NEWEN STUDIOS AND SIGRID DYEKJAER LAUNCH A PREMIUM DOCUMENTARY PRODUCTION HOUSE, REAL LAVA

The new company Real Lava will be owned by the European production group, Newen Studios, and the Oscar nominated, Emmy and Peabody Winner, Sigrid Dyekjaer.

Based in Denmark, Real Lava will produce ambitious documentary films and series for a large international audience with a cinematic execution and high artistic value.

Sigrid Dyekjaer is a leading figure in the film industry with over 30 documentary features in the past 23 years. Her most recent credits include Feras Fayyad’s “The Cave”; this documentary film was nominated for an Oscar and is an Emmy-, Peabody- and Cinema Eye winner.

Headquartered in France, Newen Studios has scaled up internationally in recent years, investing in production companies in the UK, Spain, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Canada and Denmark. The Group is already well established in the documentary field but with Real Lava on board, Newen is now for the first time adding a Scandinavian company producing purely premium documentary films and series to its already broad portfolio.

“We intend to invest and help directors in the development phase of their films in order to support their artistic vision and bring it up to a higher cinematic level, without being rushed and getting into production too soon. We will also be able to invest in the production phase and to keep the world rights for the films longer. This will leave us time to keep focusing on the creative side and open the possibility to leverage bigger commissions at a later stage, says Sigrid Dyekjaer. “My partnership with Newen Studios will allow us to support projects with big international potential to a scale not seen before. During my 23 years as a producer, I have sadly noticed how difficult it is to raise money from Europe for international documentary films. We have left this space open for American investors. This is a mystery to me, since documentary films have never been so popular. With Real Lava we will have an excellent opportunity to change this.”

Philippe Levasseur, Newen Studios’ Head of International adds: “We are delighted to welcome Sigrid Dyekjaer in the Newen Studios family. Her passion for documentaries, along with her expertise in gathering the best talents and assembling international coproductions, are really impressive. They are a perfect match with Newen’s non-fiction producers’ commitment to document reality with strong viewpoints, fresh angles, and innovative execution. The demand for documentaries has reached a historical high and Real Lava will help Newen Studios answer this opportunity without compromising on ambition.”

Sigrid Dyekjaer produced PGA nominated, Viktor Kossakovsky’s acclaimed “Aquarela” – shortlisted for an Oscar and Cinema Eye nominated, the pan Scandinavian premium docuseries “Scandinavian Star”, the Danish acclaimed director Jørgen Leth’s “I Walk” and Hanna Polaks “Something Better to Come” – PGA nominated.

In 2015, she was recognized with the Ib Award, given by Danish directors to honor the best producer in the Danish film industry. Her work during the years earned her two PGA nominations for outstanding producer of documentary (2016 and 2020). She is a member of the PGA and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The first of Real Lava’s documentary films, “The Territory” by Alex Pritz and produced by Sigrid Dyekjaer will be premiering in World Competition at Sundance Film Festival 2022. “The Territory” is following the indigenous Uru-eu-wau-wau community as they defend their land against a network of Brazilian farmers who are colonizing their protected territory.

The company’s upcoming films include “Merkel”, a portrait about Angela Merkel and female leadership directed by Eva Weber and produced by Sigrid Dyekjaer in collaboration with Lizzie Gillett and Sonja Henrici. “A Song for Summer and Winter” directed by Oscar nominated Director Talal Detki, produced by Sigrid Dyekjaer. “Innocence” directed by Oscar nominated Director Guy Davidi and produced by Sigrid Dyekjaer in collaboration with Hilla Medalia in co-production with Danish Documentary, Kaarle Aho and Margreth Jonasdottir. “Missing Films” a film about Danish Director Lars von Trier directed by Tomas Gislason and Jacob Thuesen, produced by Sigrid Dyekjaer in co-production with Kaspar Winkler and Heino Deckert.