New Nordisk Film & TV Fond grant for international distributors

by Annika Pham

15/02/2010 - Distributors at the Berlinale tempted by Nordic films will be pleased by the recent announcement by Hanne Palmquist, head of Nordisk Film & TV Fond, that she has a new grant of to €250,000 for 2010, to help non-Nordic distributors with the release of Scandinavian films in their territories.

The first pilot programme, High Five International Cinema Distribution Support, launched at the latest Toronto Film Festival, was a great success. Out of the 13 Nordic titles selected in Toronto that were eligible for support – including Mika Kaurismäki’s The House of Branching Love [trailer], Dagur Kári’s The Good Heart [trailer], Nicolas Winding Refn’s Valhalla Rising [trailer, film focus] and Eric Gandini’s documentary Videocracy [trailer]) – 11 received a grant (up to €20,000 per territory) that does not have to be paid back.

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“We were expecting 20 or so applications, but we ended up with over 30, spread across North America, Latin America, Europe, Russia and Taiwan,” said Palmquist.

Ryan Werner from IFC Films in the US, who acquired Valhalla Rising said: “As the biggest supporter of Scandinavian films in America, all of us are thrilled that this initiative has been created. At a time when foreign language films need support like never before, it’s encouraging to see action being taken.”

Palmquist said she is now speaking with the industry to fine tune the International Cinema Distribution Support scheme. The new, €250,000 grant is part of an additional grant of DKK7m (around €940,000) given out by the Nordic Council of Ministers to Nordisk Film & TV Fond for global initiatives from 2010-2012.

The Fond also supported three films in Berlin’s Official Competition [Pernille Fischer Christensen’s A Family [trailer], Thomas Vinterberg’s Submarino [trailer, film focus] (see review) and Hans Petter Moland A Somewhat Gentle Man [trailer, film focus]]; Panorama selection Bad Family [trailer] by Aleksi Salmenperä; as well as the children’s film Superbrother [trailer] in the Generation K+ sidebar.