Nordisk Panorama Forum, which celebrates its 30th edition 24-26 Sept 2023, has unveiled the 24 new doc projects that will be pitched to approximately 70 attending decision-makers, and 24 Observer+ projects that have been selected for special access to meetings with the same decision-makers.
Organisers confirm that more than 100 new documentary projects were submitted for consideration to Nordisk Panorama Forum by some of Nordic region’s leading producers and filmmakers. Projects will be pitched Mon-Tues 25-26 September.
Nordisk Panorama Forum is described as “the annual meeting place and funding event for Nordic documentary professionals, looking to connect with a variety of Nordic and international decision-makers from TV, film institutes and regional film funds.”
PITCH PROJECTS
- A Deal With Chaos by Orri Jónsson & Davíð Hörgdal Stefánsson, Join Motion Pictures, Iceland. An in-depth dive into the life & work of film composer Jóhann Jóhannsson and his unusual journey from the Icelandic art scene to Hollywood stardom.
- Amateurs Paradise by Janus Bragi Jakobsson, Stefnuljós, Iceland. It’s almost real and for all to see. The act of documenting your life.
- Architecture as Invention by Michael Madsen, Paloma Productions, Denmark. A journey into the void.
- Born to Fight by Ala’a Mohsen, Tambo Film, Denmark. A documentary about the new generation of young Arab voices in Tunisia, that struggle to express themselves freely.
- Brothers in the Hunt by Ieva Ozolina, FA Filma, Latvia. Three friends from jail, who equally feel that their criminal careers are over, create a debt collection agency where no one remains in debt.
- Burnt Earth by John Webster, Yellow Film & TV Finland. A Finnish ground firefighting force joins the EU Civil Protection Pool to fight climate change intensified forest fires now and in the future.
- Confidential Story Project by David Aronowitsch, Story AB, Sweden.
- Dear Markku by Karin Pennanen, Avanton Productions Oy, Finland. After the death of her artist uncle the director discovers his hidden world and starts making a film about his life – surprisingly together with him.
- Fantastic Family by Nicoline Skotte Jacobsen, Bullitt Film, Denmark. The birth and brutal decline of a family. Forever connected, they all struggle to come to terms with their shared past.
- Fatherhood by Even G. Benestad & August Baugstø, HanssenIndie Film AS, Norway. Three men and a baby.
- Fire, Water, Earth, Air by Phie Ambo, Tambo Film, Denmark. The film is a poetic portrait of climate change, weaving together science and four Nordic stories of everyday life in small communities.
- First Contact by Jérôme Delafosse & Fabrice Schnöller, Imagissime, France. The extraordinary journey of Hvaldimir the beluga through the eyes of those who have developed a unique relationship with him.
- Fog of War Over the Baltic Sea by Jaak Kilmi & Kiur Aarma, MRP Matila Röhr Productions Oy, Finland. A story about the crew and the ships that were sunk during the World Wars on Gulf of Finland. It’s time to bring out the secrets from the fog of war.
- Frost Without Snow and Ice by Asgeir Helgestad, Artic Light AS, Norway. For ten years a polar bear mother takes a Norwegian filmmaker on a journey of love and conflict, life and death at Svalbard in the melting Arctic.
- Good Girls by Ania Winiarska, Story AB, Sweden. In a correctional center for girls, teens are kept safe from society and themselves, getting reprogrammed to become good citizens in today’s Poland.
- Grand Master Meng by Sturla Pilskog & Sidse Larsen, Holy Ravioli, Denmark. The film is a melting pot story where East meets West meets the Arctic in an amazing visual and quirky style.
- Hooked by Nora Nivedita Tvedt, Smallville Films, Norway. A documentary series that restores faith in love.
- Keviselie: Circle of Life by Elle Márjá Eira & Christine Cynn, Screaming Fox Productions, Norway. The vision quest of Keviselie, the indigenous superstar behind the first Sámi maps, transmitted to next-generation Sámi artivist Elle Márja Eira.
- Omid – Hope by Iiris Härmä, Guerilla Films Oy, Finland. A film about the joy of life and the status of women in Western and Iranian culture in the past 100 years.
- Stripped by Nils Toftenow & Emmanuel Sydney, Tally Ho Creatives, Sweden. A male stripper on a hunt for his true nature.
- The Arctic Circle of Lust by Markku Heikkinen, Zone2 Pictures Oy, Finland. The sexuality of northern Finnish family men, hidden from their spouses and the surrounding community, forces them to hide it or come out with it.
- The Other Side of Silence by Dheeraj Akolkar, Sant & Usant AS, Norway. Gerd Fleischer, 80, sets off on her last journey to tell the story of children born of war and war rape.
- The Smuggler by Sylvelin Måkestad, Ballad Film AB, Sweden. An adventurous elderly lady sets out on a journey to Finland to regain a long-forgotten pistol – a weapon carrying her life story.
