Sørfond-tilskot til ni internasjonale samproduksjonar i 2025

Saka er oppdatert 3.juli 2025

Oppdatering: NFI har gjennomført ei ny tildeling i Sørfond 27. juni 2025 etter juryens anbefaling, då eit prosjekt har valt å seia frå seg tilskot. Ny tildeling er gitt til den libanesiske filmen The Side Effects of Trusting Life. Les meir om prosjektet lenger ned i saka.

Sørfond-ordninga

Ni produksjonar har denne veka fått tilskot frå Sørfond. Juryen har valt ut ein dokumentarfilm og åtte spelefilmar som får tilskot på totalt 5.425.000 kroner. 

Norsk filminstitutt mottok i år 56 søknadar til Sørfond, med eit totalt søknadsbeløp på ca 41,6 millionar kroner. Sidan oppstarten i 2011 har Sørfond gitt tilskot til 106 produksjonar, inkludert årets tilskot.  

Sørfond vart etablert for å fremja produksjon av film i land der filmproduksjonen er avgrensa av politiske, sosiale eller økonomiske årsaker. Kvalifiserte land er bestemt av DAC-lista, som er utviklingskomitéen til OECD si liste over land som kan få bistand. 

Sørfond gir tilskot til spelefilm eller dokumentarfilm produsert av hovudprodusent i DAC-land og norsk minoritetsprodusent. Regissøren må vera statsborgar av, eller vera busett i, eit land på DAC- lista. Filmen må i hovudsak spelast inn i land som står oppført på denne lista. 

Sørfond er finansiert over bistandsbudsjettet i Utenriksdepartementet, og blir forvalta av Norsk filminstitutt, i samarbeid med Stiftelsen Festivalkontoret. 

Årets Sørfond-jury bestod av Wanuri Kahiu (Kenya) filmskapar, Sophie Bourdon (Frankrike), filmkonsulent og produsent, og Mads Wølner Voss som er prosjektleiar i Sørfond. 

Sørfond-juryen si fråsegn (en)

"From a pool of 56 applications, where 24 exceptional projects were selected for review by the jury, selecting only 9 projects was a very difficult process.  

First of all, we want to extend a sincere thank you to all the filmmakers baring their souls in these wonderful scripts and treatments we had the honor of reading through. Many powerful stories could not be included in the final selection this year, and we want to recognize the strength of all the projects submitted.  

To those who were not selected this year: your work matters. We see your courage and creativity, and we hope to encounter your stories again. 

As we live in a time when freedom of expression and human rights are under immediate threat across the globe, each of these courageous projects stands as a testament to the resilience of filmmakers everywhere – and to the hope that art can offer for the future. Supporting these stories in various ways contributes to Sørfond’s core objectives: to strengthen freedom of speech and human rights, promote women’s rights, support film as a form of cultural expression, and champion artistic freedom and cultural diversity.  

This year’s selection includes projects from Palestine, Indonesia, Thailand, Rwanda, India, Ethiopia, the Philippines, and Iran. The selected projects each engage with the world we live in in distinct, compelling and brave ways." 

9 Temples to Heaven

Country: Thailand. Director: Sompot Chidgasornpongse.Producer: Apichatpong Weerasethakul og Kissada Kamyoung. Norwegian co-producer: Renée Mlodyszewski, True Content Production Norway AS. Fiction. 

Synopsis: A family of 9 takes their grandmother on a merit-making trip to 9 temples in 1 day, hoping to prolong her life. From dawn till dusk, the family’s relationships and beliefs are tested along the way, as the trip takes an unexpected turn.  

Jury Statement: 9 Temples to Heaven is a delightfully sharp and tender road-trip comedy that sneaks up on you with its emotional depth. What begins as one man’s desperate attempt to outwit a prophecy becomes a richly layered exploration of generational conflict, cultural tradition, and the chaos of love in all its imperfect forms. The film’s witty writing, warm ensemble cast, and its ability to balance absurdity with sincerity—offering an unexpected Thai family story that is as funny as it is heartfelt.  

Support: NOK 600 000.  

Benimana

Country: Rwanda. Director: Marie Clementine Dusabejambo. Producer: Marie-Epiphanie Uwayezu. Norwegian co-producer: Ingrid Lill Høgtun, Marie Fuglestein Lægreid and Linda Bolstad Strønen, DUOfilm AS. Fiction.  

Synopsis: Veneranda, a survivor of the genocide against Tutsi working for reconciliation, believes she has made peace with her past, but she sees her old demons resurface when she unexpectedly learns of her daughter’s pregnancy, under the silent eye of her mother- the Grandmother, who feels the wavering of their family balance. 

Jury Statement: Benimama is a compelling intergenerational drama that examines the quiet aftershocks of trauma within a Rwandan community. Benimama has deep emotional clarity and precision. The script handles silence, generational grief, and unspoken tension with restraint and purpose. Benimama offers a powerful and specific look at the personal cost of collective trauma. It shows how reconciliation is not a final act but an ongoing negotiation—one that plays out in kitchens, glances, and ruptured routines. It is an honest, layered narrative that resonates far beyond its setting.   

Support: NOK 700 000. 

Dengue 

Country: India. Director: Prantik Basu. Producer: Tanaji Dasgupta, Prantik Basu. Norwegian co-producer: Ingrid Lill Høgtun, Marie Fuglestein Lægreid and Linda Bolstad Strønen, DUOfilm AS. Fiction. 

Synopsis: Under a torrential rain, two young men share an umbrella and become lovers, but symptoms of a violent fever seize one of them. A forbidden romance in Calcutta of the 90s.. 

