Truenorth navigates to Jonasson's Others

Truenorth, the Icelandic production company that has worked on big US shoots such as Ben Stiller’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Darren Aronofsky’s Noah, and the Wachowski’s forthcoming Netflix drama Sense8, is gearing up to shoot its first in-house production this summer.

The project, Oskar Jonasson’s In Front Of Others, is being pitched at Berlin’s Co-Production Market. Denmark’s Nepenthe is attached as co-producer and German partners are also showing interest.

Jonasson co-writes the romantic comedy (with playwright Kristjan Thordur Hrafnsson) about a shy guy who tries to impress a woman with a clever impersonation of his boss. But the relationship falters when his impersonations become out of control.

The €1.3m budgeted film is supported by the Icelandic Film Centre. Sena Distribution plans an Icelandic release at the end of 2015.

The cast will feature Svandis Dora, Snorri Engilbertsson, Hilmir Snaer Gudnason, and Hafdis Helga Helgadottir.

Director Jonasson told Screen, “Iceland is probably not the typical romantic comedy country, but Reykjavik is actually a very romantic city. And romance happens everywhere.”

It marks a change of genre from the director’s previous crime drama Reykjavik-Rotterdam (which was remade in the US as Contraband). The director adds, “If I find a story interesting that’s my number one concern, not the category of film.”

Truenorth also has its second in-house production, crime thriller Vaidas by Ari Alexander, aiming to shoot in February and March 2016.

Thordarson says, “What we plan to do are films that are more audience friendly than arthouse – we do want our films to have substance. The Working Title model is the model for us.”

In the future, Truenorth’s production arm is looking for more co-productions and some English-language projects as well.