Produced by Norwegian mogul John Jacobsen from Filmkameratene, the NOK 61 million (around €7.3m) international project The Lion Woman (Løvekvinnen) co-produced with Germany’s Gifted Films West, Sweden’s Tre Vänner and Denmark’s Zentropa has received €470,000 backing from Eurimages.

Written and directed by Vibeke Idsøe, The Lion Woman is based on Norwegian author Erik Fosnes Hansen’s eponymous novel published in 2006. The story set between 1912 and 1936 follows the extraordinary life of a girl, born with hair all over her body, and her encounter with the outside world as she struggles to overcome people’s prejudice. “It’s a very fascinating story and a major international feature project,” said Jacobsen, producer of Max Manus and Børning to nordiskfilmogtvfond.com. “Although it can be compared to Elephant Man, the major character is a little girl so it’s a unique story. It’s a very universal theme about being different and wanting to be accepted for who you are." Filming is set to start in February and cast and crew will be announced before Christmas. SF handles domestic distribution. 

Two other Nordic projects previously supported by Nordisk Film & TV Fond were allocated production grants from the Council of Europe’s Eurimages. Thomas Vinterberg ‘The Commune (Kollektivet) produced by Sisse Graum Jørgensen and Morten Kaufmann for Zentropa Entertainments19 ApS was granted €470,000. Co-producers are Zentropa International Sweden and Topkapi in the Netherlands. Co-written by Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm (The Hunt), the film is a no-holds-barred account of what happens when personal desires collide with the notion of community. Shooting is expected to start later this year. TrustNordisk handles sales and Nordisk Film Scandinavian distribution.

The Norwegian feature Framing Mom (Rose Marie og gartnerens hemmelighet) is a feel-good drama written and directed by Sara Johnsen (All that Matters is Past). The story focuses on a TV journalist’s attempts to help a 16-year-old girl find her biological parents.  The project produced by Turid Øversveen (4½ Fiksjon) in co-production with Denmark’s Nimbus Film and Germany’s The Match Factory was granted €280,000. Cast and crew will be announced shortly for the project set to start filming in February, with the main summer shoot scheduled for May/June in Norway, Copenhagen and Germany. Norsk Film Distribusjon handles the domestic release, Scanbox the Danish release and The Match Factory world sales.