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Norwegian director Nina Knag’s Don’t Call Me Mama centres on Eva, a respected pillar of the community and wife of the town’s mayor, who becomes involved with asylum seekers who have come to the area. One of these is 18-year-old Amir with whom she soon begins an affair. Both must soon face the consequences of their forbidden liaison.

The film is set to world premiere in the main Crystal Globe competition at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival on Wednesday (July 9).

Knag has a number of highly regarded short films behind her as well as experience directing series for Norwegian TV.

Norway’s “Loveable” swept the 15th Beijing International Film Festival’s Tiantan Awards, claiming best feature film, best director for Lilja Ingolfsdottir, and best actress for Helga Guren. Best screenplay went to Ingolfsdottir and Sahaja and Sagara for “Trapped.”

Pierre Bastin and Benjamin Lambillotte shared the best actor prize for their performances in the Belgian feature “Vitrival – The Most Beautiful Village in the World.”

China made a strong showing in the supporting categories. The best supporting actor award was shared by Hai Yitian for “Better Me, Better You” and Geng Le for his role in “Trapped.” Mara Bestelli took home best supporting actress for her work in “The Message,” which also triumphed with the best artistic contribution award and best cinematography award for Gustavo Schiaffino, signaling a standout night for the Argentine production.

Marc Bastien won best music for Italy’s “The Great Ambition.” “Nawi: Dear Future Me” was accorded a special jury honor.

After several sun-kissed days, Beijing brought out the stars on Saturday night as Lilja Ingolfsdottir’s debut feature, Norwegian marital drama Loveable, won the best feature film honor, plus three additional awards, at a closing ceremony full of Chinese stars and music that wrapped up the 15th edition of the Beijing International Film Festival on a high.

With director Ingolfsdottir not in attendance, it was up to her star Helga Guren to collect not only the best actress award but also the other honors.

Iván Fund’s The Message left the evening with three Tiantan Awards, while Chinese filmmaker Sagara’s Trapped picked up honors in two categories.

Other award winners included Noëlle Bastin and Baptiste Bogaert’s Vitrival – The Most Beautiful Village in the World, Hao Ming and Li Peiran’s Better Me, Better You, and Nawi: Dear Future Me, directed by Tobias Schmutzler, Kevin Schmutzler, Apuu Mourine,...

The 15th Beijing International Film Festival has revealed that acclaimed Chinese director and actor Jiang Wen will preside over the Tiantian competition jury, with celebrated Chinese-American actor and filmmaker Joan Chen joining the panel.

The seven-member international jury brings together a cross-section of global film talent, including British director David Yates, Chinese actor Ni Ni, Finnish director Teemu Nikki, Swiss director and actor Vincent Perez, and Hong Kong art director Tim Yip.

Hungarian auteur Béla Tarr will lead the jury for the festival’s Forward Future strand.

The main competition lineup features a diverse slate of films vying for the award, including Hao Ming and Li Peiran’s “Better Me, Better You,” Li Yongyi’s “Deep in the Mountains” and Zhang Qi’s “Trapped,” all from China, and Emine Yildirim’s “Apollon by Day Athena by Night” (Turkey), Sora Hokimoto’s “Baus: The Ship’s Voyage Continues” (Japan), Maria Brendle...

Chinese actor-director Jiang Wen (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Let the Bullets Fly) will serve as the head of the main competition jury at the 15th Beijing International Film Festival, which will hand out its Tiantan Awards.

The jury will also include Chinese American director and actor Joan Chen (The Last Emperor), British director David Yates (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them), Chinese actor Ni Ni, Finnish director Teemu Nikki, Swiss director and actor Vincent Perez, and art director Tim Yip from Hong Kong. The panel will select the winners across 10 award categories, including best feature film, best director and best screenplay.

The festival also unveiled its 15 main competition films, with organizers saying they received a record 1,794 feature film submissions from 103 countries and regions, marking a 19 percent increase over last year.

The three Chinese films in the main competition lineup are Hao Ming and Li Peiran’s Better Me,...

Dag Johan Haugerud’s “Love” was one of the 17 films which had their French premiere at the inaugural edition of the festival Visions Nordiques – French Nordic Film Days.

