The two Danish film projects were among the titles to be backed by Eurimages, as the board for the Council of Europe's coproduction fund assembled June 14-17. Both films received the largest amount at 600,000 euros among the 14 recipients also counting Emir Kusturica, Paolo Sorrentino, and Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne.
Zentropa is producer on both projects which have also been granted production subsidy from the Danish Film Institute.
A Royal Affair
Nikolaj Arcel's epic drama "A Royal Affair" ("Caroline Mathildes år") tells the true story of the young queen Caroline Mathilde, who is married to the deranged King Christian VII of Denmark and falls secretly in love with the King's physician, thus starting a revolution that changed the nation forever.
The script is written by Nikolaj Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg, the two having previously worked together on several films such as "King's Game" (2004) and "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (2009). Meta Louise Foldager and Sisse Graum Jørgensen produce "A Royal Affair" which is coproduced with Sweden (Trollhättan AB), Latvia (Film Angel Studios) and Ireland (Subotica Entertainment).
The film starts shooting this fall and is expected to release late 2011.
Melancholia
"No more happy endings!" Lars von Trier declared last October, as the director announced his plans for the upcoming "Melancholia", which starts filming on July 22 in Trollhättan.
The star-studded cast includes Kirsten Dunst, Kiefer Sutherland, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Charlotte Rampling, Alexander Skarsgård, Stellan Skarsgård, Udo Kier, and John Hurt. Lars von Trier wrote the script, and producers are Meta Louise Foldager and Louise Vesth.
"Melancholia" is coproduced with Sweden (Memfis Film), France (Slot Machine) and Germany (Zentropa International Köln) and is presold to more than 20 countries, among others Brazil, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Benelux, Russia and most Eastern European countries. The film is expected to release in May 2011.