmed last week, with a total of NOK 48 million (€4.1 million) allocated across the selected projects.

Two films have secured grants of NOK 14.2 million (€1.2 million) each, while the remaining two have been awarded NOK 9.8 million (€840,000) apiece. Including automatic post-production subsidies, the four projects are expected to trigger a combined NOK 108 million (€9.3 million) in public funding.

Hvis ingen går i fella 2, the sequel to A Mouse Hunt for Christmas, receives NOK 14.2 million (€1.2 million) in production support. The project is being staged by Fantefilm Fiksjon, with Thea Benedikte Karlsen and Martin Sundland producing. Henrik Martin Dahlsbakken directs from a screenplay penned by Karsten Fullu. The film has a total budget of NOK 53.2 million (€4.6 million) and follows up on last year’s most-watched Norwegian theatrical release. This time, the two central families embark on an even bigger and wilder adventure, where improvised solutions are no longer enough and the stakes escalate into real danger.

Also awarded NOK 14.2 million (€1.2 million) was Kielland, produced by Paradox Rettigheter. The producing team comprises Finn Gjerdrum, Tanya Badendyck and Thea Røhr Østvold, while Roar Uthaug directs from a script by Jan Trygve Røyneland. With a total budget of NOK 78.8 million (€6.8 million), the film will revisit the Alexander Kielland disaster, one of Norway’s most significant industrial tragedies. Set on 27 March 1980, the story follows the dramatic moments when the oil platform capsized in rough seas, leaving 228 workers fighting for survival in freezing waters, with only 89 making it back alive.

Among the projects receiving NOK 9.8 million (€840,000) is Pepperkakebyen, an animated feature produced by Den siste skilling, with Kristine MI Knudsen producing. The film will be helmed by Will Ashurst and Kjersti G Steinsbø, from a screenplay by Aleksander Kirkwood Brown and Merete Nordahl, and has a total budget of NOK 69.8 million (€6 million). Set in Bergen’s famous gingerbread town, the story imagines a world where the cookies come to life after the visitors leave, following a fixer who teams up with an unruly Viking to stop an outcast troublemaker from threatening the fragile community.

The second project in this bracket, Tonje Glimmerdal, is a screen adaptation of the bestselling children’s novel by Maria Parr. Produced by Miso Film Norge (Cathrine Simonsen, Eva Anker-Rasch Storm and Renée Hansen Mlodyszeski), the pic will be directed by Atle Knudsen and written by Martina Cecelia Bjørnsson Befring. The production boasts a total budget of NOK 33 million (€2.8 million). It centres on a fearless red-haired girl growing up in a remote mountain valley, blending adventure, humour and emotional coming-of-age elements rooted in the wild Norwegian landscape.

Commenting on the selections, NFI CEO Kjersti Mo stressed the importance of broad-appeal national cinema for theatrical exhibition: “These films tell stories about and from our country, in our language and for our time. Together, they represent a diverse range of themes, regional perspectives and target audiences, including original children’s films.”

The funding round attracted 25 applications in total, with 11 projects competing at the higher funding level and 14 at the lower tier. Combined, the submitted projects represented a total budget of NOK 1.75 billion (€151 million), underscoring the continued demand for market-backed production support within the Norwegian industry.