Marie Kristiansen og Øyvind Holtmon er blant de nordiske filmskaperne som har fått sine filmprosjekter inn i det toårige konseptet Nordic Genre Boost. Ordningen er et insentiv, i regi av Nordisk film- og tv-fond, for å fremme sjangerfilmer og serier innen Norden og på det internasjonale markedet.
Nordic Genre Boost vil også denne gangen gi utviklingsstøtte på 200 000 norske kroner til de sju prosjektene (blant 61 søkere) som i år er valgt ut, samt tilgang til to workshops. Den første vil skje i tilknytning til Night Visions International Festival i Helsinki, den andre under New Nordic Films coproduksjonsforum i Haugesund.
The Sex Trap kan dermed bli Marie Kristiansens andre langfilm (hun hadde co-regi på Exteriors). Den er skrevet av Sofia Lersol Lund og produseres av Stian Tveiten i Friland Produksjon. Prosjektet beskrives som en thriller om to tenåringsjenter som lokker menn inn i sexfeller, for å presse dem for penger. ”The profitable blackmail money feeds their dreams, but jealousy and one girl’s questioning of their right to keep ruining lives puts an ultimatum on their friendship”.
Pukk kan bli Holtmon og produsent Kristoffer Sindre Vittersø første langfilm. De gikk ut av Den norske filmskolen i 2014 og 2016. Filmen er en mørk komedie som også har absurde innslag, ifølge filmskaperne. ”In a godforsaken village, a giant quarry operates around the clock. Everyone works until exhaustion. When insomniac Jasper causes a terrible accident, he discovers an odd secret about the quarry’s director leading to a dark realization about his co-workers’ dependency on the company”.
Her er de øvrige nordiske deltakerne:
CAR:Y (Sverige)
«Psychological horror-thriller. First feature written/directed by Olivier Guerpillon (producer of Sound of Noise) and produced by Frida Hallberg (Silver Films). A little robot dog, cute and loveable, is devised as a prototype to look after the elderly. As it learns to understand its “master” its behaviour starts to become erratic and threatening».
COLD (Island)
«Science fiction. First feature by Thora Hilmarsdottir, written by Snjolaug Ludviksdottir and produced by Eva Sigurdardottir (Askja Films). 24-year old Sara and her family become isolated as the Earth plunges into darkness after the sun disappears. Slowly, a hierarchy forms and Sara, instead of being a leader, becomes a sort of dictator. When weak sunlight returns, its rays of hope may come too late to save the family».
ELEANOR (Danmark)
«Supernatural horror-thriller. Second feature by Jonas Arnby, written by David Sandreuter and produced by Jacob Jarek and Ditte Milsted (Profile Pictures). Living her life in the grasp of a terrorizing husband, Eleanor pushes him into death just to realize that he is not letting her go. To free herself from his angry ghost, she invites another man into her life».
LAMB (working title) (Island)
«Fantasy. First feature by Valdimar Jóhannsson, written by Sjón and produced by Hrönn Kristinsdóttir (Go To Sheep). A childless sheep farming couple receive an unexpected heir that fills their loneliness with much joy before ultimately destroying them when the creature that brought it to life returns».
THE PRAYER (Finland)
«Psychological horror. Third feature by Ulrika Bengts, written by Heli Tamminen and produced by Essi Haukkamaa (Greenlit Productions). Set in the future, two 12-year olds’ responses to fear and loss is to escape into their own imaginary world. Crossing the border between the known and the unknown is a battle in itself and their game escalates into a cruel power play where Iris must try to save her friend by bringing him back to reality».
