Do producers think ‘Nordic’ when they develop feature films? In what way have the new digital platforms changed the game for Nordic producers? What can – and should - be done to improve the circulation of Nordic films in the Nordic region?

These are some of the hot topics to be discussed on Monday during a full day seminar about Nordic distribution organised by Oslo’s Voksenåsen in collaboration with Nordisk Film & TV Fond among others.

The seminar entitled ‘Att angöra en brygga’ (from the 1965 Swedish comedy hit) was initiated by the Norwegian Film Institute’s editor Jan-Erik Holst (pictured) who says: “It’s been more than 20 years since Nordisk Film & TV Fond was founded as well as Haugesund’s New Nordic Films and Gothenburg’s Nordic Film Market. But many Nordic films from top directors such as Jan Troell’s The Last Sentence or Søren Kragh-Jacobsen’s The Hour of the Lynx still can’t find distribution in neighbouring countries and although attendance for Norwegian films are climbing at home, it’s been to the detriment of other Nordic films. The bigger Nordic and smaller arthouse titles do find distribution outlets, but it’s the mid-size films that suffer. This seminar will focus on practical ideas to improve the circulation of Nordic films in the Nordic region, with two major round tables focusing on production and distribution”.

The event will open on Sunday with the screening at Oslo’s Film House of The Last Sentence and The Hour of the Lynx. On Monday, guests speakers who will take part in panel discussions include Nordisk Film & TV Fond’s CEO Petri Kemppinen who will present the Fund’s new distribution schemes, Lene Løken, Head of the Norwegian cinema association Film & Kino, producers Lars Bredo Rahbek (Nimbus Film), Ilkka Matila (MRP Matila Röhr Production), Synnøve Hørsdal (Maipo), Peter Kropenin (HOB), distributors Guttorm Petterson (SF Norge), Rasmus Krogh (Nordisk Film), Klas Fransberg (Kinoscreen Illusion), directors Jan Troell, Kjell Åke Andersson and Águst Gudmundsson among others.  For full details of the seminar, check: www.nfi.no