Three writers/creators complete the Brain team: Patrik Ehrnst, Lina Åström and former LA-based Andrew Lowery who worked for Miramax and Disney among others.
In Cannes to present his new company and projects to the global entertainment industry, Settman told nordiskfilmogtvfond.com. “There is a clear shift in the market with linear TV in decline, but scripted content is growing, and so is the interest from world buyers in what’s happening up north." “With Brain Academy I want to build the next generation production company, talent-driven and agile’ and to produce scripted series and films for broadcasters and the web, but also for corporations and the gaming market’.
Helena Danielsson -whose most recent production stint was as executive producer of Tre Vänner’s The Fjällbackan Murders added: “I was looking for an exciting new venture and Brain Academy is the perfect set up, offering a creative space and entrepreneurial environment within a major group. We’re excited about bringing together our IP and creative ideas to feed the global market, across different genres and platforms."
Brain Academy’s main TV project currently in development is the ten part thriller series The Pact written by Patrik Ehrnst. It’s the story of five childhood friends who have led separate lives as adults, following an accidental killing that happened years ago. When one of them decides to come clean, it has a ripple effect on everybody else’s lives. The estimated budget is €8 million. Another TV drama in early development is the crime series Beyond Law written by Kristina Svärd and Peter Arrhenius, about two female detectives confronted with crimes against women.
As for Danielsson, she will bring to Brain Academy her first English-language feature project as main producer: The Childhood of a Leader starring Robert Pattinson, Tim Roth, Berenice Bejo and Nymphomaniac star Stacy Martin. The film is the directorial debut of US actor Brady Corbet who appeared in Melancholia and Clouds of Sils Maria. The script is written by New-York-based Norwegian writer/director/actress Mona Fastvold (The Sleepwalker). It’s the story of a young American living in France in 1918 whose father is working for the US government on the creation of the Treaty of Versailles. Co-production partners include Mact Productions (France) and Pioneer Pictures (Hungary). Filming starts in January 2015 and Protagonist Pictures handles world sales.