- The Standard Man by Tomas Stark & Erik Lavesson, Mantaray Film AB, Sweden. The world’s best-selling anatomical skeleton model is produced in a factory in Hamburg. All copies are made from the same human remains. Who was he?
OBSERVER+ PROJECTS
- Autumn of the Patriarch by Anna Shishova-Bogoliubova, Piraya Film AS, Norway. A documentary dystopia exploring the relationship between Russians and their homeland as it has become a force of mass murder.
- Confidential Hansen & Pedersen Project by Laurits Nansen, Hansen & Pedersen, Denmark.
- Dreaming Souls by Karrar Al-AzzawiHigh & Low AS, Norway. Despite their disabilities, two young girls with Down syndrome strive to achieve their dreams.
- Eaten Fish by Daniel Nils Roberts, Final Cut for Real Norway, Norway. Cartoons won Ali Dorani his freedom from years of refugee detention. Can he now use them to leave the past behind?
- Fighter by Sunniva Sundby, A5 Film Norway. GK’s whole identity was based on his physicality. What happens when he breaks his spine and becomes paralyzed?
- Framing Her by Coco Wouters, We Have a Plan, Sweden. Fleeing the darkness of her past, a young woman ends up driving for three years, from Belgium to India, in search of female role models.
- Grandma Rock by Hrafnhildur Gunnarsdóttir, Glimrandi, Iceland. Defying societal norms, Grandma Rock, a DJ in her 70s, proves retirement is not an option when life’s intrigue beckons.
- I Follow Rivers by Barbora Hollan, Field Productions AS, Norway. A determined kayaker turned mother defies expectations and confronts her past, to run Iceland’s Aldeyjarfoss waterfall, her last unfinished goal.
- International Adoption, A Global Scandal Christine Tournadre & Sonia Gonzalez, Tangerine Productions, France. Of the million of children adopted by the western countries since the early 1950s, hundreds of thousands of these adoptions were illegal.
- Man and His Daughters – 6000 Km by Bicycle by Mikael Strandberg, Explorer Mikael Strandberg, Sweden. This is an autobiographical road-movie of a father and his two daughters who want to explore the world before it is too late.
- Masterminded for Success by Carl Javér, Vilda Bomben Film AB, Sweden. We follow Techno legend and music producer Mark Reeder in a car ride through the Berlin night with his newfound friends Jenny and Torje.
- Milkweed by Marco Stoltze, Mario Macedo & Enotea, Morph, Denmark. Milkweed follows a group of people intimately as they are transformed by hormones, exploring different versions of love in a new world of becoming.
- Pas De Trois by Laura Liventaal, Kartuliõis OÜ, Estonia. A kaleidoscopic intimate portrait of three generations of ballerinas, the borders of one person are blurred into the other. Why do we hide our pain?
- Playing Adam’s Game by Emma Jøsok, BERRE Film og TV AS, Norway. Why have gender inequalities in football been accepted for so long? This series aims to get to the bottom of this question, once and for all.
- Reflexion by MyNa Do & Farah Yusuf, Pråmfilm AB, Sweden. Two lifelong friends fight an anti-racist battle in Sweden with art as a boundless force.
- Secret Reading Club of Kabul by Shakiba Adil & Elina Hirvonen, Donkey Hotel Oy, Finland. In Afghanistan, where violent extremism denies women’s rights and opportunities, a group of young women gather secretly to read forbidden books.
- Sense and Sensibility by Hanna Nordenswan, Zone2 Pictures Oy, Finland. After overcoming alcoholism, a daughter has to let go of her biggest support, her mother, who is retiring from the crematorium where they both work.
- Take the Money and Run by Ole Juncker, Plus Pictures ApS, Denmark. An artist pockets DKK 532.549 and keeps the cash in the name of art.
- The Art of Reindeer Racing by Mervi Junkkonen, Illume Ltd., Finland. A documentary film about growth and racing.
- The Eukrainian by Viktor Nordenskiöld, Freetownfilms AB, Sweden. While her nation is fighting for its survival – her task is to give that survival a meaning when peace comes. Olha is “The EUkrainian.”
- The Promise by Zahavi Sanjavi, AVB Production AB, Sweden. A girl takes care of her family in a serious way because of the promise she made to her father, until a marriage proposal leaves her at a crossroads.
- To the North by Jasmijn Kooijman, Pråmfilm AB, Sweden. A story about growing up in today’s Sweden, while being caught between two cultures.
- Truth.com by Tonislav Hristov, Making Movies Oy, Finland. A female journalist takes on fake news and Russian trolls in the Balkans. Follow the money, find the sources.
- Undersurface by Vesa Kuosmanen, Mouka Filmi Oy, Finland. While facing his fear of rejection, the director aims to reconnect with his estranged family and answer the question of must one love their family.
