Eight Nordic-German Film and Series Projects Ready to Move Forward

The eight German–Nordic co-development teams each consist of one writer as well as one German and one Nordic producer. Among the projects are a German-Finnish road movie, a high-end series from Germany, Denmark and Norway, a thriller from Finland, Iceland and Germany, and a black comedy from Germany, Norway and Sweden. MOIN Film Fund is supporting the projects with treatment funding of up to €160,000 in total.

The starting point for the team-building phase, which took place in February, was a matchmaking event at the Göteborg Film Festival. There, ten selected writers met 20 producers from Germany, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The event was preceded by an intensive working week during which the writers developed their film and series ideas together with Le Groupe Ouest, one of Europe’s most innovative initiatives for screenplay development.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR NORDIC NEST?

Following the treatment-writing phase, a jury will select three projects that will each receive up to an additional €60,000 in screenplay funding and will be announced during the Cannes Film Festival. The circle will close at Filmfest Hamburg 2026, when the developed projects will be presented to the international market for the first time.

THE FOLLOWING TEAMS ARE PARTICIPATING:

Beyond the Fence
Producers: Verena Gräfe-Höft (Junafilm, Germany), Mark Lwoff (Bufo, Finland)
Writer: Jonas Rothlaender (Germany)
Format: Feature film; Genre: Road movie

Synopsis: In the isolated Finnish Lapland of the 1960s, a lonely teenager discovers a family secret about his father—and sets out across post-war Europe, seeking connection in a world still scarred by silence and war.

Cargo Crime
Producers: Jennifer Mueller von der Haegen (Weydemann Bros. Film, Germany), Janne Hjeltnes (Empathitude Pictures, Norway)
Writer: Valeria Richter (Denmark)
Format: Series; Genre: Drama

Synopsis: When her everyday routine of delivering goods is upset by a string of extraordinary events, Ena - a long haul truckdriver – must conquer her fear of speaking up, and find ways to act on threats that challenge not just her life, but our shared way of life.

Deeper
Producers: Frauke Kolbmüller (Oma Inge Film, Germany), Mark Lwoff (Bufo, Finland)
Writer: Eva-Maria Koskinen (Finland)
Format: Series; Genre: Drama, Thriller

Synopsis: Finnish military deep sea diver Kira Johansson joins the Nord Stream sabotage investigation as the tensions in Europe rise, only to discover that one of the prime suspects is a woman she still loves.

Double Fault
Producers: Wiebke Andresen (Letterbox, Germany), Janne Hjeltnes (Empathitude Pictures, Norway)
Writers: Jakob Beckman, Joakim Granberg (Sweden)
Format: Feature film; Genre: Black comedy

Synopsis: Stella, a buttoned-up Norwegian banker, discovers that her biological father is disgraced German tennis legend Rainer Wolf. During a chaotic reunion involving Hamburg nightclubs, violent loan sharks, and a fake kidnapping, this mismatched father and daughter somehow form the most honest relationship either of them has ever had.

Hold Your Horses
Producers: Verena Gräfe-Höft (Junafilm, Germany), Tinna Proppé (Sellout, Iceland)
Writer: Toby Chlosta (Germany)
Format: Feature film; Genre: Tragicomedy

Synopsis: To honor his late father's dream, a young transgender man embarks on a horseback-riding tour in Iceland, but finds himself on a very different kind of ride when his estranged mother hijacks the tour. Can the unlikely pair find a way to start healing together, while facing the challenges of international group travel - or will they continue to gallop away from the only family they've got left?

Ibsen’s Dollhouse
Producers: Karsten Stöter (ROW Pictures, Germany), Lea Løbger (True Content Production, Denmark)
Writer: Anna Gutto (Norway)
Format: Feature film; Genre: Drama

Synopsis: The unexpected story behind one of the world’s greatest IPs – A Doll’s House. A modern and cinematic film about Henrik and Susanna Ibsen, their relationship of hot, intellectual love, and their friend’s tragedy they sought to avenge through his writing. The story brings us into the creation of a masterpiece and the joyful, painful and crazy process it entails – putting the survival of their relationship in the balance.

Sense of Silence
Producers: Linus Günther (Klinkerfilm, Germany), Erik Andersson (Läskfilm, Sweden)
Writer: Oskari Sipola (Finland)
Format: Feature film; Genre: Fantasy, Drama

Synopsis: When his mother disappears, a sheltered young man is forced into the world for the first time — where his gifts begin to reveal why she kept him hidden, and whether she was protecting him from the world, or protecting the world from him.

White Noise
Producers: Solmaz Azizi (future Zentropa Germany), Charlotte Hjordt (Zentropa Denmark)
Writer: Stefanie Ren (Germany)
Format: Series; Genre: Mystery

Synopsis: Ellin returns from Hamburg to her isolated hometown on the Danish North Sea coast after her brother’s mysterious death, determined to leave right after the funeral - until she discovers his recordings of a strange vibration beneath the coast and learns that his teenage son can still hear his father. As the boy is drawn deeper into the phenomenon, Ellin stays to uncover the truth and finds herself between local scientists, a powerful free church, and a question that shifts from who killed her brother to what killed him.

ABOUT NORDIC NEST

Nordic NEST is an initiative of MOIN Film Fund Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein in partnership with the German Federal Film Board (FFA) and the Five Nordics – the alliance of the Danish Film Institute, Finnish Film Foundation, Icelandic Film Centre, Norwegian Film Institute and Swedish Film Institute.

The NEST programme, developed by MOIN Film Fund, has already proven successful in Germany and is now being implemented internationally for the first time. Nordic NEST is exploring new approaches to international co-development and thus provides a strong foundation for future co-productions between Germany and the Nordic countries.

More information about Nordic NEST can be found here.