Forum Projects 2024
Projects Selected for Pitch
Denmark
Afghan Circus
The film follows 13-year-olds Zahra and Zargai during their pivotal year before turning 14, the age of adulthood according to the Taliban. Told through their eyes, the film depicts the lives of children in present-day Afghanistan, showing what it’s like growing up in a war zone while exploring spaces of play, imagination, and quiet resistance.
by Camille Bildsøe / Elk Film ApS, Sofie Husum Johannesen
How to Hygge
Two Danes want to bring “danish hygge” to China, by building a Danish life style center, where Chinese people will be able to live like the Danes.
by Rikke Nørgaard / Celma Film, Anna Cold Winge Leisner
Investigating Putin
Investigating Putin is a world-historic document. With unique access to the National Police, the National Guard, the Office of the Prosecution and the EU Advisory Mission (EUAM) we follow the investigation of possible war crimes in Ukraine. The main characters are a small group of police investigators at the local police station in Kharkiv.
by Camilla Pedersen, Nikolaj Viborg / Impact TV, Ole Tornbjerg
Left Behind
In a harrowing journey to Somalia, this documentary exposes the tragic reality of European-Somali children forcibly taken from their home country under the guise of a holiday, only to be abandoned and subjected to brutal “re-education” in institutions or by distant relatives.
by Nasib Farah / Emjay Productions ApS, Maria Robstad Nielsen
The Iran Deal
Diplomacy is founded on a fragile and slowly built material: trust. This is the story of a historic nuclear deal and the woman behind it.
by Karen Stokkendal Poulsen / Bullitt Film, Vibeke Vogel
Finland
But I’m No Influencer
When Mark, a businessman living in the Philippines, sees a social media advertisement for business school studies, he decides to accept the invitation from a country known for the best education in the world. Upon arriving he finds out that the school is called Influencers Academy. Since he already paid 35 000 euros for the education, Mark decides to play their game and become an influencer.
by Jussi Sandhu / Wacky Tie Films, Pasi Hakkio
Fruitcakes – the Dawn of Drag
Jolanda, a retired archivist, has treasured memories of his beloved friend Mummo for decades. In 1979 they performed together in Finland’s first drag show Happy Gays. Now, with a filmmaker, Jolanda invites a new generation of queer drag artists to re-enact their friendship. As the performers explore Jolanda’s past and the challenges he faced as an outsider, they realize their freedom and pride are rooted in the struggles of those who came before them.
by Vesa Kuosmanen / Polygraf, Sandra Enkvist
Matri(x)archy [Wildcard]
In our society, care is scarce, and the burden of caregiving often falls on older women. Now, they’re fed up and changing, alongside killer whales in the Mediterranean. The film explores the theme of caregiver burnout through three interconnected stories: a women’s choir, a pod of orcas, and a biker gang of nurses.
by Tinja Ruusuvuori / Tekele Productions Oy, Marja Pihlaja
Soap Fever
In 1992 Finland was in the depths of the worst recession in its history, when an unexpected savior appeared: an American soap opera “The Bold and the Beautiful”. It quickly became more popular than any tv show in Finland before then. Soap Fever tells the story of how the American entertainment industry collided with a small Nordic nation, and how choosing even the lightest of entertainment, can actually be a political act.
by Inka Achté / napafilms Oy, Liisa Karpo
Greenland
Orsoq [Wildcard]
ORSOQ is an exploration of man’s longing for solitude. In an ambitious cinematic form, the film zooms in on people who have voluntarily chosen a life of loneliness. But who – no matter what they do – remain caught between the calmness of isolation and the need for community.
by Inuk Silis Høegh / Anorak Film I/S, Emile Hertling Péronard
Iceland
Lukas
Lukas is a documentary about the “Case of Lukas” which happened in 2007 in Iceland. A 20 year old boy was accused of animal cruelty on the Internet and brutally killing a dog named Lukas. The documentary shows the effect of these accusations and this case on him and his family.
by Magnús Leifsson / Republik Film Productions, Halldór Hilmisson
Miðgarðakirkja – Portrait of an Island [Wildcard]
When their church burns down in a storm, the 30 residents rally together to rebuild it as a symbol of their community, which has lasted over 800 years on this barren rock. The film is a mixture of stories told by residents and poetic observations of the rhythms of daily life.
by Nikolai Galitzine / Northern Wave, Dögg Mósesdóttir
Norway
Echoes of Noora
Echoes of Noora tells the story of Noora Noor, a Norwegian-Somali musical genius captivated audiences worldwide, whose journey from the heights of stardom to the depths of addiction and back. Filming her from when she was on the streets, through rehab, her new life as drug free and making a comeback as a musician. The film offers a raw, universal story of struggle, self-love, and redemption.
