Zentropa has invited a new partner into Filmbyen, Copenhagen. Local producer RegnarGrasten has moved his production facilities from DetDanske Filmstudie where many popular classics were made to Zentropa.

Zentropa will produce Grasten'snext three films, one of which is a fourth sequel to the popular Anja & Viktor series, a Christmasfilm for kids and a portrait of the 1980s hip hop generation. Grasten is also planning to adapt Swedish writer, Selma Lagerlöfs best-seller Mårbacka into a film with a releasedate of 2008.

A new studio is being built that Grasten will rent thereby increasing Zentropa'sstudio capacity by 50%.

"Grasten's industrialapproach to filmmaking is familiar to the way we make films at Zentropa. Evenif they look differently from the outside and often find themselves to be intotally different genres," said Zentropa's Aalbæk Jensen. "At Zentropa welike the entrepreneurship behind the idea of making films without governmentsupport."

Grasten produces at least one family comedy a yearoften to commercial success but seldom with the blessing of the critics. Latelyhe has experimented with making movies without money from the Danish FilmInstitute which is usually considered neigh on impossible. Veninder and Bølle Bob og Smukke Sally do not have international translationsbut translates into Girlfriends and Bully Bob and Beautiful Sally. The twomovies were shot for half the usual budget (around $1.m). Girlfriends made $1.25m and the children's movie made $1.75m at cinemasalone. The video release guarantees money in the bank again for Grasten whosebet on Lost Generation earlier thisyear did not meet expectations with a budget of $4.5m.

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