Foto fra «Elephants in the Fog».

Ti norske filmprodusenter har denne uken fått tilskudd til samproduksjon med produsenter i andre land gjennom Sørfond-ordningen. Årets tilskudd går til produksjoner fra El Salvador, Cuba, Colombia, India, Marokko, Jordan, Iran, Nepal, Vestbredden og Gaza, samt Tyrkia. Juryen har valgt ut to dokumentarfilmer, en hybridfilm og syv spillefilmer som får tilskudd på totalt 5.425.000 kroner.

Norsk filminstitutt, som administrerer ordningen, mottok i år 33 søknader til Sørfond, med et totalt søknadsbeløp på ca 24 millioner kroner. For søknadsrunden 2024 har Sørfond hatt et budsjett på over fem millioner kroner.

Sørfond ble etablert for å fremme produksjon av film i land hvor filmproduksjonen er begrenset av politiske, sosiale eller økonomiske årsaker. Bestemmende land er bestemt av DAC-listen, som er utviklingskomiteen til OECD sin liste over land som kan få bistand. Sørfond gir tilskudd til spillfilm eller dokumentarfilm produsert av hovedprodusent i DAC-land og norsk minoritetsprodusent. Regissøren må være statsborger av, eller være bosatt i, et land på DAC- listen. Filmen må i hovedsak spilles inn i land som står oppført på denne listen.

Årets Sørfond-jury besto av Wanuri Kahiu (Kenya) filmskaper, Sophie Bourdon (Frankrike), filmkonsulent og produsent, og Mads Wølner Voss som er prosjektleder i Sørfond.

«Utvalget representerer en variasjon i form og innhold og overbeviste juryen med sine sterke konsept og gripende karakterer og tema. I et klima hvor ytringsfriheten er under press over hele verdene, anerkjenner juryen viktigheten av å løfte frem disse prosjektene som på ulike måter vil bidra til Sørfond sine overordnede mål: å styrke ytringsfriheten og menneskerettighetene, styrke filmen som kulturelt uttrykk og fremme kunstnerisk frihet og kulturelt mangfold»

Årets tilskuddsmottakere:

The Station / Jordan / Director: Sara Ishaq / Norwegian co-producer: Ingrid Lill Høgtun, Barentsfilm AS / Producer: Nadia Elievat / Support: NOK 700 000

Synopsis: In a women’s-only petrol station in Yemen, the bond between three siblings is put to the test when war forces them to make impossible decisions.

Qashqai Tribe: Once Upon a Time in Shiraz / Iran / Genre: Documentary / Director: Hamed Zolfaghari / Norwegian co-producer: Verona Meier, Storm Films / Producer: Hamed Zolfaghari/ Support: NOK 550 000

Synopsis: Valiollah and Dorna are preparing for their last migration to the summer grazelands in a situation where their sons refuse nomadic life and the migration through Shiraz city has become so dangerous…

Libertinas / El Salvador / Genre: Fiction/ Director: Leslie Ortiz / Norwegian co-producer: Ellen Ugelstad, TwentyOne Pictures  / Producer: Adriana Morán / Support: NOK 500 000

Synopsis: Liz lives a life she never wanted, treading a path that was paved for her after an unwanted pregnancy at the age of 16. Since then, her life was no longer her own and she has gone through life at the mercy of others. One day Liz finds herself at the local theater and it awaken something in her that sets her on a path of breaking free from the cage of her everyday life.

Eldorado, the Taste of the South / Morocco / Genre: Fiction / Director: Alaa Eddine Aljem / Norwegian co-producer: Linda Bolstad Strønen, Duofilm / Producer: Francesca Duca / Support: NOK 600 000

Synopsis: A group of migrants are looking to reach Eldorado, a secret utopian island where everyone lives in peace. They eventually arrive in a tomato sauce factory of the same name.

All before you / West bank and Gaza / Genre: Fiction / Director: Annemarie Jacir / Norwegian co-producer: Elisa Fernanda Pirir Ruiz, Stær Films / Producer: Ossama Bawardi / Support: NOK 500 000

Synopsis: Palestine under the British Mandate. The backdrop is a shifting world that will lead to the start of World War II. Our story is told over four years 1935 – 38, though not always chronologically. Our characters are fictional, but the historic reference factual.

Elephants in the fog / Nepal / Genre: Fiction / Director: Abinash Bikram Shah / Norwegian co-producer: Verona Meier, Storm Films / Producer: Anup Poudel / Support: NOK 600 000

Synopsis: In a small Nepalese village nestled in the heart of a forest populated by wild elephants, Pirati is the matriarch of a community of transgender women. She aspires to a «normal» life with Master, the mustachioed man she is in love with. But when one of her «daughters» disappears, she must choose between love and responsibility to her community.

The Star / Cuba / Genre: Hybrid / Director: Alejandro Alonso / Norwegian co-producer: Anita Norfolk, Folk Film / Producer: Daniela Muñoz Barroso / Support: NOK 450 000

Synopsis: Pitufo, a young Cuban shipbreaker, dreams of escaping the remote bay where he spends his days between metal and fire. In search of his freedom, he embarks on a labyrinthine journey to the swamps of Southwest Florida. An uncanny territory where he must face his deepest fears. The Star portrays the emigration process in depth, exploring how space, dreams and desires define a journey full of uncertainties.

Dear Friend / Turkey / Genre: Documentary / Director: Confidential information / Norwegian co-producer: Sarah Winge-Sørensen, Stray Dogs / Support: NOK 450 000

Jury Statement: Through a refreshing and deeply personal lens, Dear Friend delves into the complexities of supporting a friend through a crisis, while navigating an untrustworthy justice system. As it grapples with the ambiguity of truth and justice, the documentary also sheds light on the challenges faced by family and friends of those in crisis, and showcases the unwavering determination and radical hope necessary to navigate through insurmountable odds and a powerful, dominating administration.

Reshma Shera / India / Genre: Fiction / Director: Megha Ramaswamy / Norwegian co-producer: Gudny Hummelvoll, Hummelfilm / Producer: Gaurav Dhingra, Jungle Book Content Studio P / Support: NOK 600 000

Synopsis: Reshma, 9, works as a sorter in an illegal mica mine. Following the death of her mother in a mining accident, she is betrothed to the mine owner’s son, Beenu, 10, while also being deemed ill-fated by the village elder owing to a stubborn dogtooth rooted in her upper jaw. Going by their age-old custom to ward off evil luck such as hers, the villagers ready Shera, an ensnared pariah dog as the groom to marry a confused and disheartened Reshma, before she can marry her future husband.

Noviembre / Colombia / Genre: Fiksjon / Director: Tomás Corredor / Norwegian co-producer: Eric Vogel, Tordenfilm / Producer: Diana Bustamante Escobar / Support: NOK 475 000

Synopsis: In November of 1985, the M-19 guerrillas took over the Palace of Justice in Bogotá, Colombia. Their plan to take the Supreme Court hostage and prosecute the President soon unraveled as the army responded. In the chaos, a small group found themselves trapped in a bathroom with other civilians seeking refuge. For close to 27 hours, they endured the brutal crossfire between their captors and the state armed forces – a situation they had not chosen to be a part of.

Kilde: Sørfond.