'Beginners' Producers Form Creative Alliance With Scandinavian Directing Dream Team

Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy, the producers behind shingle Parts & Labor, whose credits include the acclaimed film Beginners, have set up a new development and production company called Creative Alliance with six of Scandinavia's hottest directors.

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The six directors are Denmark's Lone Scherfig (An Education), The Celebration helmer Thomas Vinterberg, Ole Christian Madsen (Flame & Citron), Per Fly (The Inheritance) and award-winning documentary filmmaker Janus Metz (Armadillo) along with Icelandic director Dagur Kari (The Good Heart). Under the new Creative Alliance banner they will each develop and direct an English-language project aimed at the international marketplace. Also part of the new alliance will be Jacob Jorgensen and Nikolaj Vibe Michelsen from Danish production company JJ Film.

The concept of the new directing/producing co-op is to transfer Scandinavia's low-cost film production method to the English-language market. All Creative Alliance projects will be developed out of Denmark and will work closely with the Danish Film Institute and other Scandinavian and European funding bodies on financing. The group says it will develop films on all budget levels and that it has already secured sufficient equity to go ahead with development on all six projects.