A war hero and two films for the whole family

- I think a lot of Norwegians will go to the cinema to see the story of war hero Gunnar Sønsteby's impressive efforts during World War II on the big screen. And the panel that assesses the audience potential for the projects that apply for grants from the market scheme, clearly also has a strong belief that the cinema audience is still hungry for stories from WW2, this defining period in our history, says Kjersti Mo, CEO of the Norwegian Film Institute (NFI).

- There were also many other exciting projects in all genres among the applicants in this round. The market scheme is a scheme for cinema films with a large audience potential, and there is an industry panel consisting of experienced film producers and distributors, who based on their audience insight, assess which of the films has the greatest potential for high ticket sales in cinemas. This time it was a new major film from World War II, and two family films with an old acquaintance, Captain Sabertooth, and the new character Askelabben. We look forward to seeing these films in cinemas in due time, says Kjersti Mo.

No. 24

Director André Øvredal and Filmkameratene AS receive NOK 12,000,000 in grants for No. 24, the story of how the accountant's apprentice Gunnar Sønsteby from Rjukan became the greatest war hero Norway has had in modern times.

In the film, we follow Gunnar Sønsteby from the time he volunteered for the campaign against the invading German forces in April 1940 and was later recruited for illegal work by Max Manus and then ended up as the leader of the so-called Oslo gang who carried out countless daring sabotage operations until peace came 8. May 1945. The war hero Max Manus has also been portrayed in a Norwegian Feature film, also produced by Filmkameratene, which in 2008-2009 sold more than one million cinema tickets domestically.  

The script is by Vibeke Idsøe, Christopher Grøndahl and Espen von Ibenfeldt and it is produced by Ellen Alveberg and John M. Jacobsen for Filmkameratene AS.
 

Captain Sabertooth - King of the Sea

The director team Rasmus Sivertsen and Yaprak Morali and Qvisten Animasjon AS receive NOK 5,000,000 for the animated film Captain Sabertooth - The King of the Sea.

When a cunning Countess enchants the pirate boy Pinky and tricks him into stealing Captain Sabeltann's galleon figure in gold, both treasures, friendship - and finally also Captain Sabertooth`s existence are threatened. The story is based on Terje Formoe's pirate universe that has delighted young and old for over 30 years.

The film is written by Karsten Fullu and Mina Juni Stenebråten and produced by Åshild Ramborg and Stian Tveiten for Qvisten Animasjon AS.

Askelabben

Director Lisa Marie Gamlem and Storm Films AS receive 5,000,000 kroner for Askelabben and the lousy helpers, an animated film about the boat builder puppy Espen Askelabb.

This is an adventurous and original story about Espen Askelabb who has had his paw badly injured in a fireplace accident, and is therefore seen as both lazy and incompetent. A fast-paced animated adventure for the whole family with the world's biggest underdog in the lead role.

The film is written by Karsten Fullu and produced by Frederick Howard and Veronica Yan Natvig.

About the market scheme

NFI's market scheme is a grant scheme for films with great audience potential. The films and their audience potential are assessed by a panel composed of representatives from the film industry and the NFI.

The NFI provide market grants for cinema films at two grant levels: Up to NOK 12,000,000 and up to NOK 5,000,000 per project. The films must have an audience estimate of over 250,000 or 150,000 cinema tickets sold, respectively.

NFI hopes to be able to carry out a new application round in the market scheme this autumn, but due to growth in the ex-post grant, this round may have to be put on hold. This will be announced as soon as possible.