PRESS RELEASE, OSLO 26.06.18. 
READ THE FULL PRESS RELEASE: CLICK HERE

The projects to be pitched by 18 Nordic film graduates will compete for the NOK 250,000 Pitch Prize and the NOK 50,000 Special Mention Prize. The cash prizes from Nordisk Film & TV Fond will be earmarked towards the development of the projects.

The Norwegian Film School of Lillehammer and Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts have the largest number of projects selected (five each). Other film schools represented with one project are The National Film School of Denmark, the Animation Workshop/VIA University College Viborg, Denmark, Valand Academy-University of Gothenburg, Sweden, Tampere University of Applied Science (Film Production) Finland, and Columbia University, USA.

Commenting on the 2018 selection, Petri Kemppinen, CEO at Nordisk Film & TV Fond said: “We are extremely pleased to have received an all-time record of 49 applications which did not make the selection committee´s task easy, but upcoming talents’ visions and their development plans were the defining points for the final 15 that passed. They represent all the five Nordic countries and Swedish projects are back in numbers, after a few years silence. The selection is very diverse, with formats ranging from fiction film, documentary, animation, TV and web series.”

This year’s jury consists of Finnish director Marja Pyykkö, Norwegian director Izer Aliu, Danish animator/director Jørgen Lerdam, the Swedish Film Institute Feature Film Commissioner and former Zentropa Sweden CEO Madeleine Ekman, and Screendaily Nordic correspondent and San Sebastian Film Festival Nordic delegate Wendy Mitchell.

Other highlights of Nordic Talents 2018 include:

  • a Masterclass with the creators of the film Border, winner of the Un Certain Regard Prize in Cannes,
  • a Producers’ Pitch from 20 established Nordic producers, monitored by HBO Nordic Commissioning Editor Hanne Palmquist.

The 2018 Nordic Talents Pitch competition are the following:

  • Almost Ready (FI) Fiction Film, Tampere University of Applied Science (Film production).  Writer Meri Teperi (graduation film Katko/Commercial Break). 
    Being humble is what it takes but never should one bow and scrape.
  • Apple Hills (DK) Animated series, The National Film School of Denmark.  Writer/Director Lowe Haak (graduation film The Messenger).  Boredom is the root to all fun.
  • Barbara and the Jumping Genes (SE) Documentary film, Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts. Director Karl-Oskar Gustafsson (graduation film Star City). About genetics, corn, mysticism and gender.
  • Family (SE) Fiction Film, Akademi Valand, Göteborg. Director/Producer Tia Kouvo (graduation film Mummola/Family Time).  Christmas is made of a drunken grandfather, arguing sisters, a won-out grandmother and withdrawn teenagers.
  • Hygge (DK) Animated series, The Animation Workshop (Animation & Graphic Storytelling. Director Philip Piaget (graduation film Reverie), co-Director Rikke Planeta (graduation film Bacchus).  During the harshest winter, Bjørn helps her friends discover the light and warmth of hygge. 
  • Laura (working title) (NO) Fiction film, The Norwegian Film School.  Writer/Director Fanny Ovesen (graduation film She-Pack). 
    A Blackout makes the trip of their dreams painfully unforgettable.
  • Princess and Partisan (SE) TV drama series, Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts.  Director Yana Martsynkevych (graduation film Lost in Kylv).  Could you live your life through three wars and stay sane?
  • Seven Balconies (IS) Fiction film, Columbia University. US Writer/Director Erlendur Sveinsson (graduation film Kanarí).  Inhabitants of an apartment building with vastly separate lives collide in interweaving stories. 
  • Sick (SE) TV drama series, Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts.  Writer Lisa Ambjörn (graduation film Banana Pancake Trail).  It’s easy to die and hard to live. 
  • Silence (working title) (NO) Fiction Film, The Norwegian Film School.  Writer/Director Brwa Vahabpour (graduation film Gjeteren/The Shepherd).  Your voice is not the only means of expression.
  • Simple Things (NO) Fiction Film, The Norwegian Film School.  Writer/Director Ernst De Greer (graduation film Kulturen/The Culture); co-writer Mads Stegger (graduatIon film Det vi ikke snakker om/Things We Don’t Talk About).  It takes great courage to be vulnerable.
  • Stories from the Shower (NO) Documentary film/cross-media, The Norwegian Film School.  Director Teresia Fant (graduation film Leve Løten!/Viva Løten!).  Young people reveal their experiences from the changing rooms and sowers in schools.
  • The Diagnosis (SE) Cross-media, Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts.  Writer Ebba Stymme (graduation film Flockdjur/Domesticated); co-writer/producer Maja-Stina Åsberg (graduation film Flockdjur/Domesticated).  “For those who never finish anything”.
  • The Foster Family (SE) Documentary film, Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts.  Director Julia Dinome (graduation film Carina).  My happy childhood was a day-to-day learning experiment for damaged kids.
  • The Locker Room (NO) Fiction film, The Norwegian Film School. Director Dan Johan Filip Svensson (graduation film Det vi ikke snakker om/Things we Don’t Talk About). Are you manly enough to be vulnerable?

Nordisk Film & TV Fond and the National Film School of Denmark - hosting the event - are co-organisers of Nordic Talents, attended each year by more than 200 film students and industry delegates.

Past Nordic Talents winners whose pitches turned into award-winning directorial debuts include Maria Bäck (I Remember When I Die), Fanni Metelius (The Heart), Gustav Möller (The Guilty), Hlynur Pálmasson (Winter Brothers) and Rúnar Rúnarsson (Volcano).

To register or for additional information, CLICK HERE. 

Project Manager Ann-Sophie W. Birkenes
(ann-sophie@nordiskfilmogtvfond.com)

Petri Kemppinen, CEO Nordisk Film & TV Fond (petri@nordiskfilmogtvfond.com)