SF Studios expands Nordic deal with Cinematic to develop and distribute new films Comet in Moominland and When the Doves Disappeared

​SF Studios announced today that it expands its collaboration with the Finnish production company Cinematic Inc, founded by internationally renowned director Antti J. Jokinen. SF Studios will distribute Cinematic’s upcoming films Comet in Moominland, based on the Moomin classic from 1992, and When the Doves Disappeared, based on the bestselling novel by Sofi Oksanen, in addition to the already announced new action thriller series Omerta with two feature films Omerta 6/12 and Omerta 7/12, and a TV series for C More. SF Studios will handle Nordic distribution for all the films and REinvent Studios will handle international sales for Omerta.

With the new development and distribution deal, Cinematic and SF Studios will bring important and entertaining local stories to a global audience with internationally acclaimed talent, pioneering with new methods of film making and technical innovations.

“I am very happy for this collaboration with SF Studios to be able to share these compelling stories with a Nordic and global audiences. SF Studios is a great partner for us, since we are looking for opportunities to expand our markets and to have a strong long-term vision with our distributor and partner.”, says Antti J. Jokinen, director, scriptwriter and producer, Cinematic. “Cinematic is also investing in developing the future-technologies and I’m curious to see what the future will bring to us,” Antti J. Jokinen continues.

SF Studios will distribute all the films in the Nordics. REinvent Studios will handle international sales for Omerta and introduce the project to buyers at the EFM.

“It’s with great pride and joy we embark this powerful journey together with top notch creatives. The scale and ambition of all the films are unique in the Nordics and strongly reflect SF Studios’ ambition to be a leading local distributor and executive producer of films that will hit # 1 box office in the coming decade”, says Yaba Holst, Executive Producer and Head of Nordic Acquisition, SF Studios.

Comet in Moominland is a remake of the world-famous Moomin classic animation film from 1992 (Japanese-Finnish-Dutch production). The film was created and produced by Dennis Livson, whose son Tim Livson (Kindernet Entertainment), is now co-producing the new film with Antti J. Jokinen and Sara Norberg (Cinematic). The film is based on the novel of the same name by Finnish illustrator and writer Tove Jansson. While keeping the classical hand drawn cel animation style by director Hiroshi Saito, animator Yasuhiro Nakura and writer Akira Miyazaki, the remastered Comet in Moominland (2020) will be updated for today’s 4K cinema standards and all the sound with music, songs and dubbings. The new film is already in production and will be released this fall celebrating Tove Jansson and the 75th anniversary of Moomins. C More / MTV has acquired the streaming and TV rights in Finland.

The film When the Doves Disappeared is based on the book by internationally acclaimed Sofi Oksanen, who is the most awarded and internationally successful Finnish writer. Sofi Oksanen’s books have been published in more than 50 languages. Marko Leino (Helene, Purge) is writing the script and the director will be announced later this year. When the Doves Disappeared is a story of occupation, resistance, and collaboration in Estonia during and after World War II when the boundaries and power structures of Europe changed dramatically. In her 4th novel, Oksanen traces those changes through the lives of one Estonian family.

"I'm happy to see that When the Doves Disappeared can reach out to new audiences through the cinema and I am looking forward to the collaboration with Cinematic - Antti Jokinen was such a wonderful director for Purge. One theme in the novel circles around the production of fake news and sadly, that theme is very much a contemporary theme. Therefore, I'm happy to see that the story will find new audiences.” says Sofi Oksanen, author of When the Doves Disappeared.

The previously announced Omerta is based on the bestselling novel 6/12 written by the acclaimed Finnish author Ilkka Remes. The story is about a secret unit called “Omerta”, the top European special forces. The films and TV series will be directed by Antti J. Jokinen (The Resident, Flowers of Evil, Purge) with the renowned Finnish actor Jasper Pääkkönen (BlacKkKlansman, Vikings) in the leading role. International cast will be announced at the Cannes Film Festival this year.

For more information, please contact:
​ Yaba Holst, Head of Nordic Acquisition, SF Studios, +46 73 411 95 35
​Malin Strihagen, Vice President Brand & Communications, SF Studios, +46 70 780 39 35

About SF Studios
​SF Studios is one of the world’s oldest film companies and is celebrating 100 years in 2019. Today SF Studios is the leading film studio in the Nordic region with its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden and offices in Oslo, Copenhagen, Helsinki and London. The company is producing and distributing feature films and TV series as well as providing the digital services SF Anytime and SF Kids.

About Cinematic Inc.
​​Cinematic is a Finnish production company founded in 2018 by Antti J. Jokinen. Cinematic has strong focus on IP development and creating business models that support it. Cinematic creates and produces films and TV series for international markets. Cinematic brings future technologies for content creation by using game engines for virtual productions. Cinematic’s first production Helene had its premiere on the 17th of January, 2020, and has been a box office success in Finland.