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FUNDING Sweden

The Swedish Film Institute announces its February slate of funding

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- The debut film by Nathalie Álvarez Mensén, a Christmas story by Ella Lemhagen and the political documentary Colony Lapland are among the recipients

The Swedish Film Institute announces its February slate of funding
Director Nathalie Álvarez Mensén, who is receiving SFI support for her debut film, Clara Sola

The Swedish Film Institute (SFI) has announced its February slate of funding, which comprises a total of eight films – two feature-length fictions, one feature-length documentary and five shorts. The total amount granted was SEK 14,150,000 (€1,336,00).

Starting with the fiction features, the latest project by Ella Lemhagen (The Crown Jewels [+see also:
trailer
interview: Alicia Vikander
film profile
]
Patrik Age 1.5 [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
), entitled I Come Home Again for Christmas [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, will receive SEK 7 million (€661,000). Produced by Sandra Harms and Rachel Bodros Wolgers for Miso Film Sweden and written by Daniel Karlsson, the drama follows two brothers and their family, who are confronted with their secrets during an intense Christmas holiday.

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Clara Sola is the debut by Swedish-Costa Rican writer-director Nathalie Álvarez Mensén, who has been awarded for her short films and is a Berlinale Talents alumna. Co-penned by the director and Maria-Camila Arias, it is a coming-of-age film centring on 32-year-old Clara, who has limited social skills and is trying to break free from the religious oppression that rules her life. On her journey towards independence, she struggles to determine her sexuality, since everyone in her remote village considers her as both a child and a saint. The film is a Swedish-Colombian-US co-production, and producers Nima Yousefi and Peter Krupenin, of Stockholm-based HOB, are the recipients of SEK 4,635,000 (€437,675) from the SFI.

Documentarians and cinematographers Linda Västrik (Forest of the Dancing Spirits) and Håkan Berthas are writing and directing Colony Lapland. Set in Northern Sweden, the political documentary is about the country’s mining industry and focuses on its greed, as it is perfectly willing to exploit and sacrifice the unique natural resources of the region. The movie also looks at the ways the industry breaks international laws and human rights legislation in order to succeed in its goals. Produced by Maritha Norstedt and Linda Västrik for Linda Västrik Filmproduktion, the project is being supported to the tune of SEK 1,300,000 (€123,000).

Finally, five short films, including one stop-motion animation, one documentary, an experimental movie and a Finnish-Swedish co-production, will share a total of SEK 1,215,000 (€115,000).

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