Rikke Ennis: Last News

Ben Croll Fueled in no small part by international streamers looking to entrench their market share, production days skyrocketed across the European continent in 2021. But if the last year marked a gold rush for both service providers and content hungry viewers, independent producers have been feeling the squeeze.“It’s not a golden age when it comes to IP retention,” said Katharina Hiersemenzel, senior VP public policy of German mini-major Constantin Film.

Annika Pham Twice selected for Variety’s index of the 500 most influential business leaders in the global media industry, Rikke Ennis, CEO of Copenhagen-based REinvent Studios, is one of the Nordic region’s most market- intuitive and forward-thinking heavyweights. At Göteborg’s TV Drama Vision and Nordic Film Market, she and her sales team will showcase high profile series including “Pressure Point” starring David Dencik, the Erik Poppe-helmed “Quisling,” “Heajastallan – A Sámi’s Wedding,” the competed features “Stranger” and “Second Victims,” and works in progress “The Dance Club” by “Love & Anarchy”’s Lisa Langseth, Danish/Korean “Hana Korea” and quirky Finnish debut “The Squirrel.” Proof of REinvent’s A-festival pulling power, is its recent film sales bet “Beginnings” by “Wildland’’s Jeanette Nordahl starring Dencik and Trine Dyrholm, which will world premiere at Berlin’s Panorama section, while the premium shows “Heajastallan-a Sámi Wedding” and “Vigdís” will bow at the Berlinale Series Market Select.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent REinvent International Sales has boarded Howard J. Ford’s “River of Blood,” a psychological thriller that’s about to start shooting in Thailand. The company will unveil the project to buyers at the American Film Market.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent SF Studios and REinvent have dropped the first trailer for Lukas Moodysson’s comedy “Together 99,” the Swedish director’s sequel to his 2000 hit movie “Together.” SF Studios will release the film in Sweden on Oct. 13, while REinvent will represent it in international markets. “Together 99” follows a group of very different people who lived in a Swedish community called Together in 1975. The story picks up 24 years later, in 1999, with Göran and Klasse who are the last two members of the community. Feeling a bit lonely, they start thinking of a reunion with old friends and Klasse sets off to surprise Göran on his birthday.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent While the lineup of Cannes Film Market’s newly launched initiative Cannes Investors Circle has remained under wraps, Variety has learned about four of the nine projects which were pitched during the invitation-only event. The initiative was created by the film market’s new executive director Guillaume Esmiol to connect VIP private investors with select filmmakers and producers boasting a stellar track records. Curated by experts such as Medici’s Tamara Tatishvili, Arte Cinema’s Rémi Burah and financier Serge Hayat, the nine projects are budgeted between €2 million and €12 million. Among these are “Dracula. The Second Coming” directed by Radu Jude, the Romanian helmer of Berlinale prizewinning “Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn,” directed by Ada Solomon at microFILM; “Rivo Alto,” directed by Clément Cogitore (“The Wakhan Front”) and produced by Jean-Christophe Reymond at Kazak Productions (“Titane”); “The Girl” directed by Marina Ziolkowski (“But You Look So Good”) and produced by Philippe Gompel (“Cherry”) at Manny Films, and “The Birthday Party” directed by Miguel Angel Jimenez (“Chaika”) and produced by Giorgos Karnavas (“Triangle of Sadness”) at Heretic.

Artificial Intelligence will be fully integrated into the production process within five years, offering new creative opportunities while endangering the future of creative jobs, according to the latest edition of the Goteborg Film Festival’s Nostradamus report.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent REinvent Intl. Sales, the banner launched by former TrustNordisk CEO Rikke Ennis, has picked up “In the Name of God,” a thriller about a priest on a mission to expand his congregation at any cost. The film is directed by Ludvig Gür (“Pretending I’m a Superman: The Tony Hawk Video Game Story”) and stars Linus Wahlgren (“With One Eye Open,” “Beck”), Vilhelm Blomgren (“Midsommar,” “Gösta”) and Lisa Henni (“Rig 45,” “The Unthinkable”). The movie just wrapped filming.  The film revolves around Theodor, a 40-year-old priest whose world unravel after his wife becomes ill. He becomes convinced that he has been chosen by God to rid the world of sinners in order to bring new life to true believers.

Naman Ramachandran The Cannes Film Market has launched Cannes Investors Circle, which will commence with a keynote introduction by Liesl Copland, Participant’s executive VP, content and platform strategy, who will offer her perspective on the modern media landscape. The initiative will also feature a panel discussion titled Navigating Film Finance in a Changing World that aims to offer insights on global financing and market trends in 2023 and beyond. The panelists will include Elisa Alvares, finance expert at Jacaranda Consultants; Rikke Ennis, CEO of REinvent Studios; Emilie Georges, co-founder and CEO of Paradise City; Mike Goodridge, U.K. producer at Good Chaos who is also presenting Jessica Hausner’s “Club Zero” in the festival’s official competition; with film festival consultant Wendy Mitchell moderating.

EXCLUSIVE: The Cannes Film Festival’s Marché du Film has unveiled a new exclusive event, bannered the Cannes Investors Circle, aimed at connecting high-caliber, global feature film projects with private investors.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentTrustNordisk has sold “Nothing to Laugh About,” Petter Næss’s Norwegian drama comedy which played at the Zürich Film Festival in 2020. Næss is best known for his Oscar-nominated film “Elling” and has been working in TV and theatre in recent years.

Annika Pham The Göteborg Film Festival’s annual TV industry event, TV Drama Vision, has unveiled its program, which focuses on sustainability and healthy working conditions at a time of hyper-competition in the drama space.TV Drama Vision is set to unspool both in-person and online over Feb. 2-3.As opening keynote, Johanna Koljonen, author of the anticipated Nostradamus Report, will kickstart the event’s conference strand, which is also due to new paths for creative producers, public funding at a crossroads, green filmmaking, diversity, changing business models and storytelling.“The program, designed as always in close collaboration with the industry, will reveal how the streaming disruption, accelerated by the pandemic, is affecting us all.