The fest is taking place March 5-9 across several locations in Paris, including the Grand Action theater; as well as the industry programme and co-production workshop taking place at Cnc and the Institut Suedois. Tributes were hosted for Lars von Trier and Aki Kaurismäki with the screenings of “Breaking the Waves” and “Le Havre.” The film lineup comprised “Love,” which premiered at Venice (and was followed by the Berlinale Golden Bear winner “Dreams (Sex Love)); Baltasar Kormákur’s “Touch,” Eirik Svensson’s “Safe House;” Lilja Ingolfsdottir’s “Loveable;” and Frida Kempff’s “The Swedish Topedo,” among others.

The event is jointly organized by The Five Nordics, France’s National Film Board, with the support of the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Embassies of Denmark,...

The Irish comedy “Kneecap” was the big winner at the 2024 Les Arcs Film Festival. It won the Crystal Arrow for Best Film and several other important prizes. The film tells the story of how the Irish-language hip-hop group with the same name got started. It was already well known before the festival, but now it’s been chosen for Best International Feature and Best Song at the 2025 Academy Awards.

As part of its win, “Kneecap” will receive a €20,000 digital advertising campaign with France Televisions for free. Thanks to this help, the film will be better when it comes out in France on June 18, 2025, through Wayna Pitch. The film won more than one award: the Young Jury Prize and the Cinglés du Cinéma prize. Michael “Mikey J” Asante was also praised for writing his music.

The festival took place in the beautiful French mountain resort from December 14–21 and had its best year yet,...

Rich Peppiatt’s Irish comedy Kneecap has won the Crystal Arrow for best film atFrance’s Les Arcs Film Festival, which ran from December 14-21, 2024 in the mountain resort town.

The origin story of the titular Irish-language hip-hop group earned a €20,000 digital promotional campaign in partnership with France Televisions for its release. Wayna Pitch will release the film in France on June 18, 2025 and Charades handles international sales.

Kneecap,whichhas been shortlisted in the best international feature and best song categories for the 2025 Oscars, racked up several prizes at the festival including the young jury prize voted on by high-school students,...

Rich Peppiatt’s drama Kneecap, which made it onto short list for Best International Feature Film for the 97th Academy Awards earlier this week, has scooped the top Crystal Arrow for best film at France’s Les Arcs Film Festival.

The prize, awarded in partnership with state broadcaster France Télévisions, comes with a digital promotional campaign worth €20,000 to support the theatrical release in France next summer by local distributor Wayna Pitch.

The picture also won Best Original Music, with Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante winning the €1,000 prize donated by the French music rights management body Sacem.

The jury – announced as a collective without a president – comprised actor Pio Marmaï, writer Delphine de Vigan, director and producer Peter Kerekes, actor Céline Sallette, singer, actor and producer Sofiane Zermani and composer Herdís Stafánsdóttir.

In a third prize, decided by eight local high school students, the film also won the Young Jury Prize. The...

From its debut at the prestigious Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Lilja Ingolfsdottir’s Loveable impressed critics with its sensitive portrayal of a fraying marriage. While the opening scenes depict the joy and passion of new love between Maria and Sigmund, tensions emerge years later as responsibilities and distance take their toll. As arguments escalate, Sigmund suggests Maria seek help with her anger.

This prompts Maria’s introspective journey at the film’s core. Faced with loneliness after separating from Sigmund, she reflects on their relationship’s downfall. Struggling in her role as a mother of four, Maria questions who she is and what she truly needs. Ingolfsdottir explores these challenges with care, avoiding simplistic characterizations. Through therapy and encounters with family, Maria gains a deeper understanding of herself and how her past still influences her behaviors.

Helga Guren delivers a powerhouse-leading performance as Maria, carrying viewers along her journey from rage to self-scrutiny.

TrustNordisk has picked up international sales on filmmaker Mari Storstein’s debut feature “My First Love.”

Filming is underway on the Norwegian film produced by Thomas Robsahm and Tøri Gjenda for Nordisk Film Production Norway and Amarcord.

Filling a crying need on the global market for stories with accurate representation of people with disabilities, highlighted by Hollywood star Ramy Youssef and “Coda” helmer Sian Heder as reported by Variety, “My First Love” offers a truthful and heartfelt story of a young disabled woman, told from the perspective of the director who herself has been in a wheelchair for her entire life.

Storstein, who studied filmmaking at the TV school of Lillehammer University College in Norway, has systematically used her camera to depict the plight of disabled persons and received multiple accolades for her work, including a Norwegian Gullruten (the country’s version of the Emmys) in 2018 for her documentary series “Søsken,...

