200 international film professionals have registered for the 10th Nordic Film Market - the business arm of Sweden's Gothenburg International Film Festival.

Project manager Cia Edström has prepared a showcase of 19 fresh Nordic productions open to foreign distributors, sales agents and festival programmers.

Among the most recent are Nils Malmros' Aching Hearts (Kærestesorger), which has been shot over three years; Dome Karukoski's Forbidden Fruit (Kielletty Hedelmä); Oskar Jonasson's Reykjavik-Rotterdam, starring Baltasar Kormakur; Pål Jackman's Jernanger; and Måns Herngren's Swimsuit Issue (Allt Flyter).

The market runs from January 29 and accompanies the 32nd edition of the largest festival in the Nordic region, which screens 450 films from 65 countries runs from January 23-February.

Gothenburg has a special focus on local and Nordic filmmaking.

The Swedish programme of 143 titles comprises all 2008 productions as well as world-premières of three features and six documentaries.

In addition the festival will also welcome a major contingency of international directors and actors, such as French director Claire Simon and her lead in God's Offices (Les Bureaux De Dieu), Nathalie Bay.

Chinese director Zhan Yan will be in place with members of the cast and crew from Dada's Dance, while nine Turkish filmmakers will represent the selection for the Focus on Turkey.

'I am very impressed by the high level of Turkish cinema today,' commented festival director Marit Kapla, unspooling eight new Turkish features and two documentaries.

The selection includes Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Cannes contender, Three Monkeys (Üc Maymun). Ceylan, whose films have not reached Sweden before, will be properly introduced by four of his previous works.

A strong French catalogue of 12 new films including works from Claire Denis (35 Shots Of Rum/35 Rhums), Agnès Jaoui (Parlez-Moi De La Pluie) and Robert Guediguian (Lady Jane) is among this year's main attractions.

As is a special series on gay cinema headed by US director Gus Van Sant's Milk are among.

Milk and Israeli director Ari Folman's Oscar-nominated Waltz With Bashir will both have their Swedish premières during the festival.

Eight new Scandinavian features will compete for the Nordic Film Prize dragon accompanied by $12,800 (SEK 100,000).

The eight contenders are:

Heidi Maria Faisst's Blessing (Velsignelsen), Denmark;

Dome Karukoski's Forbidden Fruit (Kielletty Hedelmä)Finland;

Jukka-Pekka Valkeapää's The Visitor (Muukalainen) Finland.

Valdis Oskarsdottir's Country Wedding (Sveitabrúokaup) Iceland.

Eva Isaksen's House Of Fools (De Gales Hus), Norway.

Nahid Persson Sarvestani's The Queen And I (Drottningen Och Jag), Sweden.

Beata Gårdeler's In The Shadow Of The Heat (I Skuggan Av Värmen) Swedish.

In addition, Danish director Bille August will preside over the jury selecting the winner of the Ingmar Bergman International Debut Award from eight nominees:

Aida Begic for Snow (Snijeg) Bosnia;

Emily Atef for The Stranger in Me (Das Fremde In Mir) Germany;

Philippe Claudel for I've Loved You So Long (Il Ya Longtemps Que Je T'aime), France;

Amat Escalante for Los Bastardos, Mexico;

Rodrigo Plá for The Desert Within (Desierto Adentro), Mexico;

Enrique Rivero for Parque Via, Mexico;

Najwa Najjar for Pomegranates And Myrrh (Al-mor Wa Al Rumman), Palestine;

Charlie Kaufman for Synecdoche, USA.

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