Finland’s production powerhouse Solar Films in Cannes the English language debut features by directors Aku Louhimies and AJ Annila and recently re-launched its TV activities under the brand name Solar Republic.

Boosted by the local smash hit comedy Reunion (480,000 admissions and still climbing) and celebrating 20th anniversary and six years after they sold its TV assets to French Banijay Entertainment, Solar Films is back in scripted and non-scripted TV content under the helm of managing director Jukka Helle and founder and Head of Production Markus Selin.

Samuli Norhomaa has joined Solar Republic from Story Of Oy and Solar Films’ in-house producer Jesse Fryckman is handling scripted drama. “We are going to produce Nordic crime shows, such as our successful Vares franchise, and are actively looking for more book material. We will also focus on scripted comedies and are preparing the Finnish remake of The Office”, says Fryckman.

On the feature film side, Solar Films (partly owned by Egmont) is widening its co-production network to the US and using its solid infrastructure to help Finnish directors work on English language projects for the global market while keeping a foot at home. Solar Films will put between 10-15% of the financing for each US/Finnish project with budgets ranging from $4-4.5 million.

The first feature set to start filming in July is Every Good Boy Does Fine by genre director AJ Annila (Sauna) starring Michael Nyqvist and Famke Janssen. Based on a script by Jonathan Dees, the story centres on a young piano prodigy, Brian, who hates practicing until he finds a music teacher who becomes his mentor. But Brian soon suspects his teacher to be a serial killer. Jana Edelbaum and Rachel Cohen (iDeal Partners Film Fund) are producing in the US with Steve Buscemi among three US exec producers. Sweden’s Chimney Group is co-producing with Solar Films. 13 Films started pre-selling the title in Cannes.

The second announced project Clearance by Aku Louhimies (Frozen Land) is an action-drama about a mine clearance expert (Richard Armitage) and his pregnant partner (Naomie Harris) both kidnapped in South Sudan and try to escape. Ryan Haidarian and Andrew Corkin are producing with Fryckman and David Murdoch. UMedia is handling world sales.

On the home front, Solar Films’ next major Finnish feature The Midwife (Kätilö) by Antti J. Jokinen will premiere in Finland on September 4, then the family film Heavysaurs-The Movie on November 27. 

Projects in development include a sequel to the current BO success Reunion, remake of the Danish hit movie Klassefesten. The second film will be directed again by Taneli Mustonen.