From Aug. 17-23, the charming coastal town of Haugesund, Norway, will showcase 76 films and 21 shorts in the newly renovated Edda film hub, offering two extra screening rooms, bringing the total halls to seven.

“We are looking forward to using the two new luxury halls and giving both the films and the audience a quality experience,” said festival honcho Tonje Hardersen.

Many of the high-quality features will screen in the festival’s main program, including several Cannes entries making their Norwegian premiere, such as “All We Imagine as Light,” “The Substance,” “Wild Diamond,” “The Girl with the Needle” and “When the Light Breaks.”

Among the four world premieres, three hail from Norway, a nation that boasts an enviable list of 2024 fest winners, such as Sundance’s “A New Kind of Wilderness,” “Handling the Undead,” Berlin’s “Sex” and Karlovy Vary’s “Loveable,” all lined up for Haugesund as well.

“Once again,...

Chlorophyll, the feature debut of Italian director Ivana Gloria, played in the Proxima Competition of the Karlovy Vary Film Festival.

The film centres on a young woman Maia, whose hair and blood are naturally green, and who finds herself inexplicably and constantly drawn to seek a direct contact with nature, trees and flowers.

Chlorophyll is written by Marco Borromei, whose credits include hit Italian drama Skam Italia. It stars Sarah Short and Michele Ragno and is produced by Italy’s Albedo Production and Do Consulting & Production.

Gloria is a Rome-based director, cinematographer, animator and storyboard artist. Her 2022 short Con...

The 58th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Kviff) wrapped up on Saturday with a celebration of international cinema and notable industry figures. The festival’s top honor, the Grand Prix – Crystal Globe, was awarded to Mark Cousins’ documentary “A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things,” narrated by Tilda Swinton, exploring the life of Scottish artist Wilhelmina Barns-Graham.

Norwegian director Lilja Ingolfsdottir’s marital drama “Loveable” emerged as a major winner, securing five awards including the Special Jury Prize, the Europa Cinemas Label, and the Fipresci Award. The film’s lead actress, Helga Guren, also took home the Best Actress award.

Other significant winners included:

Best Director: Nelicia Low for “Pierce” Best Actors: Ton Kas and Guido Pollemans for “Three Days of Fish” Audience Award: “Waves” by Jirí Mádl Proxima Grand Prix: “Stranger” by Zhengfan Yang

The closing ceremony was highlighted by the presentation of the Kviff President’s Award to British actor Clive Owen,...

Mark Cousins’ unconventional portrait of an artist “A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things” took top honors at this year’s Karlovy Vary Film Festival, snagging the fest’s iconic Crystal Globe alongside a cash prize of $25K to split by the Scottish-Irish filmmaker and his producing partners.

Featuring the voice work of Tilda Swinton, the award-winning doc follows the life and career of artist Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, a lesser-known master of modern art whose outlook and output underwent a profound spiritual, aesthetic and ideological transformation once the painter had a moment of epiphany atop Switzerland’s Grindelwald glacier in 1949.

The climbing expedition left Barns-Graham with a new set of obsessions and forms of expression – giving her life a new meaning.

Before claiming the Jury Prize, Lilja Ingolfsdottir’s domestic drama “Loveable” also took acting honors for star Helga Guren as well as parallel awards from the Ecumenical Jury, the Europa Cinema Label,...

Mark Cousins’ portrait of a British modernist painter, “A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things,” took the Karlovy Vary Film Festival top prize Saturday, winning over a jury that included Christine Vachon and Geoffrey Rush with its perceptive take on art and seeing.

Cousins said the film’s subject, painter Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, “lived completely, truly and utterly – let’s try to do that.”

Norwegian divorce story “Loveable” won the Crystal Globe jury prize, as well as three other awards categories, taking home the Fipresci, ecumenical and Europa Cinemas Label prizes with its nuanced look at a woman morphing into a new life.

Director Lilja Ingolfsdottir scored big with her first feature-length drama with “Loveable,” telling the audience at the Hotel Thermal Grand Hall the story helped her “find barriers we have built against connections.”

The directing prize went to Nelicia Low for the Singapore/Taiwan/Poland production “Pierce,” an intricate account...

