14/05/2013 - American film and television sales company Epic Pictures will co-produce the sequel to Norwegian director Aleksander Nordaas's 2012 fantasy thriller

After Norwegian director Aleksander Nordaas’ fantasy thriller, Thale, was screened at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, it was picked up for US distribution by XLrator Media – it was included in the Vanguard programme of films that are “provocative, sexy, possibly dangerous - this is what’s next”.

And what’s next for Nordaas is Thale 2 - American film and television sales company Epic Pictures, which handled international sales for the 2012 feature from Yesbox Productions, has signed him to direct an English-language sequel in the US. Epic will organize the financing, co-produce and sell.

“When we began shooting Thale, we were hoping to release it in two-three theatres in Norway – when it was premiered in more than 100, we could hardly believe it,” Nordaas told Norwegian television NRK. “Then, besides directing, I was also photographer and lighting designer – this time I expect I can concentrate on the actors.”

Based on the Huldra myth in Norwegian folklore, Nordaas’ original two crime scene cleaners who discover a hidden cellar under a cabin – with a mysterious girl and a secret some would go far to keep. The depiction of the mythical  huldra who had come in from the woods was filmed in the cold basement of his childhood home in Mosjøen.

The Norwegian director met Epic Pictures representatives when he accompanied his feature to the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas: “Obviously, this collaboration will give us greater opportunities to profile the film for the international market,” Nordaas concluded.