Final Cut for Real of Denmark, Story of Sweden and Sant & Usant of Norway take turns producing and co-producing the films, each of them taking us to a new country and following a young elite athlete who dreams of becoming the best in his or her field.
The series is initiated by Danish producer Monica Hellström of Final Cut for Real plus Danish filmmaker Simon Lereng Wilmont, who has contributed two films, Chikara – The Sumo Wrestler's Son (2013) and The Fencing Champion (2014), both selected for IDFA.
Now, three new films in the series have been picked for IDFA's longstanding children’s section Kids & Docs, which starting this year has been made into a competitive programme giving out an award for best film:
Varicella by Victor Kossakovsky describes the tender bond between two sisters, Polina and Nastia, studying ballet in Saint Petersburg, Ruth by Hanna Heilborn is about a Swedish cheerleader who loves the sport for its physical demands and great team spirit but also struggles with people’s prejudices against it, while Dancing for You by Erlend E. Mo tells the story of Vilde, who wants to be the first female champion of Halling, a Norwegian folk dance traditionally performed only by men.
Read about Katrine Philp's Home Sweet Home, also selected for IDFA’s Kids & Docs Competition.