by Mari Bakke Riise / A5 Film, Silje Evensmo Jacobsen
Facts About a Distant Valley
Alongside a strip of rough road, surrounded by avalanche-ridden mountains, 50 villagers refuse to move to the comforts of the city. In large part because they dislike the city, and everything that has to do with city life. Including the politicians that seem to have forgotten about them, and the bureaucrats putting restrictions on the few positive things the villagers have left.
by Håvard Fossum / Medieoperatørene AS, Ingvil Giske
Hex [Wildcard]
In the heart of Norway’s vast black metal scene, a new force suddenly emerges. It has been dangerously quiet for far too long. Three young women have entered into a three-year pact where they will devote their entire lives to awaken the world, each other and themselves as witches. However this ends, they will definitely make a hell of a noise and start screaming.
by Maja Holand / Herstory, Mari Nilsen Neira
Lights
In Lights we meet an eclectic group of people in the remote Norwegian valley of Hessdalen. They are in different ways influenced, mesmerised and shaped by the mysterious light phenomena in the sky above them. Through creative cinéma vérité, this film explores the human condition and show us something universal that we can identify with – the search for meaning in our lives.
by Gunnar Hall Jensen / UpNorth Film, Torstein Parelius
Peder Angel
Peder Angel (19) had endured relentless bullying since he started school. In February 2024, after receiving messages from his schoolmates telling him to end his life, he did. Now, his family is taking legal action against the school and the main bullies, hoping for change in their community.
by Even G. Benestad / Indie Film AS, Carsten Aanonsen
Sweden
A Face to Be Loved [Wildcard]
While emptying her childhood home in South of France, after her estranged father’s death, Angelica recalls a fierce and solitary love she had for her history teacher, Miss S. As her list of duties never seems to diminish, an intense desire grows in Angelica: to meet her again.
Angelica Ruffier / MDEMC, Brynhildur Þórarinsdóttir
Fear Fokol
There are over 550,000 active private security guards in South Africa, much more than the number of police and soldiers combined. Fear Fokol takes a nightly ride into the fears and anxieties of Johannesburg’s prosperous inhabitants by following the work of the private security guards hired to protect them. The illusion of security slowly dissolves as we dig into a fragile climate of inequality, paranoia and masculinity in crisis.
by Tuva Björk / Story, Dennis Harvey
The Art of Not Knowing
For years, I’ve kept a box of DV tapes chronicling life with the skateboarding crew of my teenage years. Sifting through my footage, I revisit a past tainted by a dark truth: our manager physically and mentally abused my friends for years. And I had no idea. I embark on a journey of understanding with my friends, exploring the weight of memory and healing that comes from breaking the silence.
by Jonathan Lomar / WG Film AB, Margarete Jangård
The Other Gaza
I live in Stockholm, but my family lives in Gaza. I long for the laughter, the tears and the unbridled creativity that shapes a meaningful life in the middle of hell. The film is family focused and ponders on the dilemma of constantly yearning for a place where one can no longer live. Whenever my family has access to the internet we meet up via video call, to let each other know they are still alive.
by Wafá Jamil Espvall/ Sard Films AB, Wafá Jamil Espvall
Violence of the Lonely Heart
They are young living in life threatening solitude and call themselves incels, short for involuntary celibates. They are full of despair and anger, mostly directed inwards, others go down in history for their acts of terror. A few haven’t given up on them and try to make the incel men return to reality. The clock is ticking, as the further you go down the rabbit hole, the less love there’s left.
by Terese Mörnvik & Caroline Troedsson / Auto Images AB, Ove Rishøj Jensen
Latvia
Letters to My Creator
Inna, a young woman in Soviet Russia, could no longer repress her inner imperative to free herself from the alien body she felt trapped in. She travelled to Riga, where a famous Latvian surgeon, with connections in the elite of the USSR, read Inna’s desperate letter and undertook an unprecedented series of operations to change her sex and help “correct nature’s mistake” by creating Inokenty.
by Alex Shiriaieff / VFS Films, Uldis Cekulis
Scotland
Cyclovia
The bicycle is embedded deep within Colombia’s culture. From daredevil biking rapper Loko to retiring professional Rigoberto Uran, to the Venezuelan refugee delivery biker who all rely on the bike. A vivid multi-textured picture of not only why Colombia produces the best cyclists in the world but how the bike is a vital component for living.
by Finlay Pretsell / Parcel of Rogues, Sonja Henrici
Projects Selected for Observer+
Denmark
93
When Marita Petersen is appointed Lagmand in January 1993, the Faroe Islands is going through their biggest economic crisis in recent history, accompanied by unemployment, foreclosures and a massive exodus. After the previous Lagmand, Atli Dam, throws in the towel, Marita now has one goal as the first female head of government: to prevent a total collapse and state bankruptcy of the Faroe Islands.
