13/03/2008

The BUFF International Film Festival for Children and Youth in Malmö, Sweden is for the second year organising a Film Financing Forum (March 13-15) to help European children’s and youth projects find co-financiers.

Finnish filmmaker Aku Louhimies’ first youth film, Tigerheart, produced by Making Movies (Black Ice [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kai Nordberg
interview: Petri Kotwica
film profile]), is among eight European projects that have been selected for a pitching session. “I wanted to make a children’s film for a long time now, something that my own children would like to watch,” said the director of Frozen Land.

Tigerheart is the story of nine-year-old Amos, who wants to stop time because school is about to start and he can’t read. And also because he overhears his mother asking his father to move out again.

Benjamin, his best friend, has lost his father. At night, the two boys climb on the roof and stargaze. Benjamin tells Amos that the great Einstein taught that if you fly fast enough time moves slower and eventually stops. Amos learns how to fly to space and stop time.

The €2m project has received development support from the Finnish Film Foundation and the MEDIA Programme.

Another submitted project is The Great Bear, a 3D animation film by Denmark’s Esben Toft Jacobsen, who received a Special Mention at the Berlinale Generation 2007 for his graduation short film Having a Brother. His directorial debut, awarded script support from the Danish Film Institute, is produced by Copenhagen Bombay, co-founded by Anders Morgenthaler.

The Great Bear is the story of Jonathan, who doesn’t get along with his little sister Sophie. But when Sophie is kidnapped by a big bear he has to find her deep in the heart of a forest.

Ten international financiers will be discussing the projects, including Ralf Ivarsson (Film i Skåne, Sweden), Aude Capra (Delphis Film, Canada), Christian Zipperle (Schmidtz Katze Filmkollektiv, Germany), Lone Korslund (Nordisk Film, Denmark), and Andrzej Roman-Jasiewicz (Polish Filmmakers Association).