The 58th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (June 28 to July 6) boasted not one but two competitions, the Crystal Globe and Proxima, presided over by the festival president Jiří Bartoška, artistic director Karel Och, and executive director Kryštof Mucha. The festival is the main summer event in the country, which attracts many sponsors and patrons who want to attend, and faces none of the financial hardships of such festivals as Berlin, Toronto, and Sundance. 130 films are shown, with 140,000 tickets sold. There is no room for growth, given the limited venues, from the many screening rooms at the festival hub, the Hotel Thermal, where juror Christine Vachon mixed Negronis for her fellow jurors between screenings, to the colorful arthouse Kino Drahomira, named after a revered Czech woman director.

The Eastern European festival falls between Cannes and Venice, and programs many films in its Crystal Globe Competition that did not make the cut at Cannes,...

A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things, Mark Cousins‘ documentary essay about Scottish artist Wilhelmina Barns-Graham and her neurodiversity, including diary passages narrated by Tilda Swinton, won the Grand Prix – Crystal Globe, the top award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Kviff) on Saturday. Clive Owen was honored with a Kviff award at the closing ceremony.

A Sudden Glimpse is “exploring the pivotal 1949 experience atop Switzerland’s Grindelwald glacier that reshaped British modernist painter Wilhelmina Barns-Graham’s artistic perspective for decades to come.” The Crystal Globe comes with a $25,000 prize. “I did not expect this in a million years,” Cousins said in accepting the honor. About Barns-Graham, he said: “She didn’t change the world. But she lived completely, fully and utterly. Let’s try to do that.”

The 58th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival‘s closing ceremony also honored the Norwegian marital drama Loveable, directed by Lilja Ingolfsdottir, with its special jury prize,...

The 58th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (June 28 – July 6) came to a close this evening with an awards ceremony that saw Mark Cousins’ essay film A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things win the main prize in the festival’s Crystal Globe competition. Narrated by Tilda Swinton and — in Cousins’ familiar, idiosyncratic style, exploring themes of gender, climate change and creativity — the UK film offers a creative biography of Scottish artist Wilhelmina Barns-Graham (1912-2004). Coming what most have been a close second to take the Jury Prize — and Best Actress Award for its star, Helga Guren — was Norway’s acclaimed divorce drama Loveable, directed by Lilja Ingolfsdottir.

Also taking the stage tonight was Czech actor Ivan Trojan, already perhaps the country’s most garlanded performer, who received the Festival President’s Award for Contribution to Czech Cinema. And following hot on the heels of Viggo Mortensen and Daniel Brühl, British actor...

UK director Mark Cousins’s A Sudden Glimpse To Deeper Things has won the top prize, the Crystal Globe, at this year’s Karlovy Vary Film Festival, while Loveable by Norwegian director Lilja Ingolfsdottir won five awards in total including the special jury prize and best actress award for Helga Guren.

Cousins‘ A Sudden Glimpse To Deeper Things is a documentary portrait of British painter Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, a leading figure in the modernist St Ives group of artists. Screen’s review said that Cousins brought “his distinctively poetic and enquiring approach to this elegiac cine-essay“ to the film. Conic acquired...

Wounded by the breakdown of her first marriage, a young mother of two meets a kind, handsome, charismatic new man and — after a protracted but ultimately successful romantic pursuit — learns to believe in love once more. This would be the complete arc of many a crowd-pleasing romcom or relationship drama. In “Loveable,” however, it merely fills the opening minutes, taking us to the title card on a wave of upbeat pop and sun-washed lensing. And then the story really begins, as Norwegian writer-director Lilja Ingolfsdottir’s unusual, intelligent marriage story wonders what happens when a second chance goes the way of the first, and who, if anyone, is to blame. Even after that buoyant, wrongfooting intro, however, the film has several further tonal shifts and narrative redirections up its sleeve.

What initially appears to be a fraught domestic two-hander becomes a more intensive solo character study, as Maria (Helga Guren...

There are an endless number of movies about relationships, marriage, divorce, intimacy, sex, attraction, and compatibility. It is therefore a considerable challenge to create a brand new film that is unique in the way it examines modern relationships and the people involved in them. Loveable (originally Elskling) is one such unique film from Norway written and directed by filmmaker Lilja Ingolfsdottir. It premiered at the 2024 Karloff Vary Film Festival in their main Crystal Globe Competition section, and I am glad I took the time to watch it at the festival. Loveable is the story of a couple named Maria and Sigmund, who are now feeling overwhelmed by a life with four kids in total and work and everything stressful that comes with parenthood. While the intro describes it as a divorce film, it's not really a divorce film (in the way that Marriage Story is). Loveable is an engaging film...

