“As premium TV drama continues to flourish internationally and the interest in Nordic TV drama is shooting up, we felt it was parameter for us to focus on screenwriting and to invite experts to discuss how to tell engaging stories and develop new writing talents,” say Cecilia Edström, Nordic Film Market managing director.  The Art of Storytelling will be debated by Nordic Heads of Drama Piv Bernth (pictured - DR), Ivar Köhn (NRK) and Josefine Tengblad (TV4); eOne head of Scripted Drama Polly Williams will give tips on how to develop content for the international market and SVT’s script editor Tatjana Andersonn will tell how to write long running series. 

One of the highlights this year is also the new pitch competition ‘As it is’ set up by SVT Drama and WIFT (Women in Film & Television) Sweden to nurture new female voices and challenge the norms in Swedish TV drama. Out of 219 submissions, four selected screenwriting projects will be pitched live on February 3 to a jury comprising Suzanne Glansborg (SFI), Petri Kemppinen (Nordisk Film & TV Fond), Hanne Palmquist (DFI) and Christian Wikander (SVT Drama). The winners will be announced on February 4.

As part of the German Focus ZDF Enterprises’ new vice president Robert Franke will discuss the German TV drama renaissance, alongside Anna Winger and Jörg Winger, creators of the hit spy drama Deutschland 83.

After Iceland and Norway, Finland will be under the spotlight with teasers of the latest Finnish drama series and an overview of the market by Liselott Forsman (YLE). She will be joined on stage by screenwriter Mikko Pölla (Moskito), and producer Riina Hyytiä (Dionysos Film).

Finally three works in progress will be introduced by their respective creative teams and financiers: the Swedish/French crime series Midnight Sun (pictured) directed by Björn Stein and Måns Mårlind, the Finnish coming of age series Lola Upside Down written and directed by Ulrika Bengts from a novel by Monika Fagerholm, and the German series NSU German History X.

Check www.giff.se for further details.