by Andrias Høgenni, Tambo Film, Rikke Tambo Andersen
Am I Losing My Mind? A Journey Into the Menopause Mystery
A third of all women experience menopausal symptoms so severe that it impacts their daily lives, yet menopause has never been a hot scientific topic. But now a few leading scientists are close to unraveling some of the biggest mysteries of menopause – and it’s in particular the brain they are focusing on. What happens in women’s brains during menopause and what are the consequences?
by Louise Unmack Kjeldsen / Hansen & Pedersen, Malene Flindt Pedersen
Faderhuset
“It looks like love but is manipulation.” This is how everyday life in Denmark’s most radical sect Faderhuset is described by the four defectors. With unique access to a very closed environment, and with some of the Nordics’ greatest actors – Trine Dyrholm and David Dencik – we create a hybrid narrative that focuses on manipulation, abuse of power and violence against children that take place in an international sectarian environment on the run from the authorities.
by Andreas Koefoed / Danish Documentary, Pernille Rose Grønkjær
Retrograd
Sixty-nine-year-old Peer is writing his autobiography. As a detective, he is revisiting the ghosts of his childhood, reflecting on his experiences in 28 orphanages, enduring sexual abuse, and surviving 30 years on the street where only drugs could keep the traumas at bay. Now, he has a deep desire to understand, reclaim, and convey his past—both for his own sake and because he believes it might help others. Peer wants to reframe his life story, shifting from his role as the perpetual victim to someone others can relate to and be inspired by. With the help of 89-year-old publisher and psychologist Oskar, Peer seeks to uncover the repressed, painstakingly reconstruct his fragmented memory, and compile, step by step, the remaining pages of his lived life.
by Anders Mielcke Grønbæk & Esben Persson / Elk Film ApS, Kasper Lykke Schultz
The Music Farm
The Music Farm unfolds at the Scandinavian Cello School in the windswept region of Stevns, Denmark. Here, some of the greatest young classical music talents from around the world gather to refine their skills but, above all, to seek assistance in finding balance in an extremely competitive life.
by Katrine Philp / Good Company Pictures, Katrine A. Sahlstrøm
Finland
Cosmobility
What happens when Homo Sapiens once again turns into a mobile species? How will our lives, minds & societies look like after we’ve uncoupled our identities from places? Cosmobility is a reflection of a timeless life in a placeless world.
by Mika Mattila / Ideasthetic Oy, Mika Mattila
Paradise in Hel
Paradise in Hel is a documentary series that explores humanity’s quest for community, meaning, and spirituality in a secular world. It intertwines a gripping true-crime cult narrative with a modern-day Holy Grail quest, delving into themes of belief, human connection, and the allure of the unknown.
by Mika Mattila / Parad Media Oy, Satu Majava
Second Acts
We follow three former inmates and drug addicts who meet regularly at Portti Theatre, a place for those seeking to enter a new stage in their lives after years of crime and imprisonment. They write and perform their own material, learning to speak and express their deepest feelings through dialogue.
by Anu Kuivalainen / Filmimaa Oy, Markku Tuurna
Greenland
Oqaluttuamik
Oqaluttuamik dives into the history of Greenland through conversations with various guests at a Kaffillerneq. Indigenous historians, fishermen, storytellers, and scientists rewrite history as we explore the past through their stories to better understand our present and shape our future. Kaffillerneq is the main setting: a traditional gathering of celebration where coffee, food, and people connect.
by Nivi Pedersen / KaNOq Aps, Mudi Kramer Berthelsen
Iceland
Amongst the Birds
Ólafur and Jóhanna, a husband and wife, embody a rare connection to nature. Ólafur finds solace and purpose in his avian companions within the remote confines of Loðmundarfjörður Iceland. The narrative unfolds with the arrival of the eider birds and concludes upon their departure, encapsulating the cycle of life within the avian community. This symbiosis between the couple and the birds is unique.
by Mika Kaurismäki, Ingvar Thordarson & Ragnar Axelsson / Neutrinos productions Ice ehf., Ingvar Thordarson
Norway
Goodbye Andy Brown
Goodbye Andy Brown is a hybrid video diary/animation-documentary portraying a female sex worker’s struggle to define herself on her own terms and find true love. Andrea has worked her entire adult life in the turbulent sex-industry in Europe, as her alter ego Andy Brown. She longs for settling down, but unconditional love is hard to find and give. Especially when you are used to intimacy being a transaction. During the pandemic she is deported from Norway, back home to her father in Hungary, where she is forced to confront her past and her present.
by Lars Erlend Tubaas Øymo / Indie Film AS, Karianne Berge
Just An Ordinary Guy
A film about survival strategies of people who live inside the modern Russian dictatorship. With personal experiences of deep fear, loss of integrity and freedom, they choose very different approaches that lead to vastly different lives.
