Nordisk Kulturfond has awarded a 150,000 DKK grant to Nordic Genre Lab, a new development and networking initiative led by Riimu Creative Oy and producer Laura Laaksonen and producer Claire Willats (Two Magpies Entertainment) from the UK. The support will help launch a program that focuses on elevating and developing genre films for the global marketplace.
Nordic Genre Lab will select five to eight Nordic-led genre film projects through an open call (April 27th to May 20th 2026) and advance them toward production-ready market packages. The program features one in-person workshop, targeted mentoring, panel discussions, a pitching competition with development awards, and curated matchmaking with sales agents, distributors, co-producers, streamers, and private investors. Confirmed partners include at Finnish Film Affair (Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy) and Two Magpies Entertainment in the UK. The program’s lead mentors are seasoned industry experts Claire Willats (UK) and Todd Brown (Canada).
The grant supports Nordic Genre Lab’s goals of building cross-border collaboration, accelerating market readiness for Nordic projects, and fostering durable professional networks across the region’s genre film ecosystem. The project hub will be available at nordicgenrelab.org in the near future.
