Acclaimed Norwegian director Hans Petter Moland'sadaptation of Teacher Pedersen (Gymnaslaerer Pedersen) has set a Nov1 start date, following a substantial$1.5m (NOK10,1m) award from the Norwegian Film Fund.

Moland is one of Norway's most acclaimed filmmakers,and his most recent feature The Beautiful Country screened in competition at Berlin this year.

Produced by Orjan Karlsen for Motlys AS the new $2.5mproject is adapted by Hans Petter Blad from a well-known novel by Dag Solstad,who is one of Norway's most respected authors.

Teacher Pedersendeals with the awakening political consciousness in the country's recenthistory in the 1960's. It follows the young teacher Knut Pedersen, whotravels to a small town to work at a high school. There he gets married and hasa child, but also gets fascinated by the Marxist-Leninist movement - andalso its local leader Nina Skatoy, with whom he soon has an affair with.

Sandrew Metronome has taken the Nordic distribution rights.The cast has yet to be decided.

The Norwegian Film Fund also backed two Nordicco-productions: veteran producer Per Holst's third animated film about AmazonJack (Jungledyret Hugo) through co-producerAage Aaberge from Nordisk Film; and Waldemar Bergendahl's production ofMartin Asphaug's Kim Novak Never Swam In The Lake Of Genesaret for Swedish major Svensk Filmindustri.

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