Jury Statement: Dengue is a heartfelt and intimate portrayal of queer love and identity in 1990s India. The film explores LGBTQIA+ experience with nuance, emotional depth, and symbolic richness. The jury was moved by the authenticity of the world it is set in, its layered script, and the sensitivity with which it handles complex themes. Dengue is both artistically assured and socially vital, especially in times where rights for people in the LGBTQIA+ community are under threat throughout the world. An important contribution to queer cinema.   

Support: NOK 600 000.  

Diaphanous

Country: People's Republic of China. Director: Dornaz Hajiha. Producer: Li Xiaorong. Norwegian co-producer: Ingrid Lill Høgtun, Marie Fuglestein Lægreid and Linda Bolstad Strønen, DUOfilm AS. Fiction. 

Synopsis: Roshanak plans to leave Iran, but when her family confiscates her passport, she seeks help from her sister Mojdeh. She discovers that the once free-spirited Mojdeh has surrendered to her husband and abandoned painting. As Roshanak fights to get her passport back, she also tries to awaken Mojdeh. When the passport is finally in her hands, she hesitates—should she leave for Paris or stay and help her sister escape the prison she has built for herself? 

Jury Statement: Diaphanous is a moving and intimate portrait of two sisters caught between duty and desire, silence and expression. The film resonates in its quiet urgency and the nuanced way it explores how art, when stifled, can dim the human spirit—and when reclaimed, can reignite it. Through the evolving bond between Roshanak and Mojdeh, the film becomes a powerful testament to sisterhood as resistance, and to the life-saving force of creativity in the face of control.   

Support: NOK 700 000.  

Four Seasons In Java 

Country: Indonesia. Director: Kamila Andini. Producer: Isa Isfansyah. Norwegian co-producer: Verona Meier, Storm Films AS. Fiction. 

Synopsis: A Woman released from prison returns to her village to rebuild her life. 
Together with a group of outcasts, she finds the power to confront her past and redefine her meaning of belonging and peace. 

Jury Statement: Four Seasons in Java tells the powerful story of a marginalized woman in an East Java village who wants to give herself a second chance. The Jury was impressed both by the suspenseful script built around a fascinating female character, ready to defy all the challenges and rules imposed by a patriarchal, discriminatory, and oppressive society, and by the poetic and metaphorical form masterfully orchestrated by a singular female voice. This is an important film about resilience, solidarity and the empowerment of women.   

Support: NOK 675 000.  

Mehal Sefari 

Country: Ethiopia. Director: Abraham Gezahagne. Producer: Abraham Gezahagne. Norwegian co-producer: Ingrid Lill Høgtun, Marie Fuglestein Lægreid and Linda Bolstad Strønen, Barentsfilm AS. Fiction. 

Synopsis: A politically apathetic ambulance driver collects bodies from the city streets of Ethiopia`s capital during a mass killing. Confronted with his son's body, he's compelled to take a side. 

The film is set in 1977, during one of the darkest moments in Ethiopian history: Ethiopia was engulfed in a bloody conflict between the military junta and the main opposition, leading to the infamous "Red Terror"—a period of brutal mass killings. 

Jury Statement: The Jury was particularly won over by the captivating storytelling by this first-time director and his bold cinematic approach using the thriller film genre to immerse the viewer in the traumatic Red Terror page of Ethiopian past. With great empathy for his well-portrayed main male character, the director transforms a period film about mass killing in his country into a personal struggle for survival driven by a thirst for peace for future generations and an indelible belief in a free society, respectful of everyone's differences. It is an essential film about healing and reconciliation whose relevance resonates strongly and globally with our times.   

Support: NOK 650 000.  

Ria 

Country: Philippines. Director: Arvin Belarmino. Producer: Kristine de Leon. Norwegian co-producer: Fernanda Renno, Fidalgo Film Production AS. Fiction.  

Synopsis: Facing demolition by a developer, folk-punk Ria, her foster mom, and their punk gang fight for their home—the last building in their ruined neighborhood.. 

Jury Statement: RIA is a raw, brave and urgent debut film that pulses with punk energy. Set within a rarely depicted community in the Philippines, the film tells a powerful story of resistance, solidarity, and female empowerment. The jury was especially impressed by the grounded realism, a bold aesthetic, and a strong sense of place, with defiant spirit and political edge.   

Support: NOK 500 000.  

Soon we will all be history 

Country: Jordan. Director: Saeed Taji Farouky. Producer: Tareq Abu-Lughod. Norwegian co-producer: Leiv Igor Devold, Aurora Film AS. Fiction. 

Synopsis: In Gaza, Suleiman mourns his sister Noreen. He rebuilds a bird cage on the spot where she was killed. Suleiman then rescues a falcon and uses the cage to hide it. Hisham, a young man, demands the falcon, but Suleiman refuses. A Palestinian woman from Bulgaria also named Noreen arrives to study bird migration. Israeli soldiers destroy the falcon's cage but it survives.  

Jury Statement: Soon We Will All Be History Here is a powerful and deeply moving story of intergenerational trauma, resilience, and displacement in southern Gaza, Palestine. Told with poetic restraint, the film offers a vital human perspective on life under Israeli occupation—an especially important act at a time when Palestinian lives are under severe and ongoing threat. The jury was impressed by the project’s emotional depth, richly drawn characters, symbolic imagery and quiet defiance.  

Support: NOK 500 000.   

The Side Effects of Trusting Life

Country: Lebanon. Director: Ahmad Ghossein. Producer: Georges Schoucair. Norwegian co-producer: Marie Fuglestein Lægreid, Linda Bolstad Strønen og Ingrid Lill Høgtun, DUOfilm AS. Fiction.  

Synopsis: Lama loses her job in the economic crisis in Lebanon, and starts losing her hearing due to panic attacks. She fights to survive amid absurd Beirut collapse. 

Support: NOK 500 000.