News

Viaplay’s streaming service — specializing in award-winning Scandinavian series and films — is now available as an add-on subscription on Amazon’s Prime Video Channels in the United States.

Starting Wednesday, Prime members in the U.S. will be able to sign up for Viaplay for $5.99 per month (with a seven-day free trial available for eligible customers) through Prime Video Channels.

In February, Viaplay shut down its own app and direct-to-consumer streaming service in the U.S. and Canada, and the company has now focused its international distribution strategy in building growth via partnerships. Viaplay is already available in North America through partner platforms such as Comcast Xfinity, the Roku Channel and Xumo.

Viaplay said its U.S. content offering centers on “the Nordic region’s high-quality and psychologically penetrating series and films, from atmospheric and suspenseful crime dramas and provocative and stylish young-adult series to award-winning dramas and riveting documentaries.

Exclusive: Viaplay has set its Norwegian Original film in the shape of World War II drama Gold Run (Gulltransporten), based on the true story of a group of unlikely resistance fighters who smuggled Norway’s gold reserves out of the country ahead of invading Nazi forces.

Jon Øigarden (Exit), Sven Nordin (Wisting) and Axel Bøyum (Delete Me) lead the all-star Norwegian cast in the feature-length production, which is due to begin filming in early 2022 with an exclusive premiere on Viaplay later in the year.

Pic will be directed by the Hallvard Bræin (The Giant) and is produced by Jørgen Storm Rosenberg and Kjetil Omberg at 74 Entertainment, with Tanya Nanette Badendyck as executive producer for Viaplay.

The movie is set on 9 April 1940 when German soldiers entered Oslo to seize three targets: the country’s king, government and gold. In just a few chaotic hours, parliamentary secretary Fredrik Haslund (Øigarden) assembled an improbable team,...

"Drive for love, Roy! Drive for love!" Netflix has debuted an official trailer for an action comedy film from Norway titled Asphalt Burning, which is the new English release title. This is actually the third movie in an action comedy, high octane car racing franchise from Norway called Børning - the first one (Borning: The Fast & The Funniest) opened in 2014, followed by Børning 2 in 2016. When the brakes slam on his wedding, Roy (the main character from all the Børning films - played by Anders Baasmo Christiansen) accepts a challenge from a new foe to race for his own runaway bride at the iconic Nürburgring track in Germany. "Børning 3 is mainly set in Germany, still focusing on car racing – high speed, fierce competition, with an exciting confrontation at the famous race track." Also starring Kathrine Thorborg Johansen, Ida Husøy, Otto Jespersen, Sven Nordin, and Trond Halbo. This looks like good-hearted racing fun.

Cannes — “Wisting,” a high-end crime drama co-starring “The Matrix” and “Jessica Jones’” Carrie-Anne Moss, has been acquired by BBC Four in the U.K., Banijay Rights, the leading distribution arm of Banijay Group. announced on Friday, in the run-up to this year’s Mipcom TV trade fair.

The sale, in the benchmark overseas sales territory for Scandinavian series – “Borgen” broke out internationally after clinching BBC Four broadcast – comes on one of the highest-profiles of recent Nordic crime thrillers.

“Wisting” is Nordic Noir – set in stunning lanscapes, backed by Scandinavian powerhouse Viaplay, adapting two highly popular bestselling novels by Jørn Lier Hors. It has also cast highly regarded Norwegian film-tv star Sven Nordin in the titular role of William Wisting, a taciturn but relentless homicide detectivewho has dedicated his life to being a force for good, he believes, in the small Norwegian coastal town of Larvik, even if that comes at...

Banijay Rights will bring soon-to-launch Scandi-Noir crime thriller “Wisting,” based on the best-selling novels of Jørn Lier Horst, to the market at this year’s MipTV.

“Wisting” was co-created by Kathrine Valen Zeiner and director Trygve Allister Diesen, and follows homicide detective William Wisting on the most difficult case of his career, hunting down a dangerous American serial killer, all the while his journalist daughter is pursuing leads that will put her right in the killer’s path. Things really hit the fan when a skeleton from Wisting’s past arises, and the inspector becomes the inspected.

The series stars “The Matrix” and “Jessica Jones” alum Carrie-Anne Moss and long-time Norwegian film and TV star Sven Nordin.

Banijay Rights is handling international sales. It’s produced by Cinenord and Good Company Films in co-production with Viaplay and Degeto Film who have broadcast rights in Norway and Germany respectively, TV3 Norway and Ripple World Pictures.

The Scandinavians have made a name for themselves when it comes to TV shows. The latest is Norwegian drama Valkyrien which arrives on DVD 21st August 2017. To celebrate we have two copies to giveaway.

Doctor Ravn (Sven Nordin) is desperate to find a cure for his dying wife Vilma (Pia Halvorsen). When the hospital stops her treatment, he continues

to work in secret and is forced to compromise his ethics and join forces with corrupt civil defence worker and Doomsday prepper, Leif (Pål Sverre Valheim Hagen), who has widespread knowledge of the city’s underground shelters and secret passages, as well as significant connections with the Oslo underworld.

