Lars von Trier's Dancer In The Dark co-producer, Blind Spot Pictures, is to produce Finland's first-ever Kung-Fu movie, from first-time director Antti-Jussi Annila.

Producer Tero Kaukomaa, who formed Blind Spot in 1997 and has since made films like Geography Of Fear and Cyclomania, was so impressed with Tampere Film & Media School graduate Antti-Jussi Annila's showreel, that he and his partner producer Petri Jokiranta decided to back the debutante. Iiro Küttner, an experienced TV and features writer has been commissioned to write the script.

"We haven't really made genre films in the past, but the new young filmmakers will," says Tero Kaukomaa. . "It will be the first of its kind here, but hopefully more than that," says Annila, "We plan to make it significantly different by mixing the Chinese/Hong Kong elements with the Finnish mentality."

Jade Warrior (Jadesoturi)(pictured) is set both in China 2000 years ago, as well as in contemporary Finland and centres on a warrior having to decide between his duty and the woman he loves.

While currently budgeted at a slim Euros 1m, according to the producers the showreel has also created interest from possible international backers. "The fact that you try something completely new always opens doors.

"There's new technological possibilities we haven't used in features yet, and that is one way of making it look a lot more expensive than it will be," says Kaukomaa confidently. "

Blind Spot Pictures is presently also halfway through the shoot of Jarmo Lampela's Ken Loach-like A Clean Sweep and in postproduction with Saara Saarela's urban tale Stripping.

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