"Sound of Noise" by Johannes Stjärne Nilsson & Ola Simonsson
FILM i SKÅNE + FILM i VÄST
"Sound of Noise" is a blend of comedy, thriller, police film and musical. From the very early script development stage, the directors Mr. Ola Simonsson and Johannes Stjärne Nilsson had the intention to adress an international audience, and with such approach it soon became clear that an international co-production was the right choice to aim for.
- “Ambitious projects require a heavy budget which basically requires international support to be implemented”, says Olivier Guerpillon, producer at DFM Fiktion and swedish producer of ”Sound of Noise”.
- “Fortunately, the directors of ”Sound of Noise” have a genuine background within the film sector. They are well recognized from previous shorts and they have a history with national and international film and production companies. These are circumstances that make the prospects greater in finding funding”, Olivier Guerpillon explains and adds that other aspects to look at include: ”Is there an assumption of a potential to sell well abroad – then the chances of having international support and funding for the project increase. There are also other benefits with international coproductions; the possibilities are greater to have a wide distribution of the film and the chances of being selected for Cannes Film Festival increases which of course is a great asset to the directors”.
"Sound of Noise" is a Swedish-French-Danish co-production with a budget of 3,5 million euros and is co-produced by the Swedish production company DFM Fiktion and the French film company BLISS. The two Swedish Cine-Regio members Film i Skåne and Film i Väst supported the project.
Ralf Ivarsson, CEO Film i Skåne says: " Film i Skåne has supported the two directors financially in ten previous projects and we have an ongoing dialogue. Normally, when we support a project, we have requirements regarding rights and have to ensure that significant investment is made in the region of Skåne. In the budget, we expect to recoup about 10% a year of the investment. However, as regards "Sound of Noise" our main goal was to support and back the directors. Nevertheless, we could expect our region to be well used, as both directors are active here and large parts of the film was to be shot in the region of Skåne.
When filming began in 2008 the final deals with the french post-production companies were not fully in place and the agreements between the various production companies were rather complex. Ralf Ivarsson says: "At an early stage a deal was signed between BLISS ,Film i Skåne and DFM Fiktion saying that Film i Skåne would support the project with 3.1 million SEK. Later in the production a new agreement was written where Film i Skåne added another 400,000.00 SEK."
The production also bumped into technical challenges. The production team wanted to create a fictional city with skylines which Malmö - a Swedish city with barely 300 000 people - could not offer. They wanted a modern, medium-sized city that adressed the 70s aesthetics. Co-producer Olivier Guerpillon recalls: "At an early stage, we wondered whether to shoot in another region or in another country? Perhaps Frankfurt could provide the atmosphere that was needed, or another city in Germany? In such a scenario perhaps the project also could receive financial support from a German region? But we realized that it would prolong the production too much and finally, late in the production, Cine-Regio member Film i Väst, Sweden, joined the party and solved our problems by allowing us to do VFX in their region and create the city digitally. We gained a lot by this solution both economically -as the VFX first was supposed to be done in France – and creatively – as our collaboration with Film i Väst was very rewarding.”
100% of the film was shot in the Southern Swedish region Skåne and part of the post-production was made in the region of Västra Götaland, home of Film i Väst, Western Sweden. However, the French Film Institute (CNC) required a part of the postproduction to be done in France. In the end they settled an agreement stating that the final mix of the film and the final lab was to be made in France.
Olivier concludes: ”The only drawback I could think of with an international co-production could be that you are not sure if the humor is the same worldwide. What goes as fun for the Swedes, is it also fun for a non-Swedish audience? Well, so far we know that in France, they said that the film had a very French sense of humor. In the Czech Republic, they said that the movie had a typical Czech humor and the Ukraines said that the movie had a typical Ukrainian humor ... It remains to be seen whether the Swedes perceive the humor in ”Sound of Noise” as typical Swedish when the film has its Swedish premiere in December 2010".
Financing:
Wild Bunch (French distribution and sales agent world wide)
Film i Väst (regional film fund in Sweden)
Film i Skåne (regional film fund in Sweden)
SVT (Swedish Television)
Canal + (Nordic pay-tv)
Nordisk Film Production (Danish co-producer)
Nordisk Film Distribution (Nordic distribution)
DFI (Danish Film Institute)
SFI (Swedish Film Institute)
Nordic Film & TV Fond
Europa Sound Production
Total budget ca SEK 35 millions.
Source: Cine-Regio, february 2011
Awards:
2 prizes in Critic’s Week, Cannes 2010
15 prizes around the world
Best fantastic feature film in Austin, USA, Fantastic Film Festival
Golden Beetle Award (Swedish National Film Award) for Best Special Achievement