Together they build an illegal clinic in an old bomb shelter deep underground Valkyrien Square, Oslo. As Ravn continues his research to save his wife, he must also care for criminals who need to avoid the authorities. Ravn believes he will find a miracle cure,...

Exclusive: Danish drama The Man has sold to China as one of several deals closed by the sales outfit.

Swedish sales company Sf Studio has sold Danish drama The Man [pictured], directed by Charlotte Sieling, to China (Lemontree Media), Mikkel Munch-Fals’ comedy-drama Swinger to South Korea (MediaSoft), and Hallward Braein’s comedy action film Borning to South Korea (Micon).

Starring Soren Malling, Jakob Oftebro, Ane Dahl Torp and Soren Pilmark, The Man had its world premiere at the recent International Film Festival Rotterdam in the Iffr Live section. The story is about a wealthy, well-known artist whose son suddenly shows up out of nowhere, disrupting his comfortable lifestyle and turning out to be the world-famous graffiti artist ‘The Ghost’.

Swinger is about 40-year-old Adam who feels his life is over until he falls in love with a young girl in the only place where no one should fall in love - a swingers’ club. The film stars...

Network: Netflix

Episodes: 24 (hour)

Seasons: Three

TV show dates: February 6, 2012 -- November 21, 2014

Series status: Cancelled

Performers include: Steven Van Zandt, Trond Fausa Aurvåg, Steinar Sagen, Marian Saastad Ottesen, Sven Nordin, Kyrre Hellum, and Anne Krigsvoll.

TV show description:

An over-the-hill American Mafia man requests relocation to the former Olympic village town of Lillehammer, Norway after he enters the Witness Protection Program. The underboss soon discovers that a life of crime pays well in any country.

The newly minted Giovanni Henricksen (Steven Van Zandt) sees little need to hack it as a straight citizen in his new home. Well versed in the art of getting connected, he attempts to cut his regular corners at every turn.

Read More…...

After a string of announcements, it looks like the Toronto International Film Festival have locked down their line-up and it’s looking like a fantastic slate. Much of the additions today come in the form of previous Cannes premieres, including Michael Haneke‘s Amour (review), Cristian Mungiu‘s Beyond the Hills (review), Abbas Kiarostami‘s Like Someone in Love (review), Bernardo Bertolucci‘s Me and You (review), Hong Sang-soo‘s In Another Country and the Venice premiere Olivier Assayas‘ Something in the Air. Most notably missing is Leos Carax‘s Holy Motors, but we do get a new Michael Winterbottom film titled Everyday. Out of the Discovery section, the biggest film seems to be The Brass Teapot, and indie drama starring Juno Temple and Michael Angarano and one can check out all the additions below.

Masters

Amour Michael Haneke, Austria/France/Germany North American Premiere Screen legends Jean-Louis Trintignant and...

by Steve Dollar

[GreenCine Daily's first dispatch from Montreal can be found here.]

True and tear-inducing coming of age stories are about the last thing anyone who comes to a fantastic film festival comes to see. Where are the aliens and zombies, man? The title Sons of Norway at least evokes a skull-crushing, mead-guzzling, Thor-worshipping Viking epic. It is not that, although thankfully there is a heap of ruckus, largely committed upon the unsuspecting world by young Åsmund Høeg, playing a sweet kid named Nikolaj. As the film opens, the young'un—garbed in full, Sex Pistols-inspired regalia, complete with a scary, large safety pin through the cheek—hurls a beer bottle at a stuffy, grey-haired local functionary at a pompous "founder's day" like event, and the race is on. First, the story tracks backward to reveal the roots of Niko's non-conformity: Dad's an atheist who celebrates Christmas with an all-banana feast and quotations from Nietzsche; when he catches the...

John Lydon is in a bad mood.

He’s hungover from partying after the premiere of the Norwegian coming-of-age drama, Sons Of Norway, here at the Toronto International Film Festival. My photographer Linda and I arrive at a stuffy, claustrophobic mezzanine at the posh Hazelton Hotel. The busy publicist warns us that Mr. Lydon is an “unpredictable” mood.

Great, though I shouldn’t be surprised. After all, John Lydon is Johnny Rotten, the surly singer of The Sex Pistols and the 56-year-old godfather of punk. That’s how he’s credited in this film in a cameo appearance near the end though he’s credited as executive producer under his birth name.

Journalists who stagger out of their interviews assure me that Lydon is in unusually fine spirits, pleasant and polite, even signing autographs. As I wait, I go over my questions about this film. Sons of Norway is based...

TORONTO -- "Elling", a smash hit in its native Norway, concerns two mentally challenged men forced to sink or swim in society. It's a comic crowd-pleaser, meaning that it has no real interest in the problems of mental illness or alienation. Rather, its makers -- writer Axel Hellstenius, working from a well-known Norwegian novel, and director Petter Naess, who also directed a stage version of "Elling" -- zero in on gags and situations reminiscent of "The Odd Couple".

