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Exclusive: Viaplay has set YA drama Boys as its latest Danish original, a coming-of-age series from 27-year-old Jonas Risvig.

Risvig will create and direct the eight-parter, which has just wrapped filming in the Danish town of Silkeborg and is set to air next year as one of 60 Viaplay originals across Europe.

Based on Risvig’s experience of growing up in a small Danish town, REinvent Studios’ drama follows a group of 10 young men who gather every week in Silkeborg to sing in a church choir. Over the years, the group has formed a close bond, and after the bells fall silent, they meet to push their limits and test the forbidden pleasures of adult life. But when one of the boys drowns under mysterious circumstances, their unity and loyalty are put to the ultimate test.

Risvig is one of Denmark’s brightest talents, having received the Publikum prize and two...

Sf Studios has boarded “Ellen,” an inspirational period drama about an unsung Danish woman who saved Jews during WW II. It will be directed by Mehdi Avaz (“Collision”) and executive produced by Niels Juul, whose credits include “Ferrari,” “Silence” and “The Irishman.”

Written by James Wyllie, the English-language movie will tell the true story of Ellen Nielsen, a fishmonger and single mother of six kids, who initiated the dangerous transport of Danish Jews on fishing boats to safety in Sweden during the Nazi occupation of Denmark. Ellen’s tiny house, which was located in a fishing village on the outskirts of Copenhagen, became the central point of the Danish resistance movement and harbored a complex system of secret communication and transport.

Juul, who previously headed Cecchi Gori Pictures where he worked on “Life Is Beautiful,” “Il Postino” and “Shawshank Redemption,” is passionate about the project.

“When I first got into the film business,...

Sf Studios has boarded “Toscana,” Mehdi Avaz’s upcoming romantic drama starring Anders Matthesen that just started filming.

A tribute to love and food, “Toscana” also stars Christiana Dell’Anna (“Gomorra”) and Andrea Bosca (“Quantico”), as well as Ghita Nørby (“Silent Heart”), Lærke Winther (“Dicte”) and the singer Christopher. Matthesen, one of Denmark’s most popular actors, previously starred in the award-winning film “Out of Tune” and in the local hit movie “Ternet Ninja.”

Sf Studios is planning to release “Toscana” in theaters across the Nordics in December 2021. It marks the third feature film by Avaz, who made his feature debut with “While We Live” in 2017 and his sophomore outing with the 2019 drama “Collision.” The filmmaker also produced the critically acclaimed TV show “Alfa,” which recently bowed on TV2 Zulu.

“In a very short time I have become the father of two lovely boys, which has greatly changed my focus on life.

Principal photography is about to begin on “Collision,” a new feature by Denmark’s Avaz brothers, who were among Variety’s 10 Europeans to Watch in 2018.

Produced by the trio’s Rocket Road Pictures and Kim Magnusson, along with Nordisk Film, the drama explores a family’s struggles to stay together after tragedy strikes. The cast includes leading Danish actors Nikolaj Lie Kaas (“Angels & Demons”), Rasmus Bjerg and Nicolas Bro.

Scriptwriter Milad Avaz said the film was inspired by a friend who was going through a bitter divorce. The brothers wanted to explore how a married couple’s decisions during a difficult breakup affect their children, which offers a chance, said Milad, to “make a movie that will actually influence some lives.”

The brothers broke the mold with “While We Live,” their low-budget feature debut, which was shot for around $300,000 and went on to become a breakout box-office hit in...