Swedish backer think big

Hollystad, Film i Skane team for $25 mil pic, TV series

By JORN ROSSING JENSEN

COPENHAGEN -- Swedish production house Hollystad Production has joined forces with Swedish regional film center Film i Skane to produce features and television series of 13 90-minute TV based on author Henning Mankell’s police detective, Wallander.

Projects will roll over the next four to five years at an estimated cost of $25 million.

"We are currently working to raise the $1.9 million which is the region’s ticket to participate in the venture," explains managing director Ralf Ivarsson, of Film i Skane. "At the same time we are discussing with facility houses to construct a studio at Ystad, which will be the centre of the production."

One of the episodes will be based on Mankell's novel "Before the Frost," while Mankell -- who is a co-owner of Hollystad -- is set to write the remaining 12. At least two will be theatrically released.

"The project is essential to the current efforts of strengthening the film and media industries in the area," adds Ivarsson, who is also deputy chairman of the newly established Oresund Film Commission, which operates on both sides of Oresund -- the sound that separates Sweden and Denmark.

According to Ivarsson, Swedish and German financing will be invested the film package, which is the largest drama scheme in the Nordic countries for several years -- and certainly the most extensive assignment for the film center, since it was established by the Swedish Film Institute and local authorities in 1995.