Seven new local features have been greenlit with backing from the Norwegian Film Fund (NFF).

The films come from all over the country and a number of them are feature debuts - aswith Tore Rygh's romantic musical melodrama Alt For Egil (Everything For Egil), which is set in and around Stavanger and will be produced by veteran Sigve Endresen's Motlys. NFF covers $958,000 (NKR7m) of the $1.6m (NKR12m) budget and distributor Sandrew Metronome has taken domestic rights.

Director Rygh, who was among the first to graduate from the new film school in Lillehammer, co-wrote the script with Tore Renberg. It tells the story of the 29 year-old Egil, the best pizza delivery boy in the world, who has two goals; to help his mentally handicapped friend become a chauffeur and wake the girl he fell in love with after he collided with her on skies putting her into a coma.

Another film coming from the booming film community in Stavanger is Monster Thursday, made by the same team who made the low-budget surprise hit Mongoland in 2001.

Director Arild Ostin Ommundsen co-wrote with Gro Elin Hjelle and Ingrid Festoy Ottesen produces for Muz Film AS on a $1.6m (NKR12m) budget, of which $958,000 (NKR7m) comes from the NFF.

The love story is set among surfers in Stavanger, where two old friends love the same woman. It stars Vegar Hoel, Silje Salomonsen, Andreas Cappelen and Marko Kanic. Sandrew Metronome Norge handles distribution.

Another feature debut comes from actor turned writer-director Axel Hennie, who's Uno will be made in close collaboration with cinematographer Jon Andreas Andersen (Buddy) and will be produced by newcomer Joergen Storm Rosenberg for his Tordenfilm AS.

NFF brings a major $753,000 (NKR5.5m) part of the financing for the $1.3m (NKR9.3m) film, which will also be distributed by Sandrew Metronome Norge. It is a story about breaking old friendships to find love and faith in one self.

Writer-director Khalid Hussain previously made the Norwegian-Pakistani drama Dharkan, but with Import And Export he describes the Pakistani community in Oslo. The romantic comedy sees Norwegian Jan fall in love with Jasmin, who has been promised to her Pakistani cousin. But Jan is willing to convert to Islam and ready to try and change the family's view of mixed marriages.

The film is produced by Egil Oedegaard's Filmhuset Produksjoner in collaboration with Mikael Olsen from Denmark's Zentropa, Peter Hiltunen from Sweden's Illusion Film and Fridrik Thor Fridriksson's Icelandic Film Corporation. NFF brings $1m (NKR7.3m) to the $2.3m (NKR16.9m) budget. Scandinavian Entertainment Group (SEG) will handle the domestic release.

Another experienced director, though mostly from TV, is Martin Asphaug who's Love On Sticks (Kjaerlighet Paa Pinne) is produced by Tomas Backstrom and Petter Borgli for Dinamo Story on a $2m (NKR14.5m) budget with $1m (NKR7.5m) from NFF.

Based on a script by Eirik Ildahl (Head Above Water) and described as a humorous and erotic thriller, it tells the story of Odd who's left paralysed after an accident, and while fighting for his relationship with Liv, also has to put up with his psychotic father. Egmont Columbia TriStar distributes in Norway.

Veteran producer Aage Aaberge also received $137,000 (NKR1m) from the NFF for another co-production with Sweden's prolific Borje Hansson of Filmlance AB, Ella Lemhagen's Tur Og Retur.

Finally directors Sune Maroni and Sjur Paulsen received $301,000 (NKR2.2m) for their feature documentary Loop, written by Paulsen and Thomas Moldestad and produced by Sub Productions AS on a $616,000 (NKR4.5m) budget.

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