US filmmaker Mike Flanagan, behind Netflix series The Haunting Of Hill House, will receive a career award at Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival (July 18-August 4) as the final wave of titles are unveiled.

Flanagan is best known for his collaborations with Netflix which also include Midnight Mass, The Haunting Of Bly Manor, The Midnight Club and most recently The Fall Of The House Of Usher. Among his film credits are Oculus, Hush, Doctor Sleep, Gerald’s Game and upcoming title The Life Of Chuck starring Tom Hiddleston, Mark Hamill, and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Previous recipients of the Cheval Noir award include John Carpenter,...

The opening minutes of Lilja Ingolfsdottir’s debut feature evocatively convey the feeling of falling in love. Two incredibly attractive people lock eyes at a party and then have a series of casual encounters in which their mutual attraction becomes obvious. Then we’re treated to a montage depicting their whirlwind courtship, marked by intense physical passion and the sort of over-the-top giddiness accompanying a brand-new relationship. Unfortunately, that sort of feeling doesn’t last forever. A mere six minutes into the film, there’s a cut to “seven years later,” when it becomes obvious that the now-married couple are experiencing serious relationship troubles.

But the Norwegian film isn’t really about a couple breaking up. It’s about a woman finally discovering who she is and what she needs, and as such it succeeds beautifully. Loveable, receiving its world premiere at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, should find receptive audiences worldwide.

A graduate of both the London Film School and the Film and Television School of Performing Arts in Prague (Famu), Norwegian director Lilja Ingolfsdottir has helmed over 20 shorts. Now the writer-director makes her feature film debut with Loveable, which premieres this week as part of Karlovy Vary’s Crystal Globe competition.

Loveable follows the fortunes of a 40-year-old woman, played by Helga Guren, whose world is turned upside down when her husband (Oddgeir Thune) asks for a divorce.

The Norwegian film is produced by Thomas Robsham, the producer of films such as Louder Than Bombs and The Worst Person In The World,...

TrustNordisk has sold “Loveable” to Estin Film for Lithuania and Estonia, Cinemania Group for the former Yugoslavia and September Film for Benelux.

The film, directed by Lilja Ingolfsdottir, making her feature debut, premieres at Karlovy Vary Film Festival on Tuesday.

It’s produced by Thomas Robsahm (“The Worst Person in the World”) and Nordisk Film Production. In September, it picked up the Best Nordic Project Award at the Finnish Film Affair.

“I wanted to see how far I could go and how brave I could be,” Ingolfsdottir told Variety.

“With the actors, and everyone else involved in the process, we had to be emotional, available and transparent. Now, I’ve heard from people that it wasn’t like watching a film. They felt like they’ve been through something transformative.”

In the story, Maria (Helga Guren) is shocked to discover her husband Sigmund (Oddgeir Thune) wants a divorce. She’s devastated,...

The programme of the 58th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, which opens on Friday (June 28), is typically wide-ranging, befitting its reputation as a platform for both fresh discoveries and world cinema highights.

The Crystal Globe competition has the world premiere of UK director Mark Cousins’ A Sudden Glimpse To Deeper Things, a documentary portrait of UK painter Wilhelmina Barns-Graham. Also in competiton is Beata Parkanova’s Czech-Slovak title Tiny Lights which follows a family break up as perceived by a child. Parkanova won the best director award at Karlovy Vary in 2022 for Word.

Rising Norwegian writer director Lilja Ingolfsdottir’s...

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival has unveiled the official selection for its 58th edition, including new features by Mark Cousins, Noaz Deshe, Oleg Sentsov and Beata Parkanova.

The festival, which runs from June 28-July 6 in the Czech spa town, has selected 34 films for its official selection, which spans the main Crystal Globe Competition, the Proxima Competition and Special Screenings.

Scroll down for full selection

There are 11 world premieres and one international premiere in the Crystal Globe Competition. UK director Cousins world premieres A Sudden Glimpse To Deeper Things, a documentary portrait of British painter Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, a leading figure in...

The 32-strong official selection of the 58th edition of Karlovy Vary Film Festival, Central and Eastern Europe’s leading cinema fete, will feature 15 directorial debuts as well as the latest works of established filmmakers such as Mark Cousins, Oleh Sentsov, Noaz Deshe, Antonin Peretjatko, Beata Parkanova and Burak Cevik.

