UK Genre Firm Adds Two For AFM Slate; ‘The Favourite’ Backer Screen Ireland Ups Funding; Tobias Lindholm Series Heads To BBC, RTL — Global Briefs

EXCLUSIVE: UK genre sales firm Devilworks has added two titles to its slate for the upcoming American Film Market. Matteo Rolleri’s outfit has boarded world sales rights to U.S. supernatural horror The Special by B. Harrison Smith (Death House) about a young man who is offered a night of pleasure beyond his wildest imagination. Davy Raphaely (Camp Dread), Dave Sheridan (Sky Sharks) and Sarah French (Ouija House) star. Alexander Bafer and Doug Henderson produce for Everything’s Fire Productions, Jonathan Ilchert is executive producer for Brick Top Productions. Also on the slate is Canadian horror Welcome To The Circle, written and directed by David Fowler (Born In China) and starring Heather Doerksen (Pacific Rim), Matthew MacCaull (Tomorrowland) and Taylor Dianne Robinson (Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn). Pic tells the story of a young girl and her father who fall prey to a secluded, madman-worshiping cult situated deep in a wood. Michael Khazen produced for High Deaf Productions, alongside Andrew Francis and Jeff Renfroe. Sam Vincent executive produced.

 The Favourite and Vikings backer Screen Ireland is getting a funding increase of €1M, bringing the agency’s annual capital budget to €17.2M for 2020. Screen Ireland chair Dr. Annie Doona said, “This additional funding together with the introduction of the regional uplift to Section 481 of 5%, announced last year, is an example of successful government policy, in terms of attracting new productions to regional areas. The uplift has allowed Screen Ireland to work with regional stakeholders to develop training opportunities and enhance skills, supporting production activity in these areas. Last year, Screen Ireland established a new TV drama production fund aimed at supporting high-end episodic TV drama. New projects emerging from this fund include Normal People, The South Westerlies and a slate of pilot TV comedies in partnership with RTÉ. Recent Irish movies backed by Screen Ireland include Lee Cronin’s Hole In The Ground starring Seana Kerslake, Extra Ordinary staring Maeve Higgins and Greta directed by Neil Jordan. International projects to have filmed on location in Ireland include Fate: The Winx Saga, Vikings, Nightfliers, Into the Badlands, The Rhythm Section and The Green Knight.

Fremantle has completed deals with both BBC in the UK and Mediengruppe RTL in Germany for upcoming crime series The Investigation. Produced by Fremantle’s Scandinavian drama producers, Miso Film, and written and directed by Tobias Lindholm (A Hijacking), the six-part series follows the complex investigation carried out by Jens Møller, the Head of Homicide for the Copenhagen Police, surrounding the murder of Swedish journalist Kim Wall. Søren Malling (A Hijacking) leads the cast as Møller, alongside Pilou Asbæk (Game of Thrones) as the prosecutor Jakob Buch-Jepsen and Pernilla August (Star Wars) and Rolf Lassgård (Downsizing) as Kim Wall’s parents, Ingrid and Joachim Wall. The Investigation is produced by Fremantle’s Miso Film and is currently in production in Denmark. The series was developed by Miso Film together with Tobias Lindholm. It’s produced by Miso Film in co-production with Outline Film for TV 2 Danmark, SVT and Viaplay with support from The Danish Film Institute’s Public Service Fund and Copenhagen Film Fund. Fremantle has international distribution rights.