Norwegian film funding: New Moland-film, racist killing and kids dance-sequel

Growth of the Soil

Growth of the Soil is veteran director and screenwriter Hans Petter Moland`s adaptation of Norwegian author Knut Hamsun`s (1859-1952) Nobel prize-winning novel Growth of the Soil (Markens grøde, 1917). It has been granted NOK 17.500.000 (Euro 1.5 million) in production support from the Norwegian Film Institute.  It is to be produced by Håkon Øverås for production company Fourandahalf. The two also made Out Stealing Horses, which received a Silver Bear at the Berlinale for Best Cinematography in 2019.

In Growth of the Soil we meet Isak, a young man who settles in a deserted in a deserted place, but with only two hands, he is unable to set up a house alone. Inger, an insecure woman with a cleft palate settles with hum for practical reasons, and they build a new home. They sow, reap and have children. Time goes by, and when Inger gives birth to her third child, she discovers her nightmare to come true; the child also has a cleft palate like herself. She kills the child and buries it in the woods. This horrible secret brings the two of them closer, but she gets caught up in guilt and is eventually imprisoned in the city.
For seven years, Isak and the children take care of the farm like before. When Inger finally comes home, she confidently shows that she can both read and sew, and she no longer has a cleft palate. It is evident that she is not dependent on Isak anymore. The imbalance is a reality.

Growth of the Soil has a total budget of NOK 52.000.000 (Euro: 4,3 million)

Director and scriptwriter Hans Petter Moland had his directorial debut film in 1993 with The Last Lieutenant (Secondløitnanten) and has an international career alongside his Norwegian films. Among his international productions are The Beautiful Country (2004), Cold Pursuit (2019) and the soon-to-be-released The Thug (2023)
 

The Killing

The Killing tells the story of the murder of Benjamin Hermansen in 2001, the first racially motivated murder in Norway, portrayed through the perspective of two young boys and a mother. The Nordisk Film production by veteran producer Thomas Robsahm (The Worst Person in the World, 2021) has been granted NOK 15.700.000 (Euro 1.3 million) in production support from the Norwegian Film Institute. The total budget is NOK 37.000.000 (Euro 3 million). The Killing is a co-production with Nordisk Film Production AS (Denmark) and Trust Nordisk handles sales.  

Director Ingvild Søderlind had her directorial debut with All Foreigners Keep Their Curtains Closed/Alle utlendinger har lukka gardiner, 2020) and has made Battle:Freestyle (2020) and Royalteen Princess Margrethe (2021) for Netflix. Søderlind has grown up in the same area of Oslo where the racist killing took place and has a close relationship to the story and location.

Dancing Queen in Hollywood

A follow-up to the domestic success tween film Dancing Queen, this time taking place in Hollywood. The first film ends with the young Mina and Markus dancers winning a trip to Hollywood, and in Dancing Queen in Hollywood, Mina and Markus are going to Los Angeles to dance in a music video by world famous pop star Anna of the North. But what starts out as a dream trip becomes very demanding for Mina while her parents experience a relationship crisis. What will she do when she discovers her dad is unfaithful?

Director Auro Gossé also directed Dancing Queen, which had its world premiere in the Generation Kplus programme at the Berlinale 2023 and went on to receive prizes at Cinekid, Brac, Zürich and Seattle, in addition to an Amanda award in Norway.

Dancing Queen in Hollywood is produced by veteran Thomas Robsahm for Armacord and has been granted NOK 5.500.000 (Euro 460.000) in production support from the Norwegian Film Institute. The total budget is NOK 18.000.000 (Euro 1.5 million). Sales are handled by Level K.