Zentropa expands in Norway
by Annika Pham
The Danish production outfit Zentropa has further expanded into Europe, with the opening of an office in Norway, headed by producer Valerie Saunders.
The US-born Saunders, who moved to Denmark 25 years ago, has for the last six or seven years been running her own animation production company in Denmark, Rambling Rose Studio, co-owned by Zentropa. “I’ve always been very loyal to Zentropa and when I was offered to run Zentropa Norge, I was very excited because Norway is exploding with talent,” she told Cineuropa.
Because of her background, Saunders will prioritise animation (2D in particular) but will work on all types of projects (for theatrical and television), from smaller films to major international co-productions like the local WWII blockbuster Max Manus [+see also:
trailer
film profile].
“With Zentropa Norge, I want to mix people together – directors, writers, actors, editors – across borders, and go deeper into the international arena,” she said.
Zentropa has other production branches in Sweden, Germany, Poland, Holland and France and is the biggest Scandinavian producer of European projects, making full use of national and regional subsidies. The company co-founded by director Lars von Trier and producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen has three films in official selection at the Berlinale: Denmark’s Little Soldier [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Sweden’s Mammoth [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] and Germany’s Storm.
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