04/06/2014 - Now established in a Helsinki office, with a project manager, the collaboration between 16 Scandinavian production companies is continuing after the festival

After starting up in 2013 as a minor promotional effort at the Cannes International Film Festival, the Nordic Genre Invasion has this year been marketing films or film projects from 16 Scandinavian production companies – and now, with a Helsinki office and a project manager on board (Laura Laaksonen), it has become a permanent marketing, distribution and collaboration platform for Nordic genre-film producers.

Besides backing such films as Norwegian director Tommy Wirkola’s horror comedy Dead Snow: Red vs Dead [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Tappeluft Pictures), Finnish director Miikko Oikkonen’s fantasy drama Nymphs (Fisher King Production), and Swedish directors Bonita Drake and Johan Bromander’s upcoming horror comedy American Burger, the Invasion introduced other new productions to international financiers. 

“I have been to Cannes for the last 20 years, and this was the best time ever: four international projects that I am producing or executive-producing were practically funded, and we took a major step towards getting the Iron Sky TV series off the ground,” said Finnish Blind Spot Pictures producer Tero Kaukomaa, who instigated the Invasion initiative and produced Finnish director Timo Vuorensola’s award-winning action sci-fi comedy Iron Sky [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tero Kaukomaa
interview: Timo Vuorensola
interview: Timo Vuorensola
film profile].

Besides the television series of Iron Sky, about the Nazis who fled the Earth to the dark side of the moon in 1945 and are now returning to reclaim the planet, Kaukomaa is in pre-production with the sequel, Iron Sky – The Coming Race, for Iron Sky Universe, to be co-produced by German producer Oliver Damian, of 27 Films Production. So far, Julia Dietze, Stephanie Paul and Udo Kier will be returning from the original cast.

“We are looking forward to developing the Invasion platform further,” said Swedish producer Anna G Magnusdóttir, of LittleBig Productions. “As Invasion newbies, we expected a lot, and were still taken by surprise because of how useful and effective it is,” said Finnish producer Aleksi Hyvärinen, of DonFilms.

According to Laaksonen, the Nordic Genre Invasion is currently planning an offensive at the upcoming American Film Market in Santa Monica, California, which takes place between 5-12 November.