"Honour of Persia," directed by Cannes best actress winner Zar Amir Ebrahimi, is among five films at the financing stage featured in the Göteborg Film Festival's Nordic Gateway program, so reported by Variety. These films, from Germany, Macedonia, Canada, and Kosovo, compete for the SEK 400,000 ($36,500) Tint Post-Production Award, to be announced on Jan. 30, 2025, during the Nordic Film Market from Jan. 29-31. "
Nordic Gateway offers a new platform for international projects to connect with Nordic professionals," said Josef Kullengård, Head of Industry at the festival, emphasizing the importance of partnerships in the current financial climate. Projects were selected for their artistic value, financing, international potential, and co-production intent with the Nordics.
"Honour of Persia," shortlisted with the Moin Film Fund Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, is a drama by Ebrahimi, produced by Mohammad Farokhmanesh for Brave New Work. Ebrahimi revisits a traumatic 2006 experience when she was forced to leave Iran after an intimate video was leaked. The film follows a young Iranian actress whose life unravels due to an explicit video. Under religious and social pressures, she fights to maintain her dignity against a harsh judicial system. The feature is co-produced by Ebrahimi’s French company Alambic Production and Danish producer Jacob Jarek of “Holy Spider.”
The Belgian project “Torpor,” directed by Meltse Van Coillie in partnership with Flanders Image, marks her directorial debut. Nominated for a 2021 Berlin Golden Bear, Van Coillie refined the script at the Résidence du Festival de Cannes before collaborating with producer Hans Everaert of Menuetto Films. The story follows Olivia, a 27-year-old polar bear guard studying human hibernation in the Arctic. Co-produced by Norway, Denmark, and the Netherlands, and supported by the Flanders Audiovisual Fund, filming begins in early 2026.
Kosovar director Kaltrina Krasniqi's “Bleach” (“Zbardhje”) explores a class-influenced friendship between Fatime, a domestic worker, and Elvira, an agency head. The screenplay by Doruntina Basha, developed at the Torino Film Lab 2022, received development awards. Producer Ares Shporta announced co-production with Italy, the Netherlands, Montenegro, and North Macedonia, with filming in 2025.
Germany’s “Grammatik,” by queer filmmaker Popo Fan, depicts a love story between a Chinese student and a Syrian refugee in Hamburg, produced by Julia Cöllen for Fünferfilm. Canada's "Dance Me to the End of Love," directed by Philippe Lesage, is produced by Galilé Marion-Gauvin with Quebec's Sodec. Over 500 professionals register annually for Göteborg's Nordic Film Market, a key showcase for Nordic films, occurring January 28-29, 2025.