The film has a certain gentle whimsy in the bickering and affection between the two misfits. And the abilities of its two leads -- Per Christian Ellefsen as the fussy mommy's boy Elling and Sven Nordin as the hulking, libidinous Kjell-Bjarne -- give the film's lighthearted if illogical story a comic charge.

The film, selling well in other territories, could possibly become a minor art house hit in North America.

Thrown out of a state institution, the two roommates, who have had few experiences with the outside world, get tossed into state-sponsored housing in Oslo. Initially, the simple act of going around the corner for groceries is a challenge. But as their courage grows, the two find oddball ways to cope with society.

When Kjell-Bjarne strikes up a friendship with a single, pregnant neighbor, Elling flies into a jealous rage. Striking out on his own independent course, Elling, who is actually well-read, goes to a poetry reading. There his disgust with the works presented jibes with the sentiments of an old man who turns out to be a well-known poet.

Soon the two men have an extended family of the pregnant neighbor, the lonely, aging poet and his rusted 1958 Buick, which Kjell-Bjarne grows determined to restore.

Naess directs with the lightest of touches, which is fortunate given the flimsiness of the material. One feels his affection for the characters and their neuroses. While it would be uncharitable to point out that the two men -- remarkably and without explanation -- actually grow smarter as the story progresses, Naess lets these changes creep in so gradually that many might not even notice.

Technical credits are fine, especially Svien Krovel's cinematography, which bathes the movie in a midnight-sun glow that suits this contemporary fable.

ELLING

Maipo Film and TV Production

Producer:Synnove Horsdal

Director:Petter Naess

Screenwriter:Axel Hellstenius

Based on a novel by:Ingvar Ambjornsen

Executive producer:Dag Alveberg

Director of photography:Svein Krovel

Production designer:Harald Egede Nissen

Music:Lars Lillo Stenberg

Editor:Inge-Lise Langfeldt

Color/stereo

Cast:

Elling:Per Christian Ellefsen

Kjell-Bjarne:Sven Nordin

Alfons Jorgensen:Per Christensen

Frank Assti:Jorgen Langhelle

Reidun Nordstellen:Marit Pia Jacobsen

Running time -- 90 minutes

No MPAA rating...

TORONTO -- "Elling", a smash hit in its native Norway, concerns two mentally challenged men forced to sink or swim in society. It's a comic crowd-pleaser, meaning that it has no real interest in the problems of mental illness or alienation. Rather, its makers -- writer Axel Hellstenius, working from a well-known Norwegian novel, and director Petter Naess, who also directed a stage version of "Elling" -- zero in on gags and situations reminiscent of "The Odd Couple".

The film has a certain gentle whimsy in the bickering and affection between the two misfits. And the abilities of its two leads -- Per Christian Ellefsen as the fussy mommy's boy Elling and Sven Nordin as the hulking, libidinous Kjell-Bjarne -- give the film's lighthearted if illogical story a comic charge.

The film, selling well in other territories, could possibly become a minor art house hit in North America.

Thrown out of a state institution, the two roommates, who have had few experiences with the outside world, get tossed into state-sponsored housing in Oslo. Initially, the simple act of going around the corner for groceries is a challenge. But as their courage grows, the two find oddball ways to cope with society.

When Kjell-Bjarne strikes up a friendship with a single, pregnant neighbor, Elling flies into a jealous rage. Striking out on his own independent course, Elling, who is actually well-read, goes to a poetry reading. There his disgust with the works presented jibes with the sentiments of an old man who turns out to be a well-known poet.

Soon the two men have an extended family of the pregnant neighbor, the lonely, aging poet and his rusted 1958 Buick, which Kjell-Bjarne grows determined to restore.

Naess directs with the lightest of touches, which is fortunate given the flimsiness of the material. One feels his affection for the characters and their neuroses. While it would be uncharitable to point out that the two men -- remarkably and without explanation -- actually grow smarter as the story progresses, Naess lets these changes creep in so gradually that many might not even notice.

Technical credits are fine, especially Svien Krovel's cinematography, which bathes the movie in a midnight-sun glow that suits this contemporary fable.

ELLING

Maipo Film and TV Production

Producer:Synnove Horsdal

Director:Petter Naess

Screenwriter:Axel Hellstenius

Based on a novel by:Ingvar Ambjornsen

Executive producer:Dag Alveberg

Director of photography:Svein Krovel

Production designer:Harald Egede Nissen

Music:Lars Lillo Stenberg

Editor:Inge-Lise Langfeldt

Color/stereo

Cast:

Elling:Per Christian Ellefsen

Kjell-Bjarne:Sven Nordin

Alfons Jorgensen:Per Christensen

Frank Assti:Jorgen Langhelle

Reidun Nordstellen:Marit Pia Jacobsen

Running time -- 90 minutes

No MPAA rating...