by Kenneth Elvebakk / Cylinder Production AS, Heidi Arnesen
Norway vs Sápmi
A reindeer herder plans to retire and appoints his daughter as his successor, but their livelihood is threatened by Europe’s largest wind farm on their grazing land. After a surprise win in the Supreme Court, which rules the wind farm a human rights violation, the Norwegian state resists dismantling the turbines. This forces the Sámi people to unite in their fight to save their endangered culture.
by Håvard Bustnes / UpNorth Film, Håvard Bustnes
Project 13
Project 13 tells the story of Morten Michelsen’s life and death through his own voice. Not only did he record audio from his life, but he also captured the moment he was killed. This film explores what happened on the night he needed emergency psychiatric care but was instead fatally shot by Norwegian police in his own home. It also provides a unique insight into the police investigation of this case, questioning which narratives survive in the aftermath of these events.
by Linn Helene Løken / Morild Film AS, Linn Helene Løken
This is Not an Apple
This is Not an Apple follows Palestinian siblings Reda, Yahya, and Maria in Oslo. After surviving a brutal stabbing, they seek healing in the “Líf Laga” apple farming project. Unexpectedly, their journey leads them to teach inmates, forcing them to confront their attackers in prison. The film explores resilience, justice, and the fine line between freedom and imprisonment, raising powerful questions.
by Nefise Özkal Lorentzen / Integral Film AS, Nefise Özkal Lorentzen, Jørgen Lorentzen & Ola Hunnes
Playing Adam’s Game
Emma grew up playing football in Norway, “the land of equality.” But the principles of equality didn’t apply to football. The inequalities were justified by “the market argument.” But does the argument hold up? We will dive into history and try to figure out why the markets for women’s and men’s football ended up being so different. The explanation might not be as “natural” as typically assumed.
by Emma Jøsok / BERRE Film og TV AS, Håvard Wettland Gossé
Sweden
Bachman: The Story of Stephen King’s Pseudonym
This is the true story of Stephen King’s pseudonym, Richard Bachman, told through lies. Based on “facts” about Bachman doled out by King over the years, we expand on the myth in a playful and intriguing hybrid told from the perspective of Bachman’s widow, and with the help of King/Bachman experts who were “in on the secret” during the 70s and 80s and continue the game even to this day.
by Max Eriksson / Sisyfos Film Production AB, Ashley J. Smith & Mario Adamson
Hair
Hair tells the story of exiled Iranian artist Mandana Moghaddam, who has faced gender apartheid in Iran. Her powerful art made from human hair honors the fight for women’s rights. We follow Mandana as she executes an exhibition in the Middle East and explore her close relationship with her brother who has cerebral palsy. We delve into Mandana’s life, her art’s impact, and Iran’s turbulent history.
by Maryam Ebrahimi / Meritis Film AB, Setareh Lundgren
On the Edge
On an Alaskan island, the village of Shishmaref is losing one meter of land each year. Tim, once a star basketball player, now struggles with unemployment and providing for his son, Kenny. Kenny, 15, enjoys the simple island life until he falls in love with Larissa, which brings new responsibilities. As Tim faces terminal cancer, both he and Kenny confront their fears, finding strength and hope in each other.
by Joanna Karlberg / B-Reel Films, Cecilia Nessen
The Strikers
A group of teenagers try to understand the time that they live in during what has been called “the decade of crises”. The Strikers is a coming-of-age story about autism and anxiety, coping and burning out, and the importance of finding a meaningful context and truly heartfelt friendship, while seeing the world burn. This is the authentic and untold story of the collective who together started the world’s biggest youth climate movement.
by Helena Molin / MDEMC, Elin Lilleman Eriksson
Wonder Boy
Four days after Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine applies for EU-membership. Olha Stefanishyna, a young minister, is charged with a speedy integration into EU and NATO. The obstacles are enormous: rampant corruption, a war-torn society, a huge agricultural sector. The smallest misjudgment could cause a conflict within EU – risking the victory, Ukraine’s accession – and EU as we know it.
by Gustav Hugo Olsson / We Have a Plan, Kerstin Übelacker
Scotland
She Sings of Murder and Love
Rising Irish Indie musician and trans woman, Keeley Moss, has a driving obsession. She is using her music to pursue justice for the brutal, sexually motivated murder of a young German backpacker, Inga Maria Hauser. As the Director “investigates the investigator’s obsession”, she also opens a cinematic space to turn an unflinching feminist gaze on society’s tolerance of violence against women.
by Virginia Heath / Faction North Ltd, Grant Keir
Estonia
Between Borders
When Russia launches a full-scale war against Ukraine, people go there to help in any way they can. Among them is Erko, an electrician from a tiny village in Estonia. Without taking a break, he spends more time volunteering in Ukraine than with his wife and 1-year old child at home. This is causing a rift between him and his wife, forcing Erko to decide between war or his family.
by Erik Tikan / Three Brothers, Maris Salumets