Karel Och, artistic director of Karlovy Vary, said Tuesday that he’d identified a number of themes and genre in the selection, which included “a freshly revisionist take on the esthetical canons of a period film; a balanced, caring but also provocative look on the fate of a woman in the contemporary society in any moment of her life; and the immediate influence of political events on the life of an individual human being anywhere in the world.”

The festival, which runs June 28-July 6 in the Czech Republic, has also revealed the juries of the Crystal Globe and Proxima competitions. The...

Norway’s Lilja Ingolfsdottir won the top prize this week at the Finnish Film Affair for her feature directorial debut “Loveable,” a relationship drama about a woman forced to find herself as her marriage falls apart. Pic is produced by “The Worst Person in the World’s” Thomas Robsahm and Nordisk Film Production, with Scandinavian powerhouse TrustNordisk repping world sales.

Written by Ingolfsdottir and headlined by Scandinavian stars Helga Guren (“22. juli”) and Oddgeir Thune (“Blind Spot”), “Loveable” follows 40-year-old Maria, a mom juggling four children and a demanding career while her second husband, Sigmund, travels all the time. Their marriage begins to unravel under the strain of competing needs. Despite Maria’s desperate efforts to salvage their relationship, Sigmund eventually tells her he wants to divorce and forces her to face her worst fears.

Speaking to Variety the morning after her Helsinki triumph, Ingolfsdottir says the film is based on first-hand experience,...

Miia Tervo’s “The Missile,” an absurdist dramatic comedy based on the real-life story of a Soviet missile landing in Finnish Lapland in 1984, took home the top prize Thursday at the Finnish Film Affair, an annual industry event running parallel to the Helsinki International Film Festival — Love & Anarchy.

“The Missile” was one of five fiction feature works in progress that were pitched to an audience of industry guests in Helsinki on Sept. 21, during the Finnish Film Affair’s showcase of local and regional projects. The sophomore feature of Finnish director Tervo, known for the female-centered romantic comedy “Aurora,” the film is produced by Kaisla Viitala and Daniel Kuitunen of Helsinki-based Elokuvayhtiö Komeetta, with Stellar Film co-producing.

“The Missile” tells the empowering story of an abused single mother working at a small-town newspaper who gets drawn into the investigation surrounding the missile crash, which upends life in a small northern village.

The Helsinki showcase has become a must-attend event for the Nordic industry.

Miia Tervo’s absurdist comedy drama The Missile walked away with the €3,000 prize for the best fiction project award at Finland’s Finnish Film Affair, which draws to a close today (September 22) in Helsinki.

The Missile is now in post-production. It is set in 1984 in Finnish Lapland, where a single mother of two children is trying to get over her violent ex-husband. She finds herself working at a local newspaper, as reports come in that a Soviet Union missile has shot across the Finnish border.

The project is...

New projects from Jenni Toivoniemi, Jon Blåhed, Erol Mintaş and Ester Martin Bergsmark are among selection

The Finnish Film Affair (Ffa), Helsinki International Film Festival’s industry strand, has unveiled the line-up for its market showcase of Nordic films and Finnish series running September 20-22.

Among the 31 projects selected is Jenni Toivoniemi’s comedy Butterflies, the director’s second feature after Games People Play which was also presented at the Ffa.

Also being showcased is Jon Blåhed’s new feature Raptures; Erol Mintaş’ Earth Song; Ester Martin Bergsmark’s Land Of Ferns; and Marika Harjusaari’s The Mire from the producer of Hatching.

“The Worst Person in the World” producer Thomas Robsahm is set to produce “Loveable,” another contemporary relationship movie headlined by Scandinavian stars Helga Guren (“22. juli”) and Oddgeir Thune (“Blind Spot”).

Scandinavia’s leading sales company TrustNordisk is representing “Loveable” in international markets.

“Loveable” will mark the long-gestated feature debut of Lilja Ingolfsdottir, who has directed a flurry of well-received shorts, including “Neglect,” and is teaching directing and filmmaking at the Norwegian Film School.

Penned by Ingolfsdottir, “Loveable” follows Maria, 40, who juggles four children and a demanding career while her second husband, Sigmund, travels all the time. One evening, Sigmund comes home from a long work trip abroad and finds Maria frustrated and exhausted. They get into an ugly argument and Maria bursts with anger. Despite Maria’s desperate efforts to salvage their relationship, Sigmund eventually tells her he wants to divorce and forces her to face her worst fears.

Robsahm,...