– BERLINALE 2026: We take a closer look at the feature-length projects showcased at the inaugural Spotlight on the Nordics works-in-progress event at the EFM
Woman, Unknown by May el-Toukhy (© Andrejs Strokins)
At the 2026 European Film Market (EFM), the newly launched “Spotlight On” programme brought together ten feature-length projects from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, presented at various stages of post-production. Organised under the umbrella of The Five Nordics – a joint initiative of the Danish Film Institute, Finnish Film Foundation, Icelandic Film Centre, Norwegian Film Institute and Swedish Film Institute – the showcase aimed to highlight the region’s breadth of contemporary filmmaking while strengthening international visibility and industry connections.
The works-in-progress presentation took place on 12 February at the Cinemobile, behind the Martin Gropius Bau. Designed to foster focused industry encounters, Spotlight on the Nordics targets international sales agents, distributors, festival programmers and financiers, offering a platform for projects seeking final partners ahead of their premiere strategies.
Below, we take a closer look at five of the ten projects presented:
Woman, Unknown – May el-Toukhy (Denmark)
Production: Nordisk Film Production
Set in the immediate aftermath of World War II, Woman, Unknown follows Marie, a young nanny and housemaid on the verge of marrying Christian, the wealthy older widower she works for. As she prepares to secure her new position as lady of the house, a carefully buried past resurfaces: during the war, Marie was involved in an intimate relationship with a German soldier. In a society marked by moral reckoning and post-war anarchy, her secret threatens both her social ascent and her personal safety, forcing her into a quiet but relentless struggle for survival and legitimacy.
Conceived as a tense psychological period drama, the film examines power, shame and social mobility through the prism of female experience in a moment of historical rupture. Woman, Unknown marks the third feature by Danish writer-director May el-Toukhy, whose previous work includes Long Story Short [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Queen of Hearts [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gustav Lindh
interview: May el-Toukhy
film profile], the latter premiering at Sundance and receiving numerous international accolades. Alongside her feature work, el-Toukhy has built a strong profile in high-end television, directing episodes of The Legacy, Ride Upon the Storm and The Crown. The project is currently in post-production, with TrustNordisk handling its world sales.
Halima by Naima Mohamud
Halima – Naima Mohamud (Finland)
Production: It’s Alive Films, No-Office Films, Vico Films
Set in Finland in 1998, Halima centres on a ten-year-old Somali girl navigating childhood between displacement and imagination. Passionate about dancing, pop music and Leonardo DiCaprio, Halima retreats into fantasies of fame as her family’s frequent relocations, dictated by her mother’s work, prevent her from forming lasting friendships. In yet another unfamiliar town, her emotional isolation is disrupted when she begins, for the first time, to build genuine connections with her peers.
Conceived as a warm and humorous coming-of-age story, the film approaches questions of belonging, identity and resilience from a child’s perspective. Written and directed by Finnish-Somali filmmaker Naima Mohamud, an award-winning director and former BBC journalist, Halima builds on a body of work that includes the acclaimed short Fatima and a three-part sports miniseries for YLE released in 2024.
Saturn Return by Agnes Skonare Karlsson
Saturn Return – Agnes Skonare Karlsson (Sweden)
Production: Pine
Saturn Return unfolds over a summer weekend in which three sisters reunite at their family’s old country house to mark their mother Lotta’s 60th birthday. What is meant to be a celebration gradually turns into an uneasy reckoning, as unspoken resentments, misplaced gifts and a faltering boat trip expose the fragility beneath the family’s carefully maintained veneer. As the heat intensifies and a blood moon rises, Lotta is forced to confront her own sense of dislocation, caught between motherhood left behind, the loss of her own mother and the unsettling awareness of her life entering a new phase.
Conceived as an intimate ensemble drama, the film explores ageing, identity and familial roles through restrained observation, rather than overt confrontation. Saturn Return marks the feature debut by Swedish screenwriter and director Agnes Skonare Karlsson, a Columbia University MFA graduate whose scripts have been selected for the Hamptons Screenwriting Lab, and have won the BlueCat and Tony Cox Screenplay Awards. Her short films have screened at festivals including Telluride, AFI Fest and Palm Springs.
Polyorama by Graeme Maley
Polyorama – Graeme Maley (Iceland)
Production: Sagafilm, Fenrir Films
Set almost entirely within the confines of Reykjavík City Theatre, Polyorama centres on Ingrid, an ageing Icelandic star of stage and screen preparing for the premiere of a new production. Her carefully controlled rehearsal process is unsettled by the arrival of a foreign journalist, whose presence triggers a backstage confrontation marked by regret, suppressed resentment and unresolved personal history. As performance and reality begin to blur, the theatre space becomes an arena for emotional exposure, rather than spectacle.
Conceived as a chamber drama anchored in performance and confinement, the movie uses the theatrical setting as a pressure cooker in which professional identity, memory and power dynamics collide. Written and directed by Graeme Maley, whose previous features include A Reykjavík Porno [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Pale Star, Polyorama marks his first on-screen collaboration with British actor Sean Harris, who leads the cast.
Fighter by Irasj Asanti (© Anagram)
Fighter – Irasj Asanti (Norway/Sweden)
Production: Anagram Norway, Anagram Sweden
Fighter follows Sara, a young woman determined to pursue a career as a professional MMA fighter while negotiating a web of familial, cultural and emotional obligations that threaten to pull her off course. As she prepares for her first official match, her life takes an abrupt turn when her arranged marriage to family friend Mansour begins under strained circumstances, forcing her to move into his parents’ crowded flat. At the same time, Sara finds herself increasingly drawn to her female training partner at the MMA club, a desire that clashes sharply with expectations at home. Alongside her training, she is expected to help her father in his halal butcher shop and continue her Economics studies at university.
Directed by Irasj Asanti and co-written with Nina Anderson Sjødal, the film marks Asanti’s feature debut, following a background in acting and award-winning short films. The world sales are handled by The Yellow Affair.
The remaining titles presented at Spotlight on the Nordics were as follows:
Girl Beast – Selma Sunniva (Denmark/France)
Production: Manna Film, Slot Machine
Just a Kid – Vala Ómarsdóttir (Iceland)
Production: Ursus Parvus, Alexandra Film
Blue Baby – Klaus Härö (Finland)
Production: Making Movies
Viqueens – Harald Zwart (Norway)
Production: Zwart Arbeid
Bloody Men – Jens Sjögren (Sweden)
Production: B-Reel Films
