EXCLUSIVE: Top senior film executive remains as Strategy Director.

After 25 years at the helm of one of the leading regional film funds in Europe, Tomas Eskilsson, is stepping back to focus on strategic and political issues for Film Väst, owned by Västra Götaland region.

Since 1992, Eskilsson has masterminded the co-production of around 600 films, documentaries and TV dramas, plus 400 short films. He has played a key role in establishing a dynamic film environment in Trollhättan -widely known as ‘Trollywood’- and in attracting international projects such as the upcoming films by Lone Scherfig (Their Finest Hour and a Half), Agnieszka Holland (Game Count) and Gurinder Chadha (Viceroy’s House). 

Film Väst is second most important source of financing of Swedish films -after the Swedish Film Institute- and invests in around 30-40 films and TV dramas each year with an annual budget of more than SEK120 million (€13m). This year the regional fund is associated to a wide range of Nordic box office successes such as the top selling Swedish film A Man Called Ove, Danish hits A Conspiracy of Faith and The Commune, and current Norwegian number one The King’s Choice. Award-winning films include The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki by Juho Kuosmanen and The Giant by Johannes Nyholm. 

Upcoming high profile productions include The Square by Ruben Östlund, Thelma by Joachim Trier, Tom of Finland by Dome Karukoski, Borg vs McEnroe by Janus Metz, The House that Jack Built by Lars von Trier, the documentary The Acali Experiment by Magnus Lindéen and the TV series/family saga Our time is Now by Harald Hamrell, all backed by Nordisk Film & TV Fond.

Film Väst's Chairman of the Board Magnus Berntsson is now looking for the ideal candidate to replace Eskilsson who is leaving his current job on December 31, 2016. “We are now looking for a new CEO who combines extensive leadership experience from the cultural and entertainment sector with good knowledge of the Swedish and international film industry. Along with Tomas Eskilsson as Strategy Director and film policy spokesman, we’ll strengthen our organisation in a satisfactory manner for the challenges ahead that our film region is facing”, he said.

Three questions to Tomas Eskilsson

Why did you decide to step down and how different will be your new role at Film Väst?
Tomas Eskilsson: I have been discussing this with the Board of Film Väst for five years but we had a mutual understanding that I would stay until now. Being CEO for the past 25 years has been very rewarding but also quite challenging and tiring. 

In the future, I will still be there. Film Väst is my baby and I feel very attached to the company. I want to continue to contribute to its growth, and I will work on the strategic issues as Strategy Director. 

There are many challenges ahead of us with the changes of the global market, and on a local level, we need to adapt and to continue to strengthen our position. Hopefully this will be achieved with the introduction of filming incentives. We simply need this tool to compete.

What achievement are most proud of?
TE: It is very difficult to pick something specific, but when we started working with film co-financing, the first 5-7 years, people thought we wouldn’t survive on a long term basis. So the biggest achievement is precisely that we’ve been able to keep our position and even strengthen it over the years. We have become a key partner to film and TV producers on a Swedish, Nordic and international level. 

What are the main challenges that Film Väst is facing right now?
TE: I see four areas where we face big challenges. -One is the need to revitalise Swedish film. Everyone in the world suffers from the gap in the market between small arthouse films and crowd-pleasers, but in Sweden this gap is enormous. We need directors able to make quality arthouse films for larger audiences, like Thomas Vinterberg. This means that we need to nurture our best talents and hope that they won’t go to Hollywood, or that they will want to come back after a few stints abroad. 

Secondly, we need to make films for the specific target group of 12-29 years-old and widen our repertoire. 

Thirdly, we have worked hard to become a strong partner in the industry, but we feel that it’s important to improve the collaboration not only with producers but also with distributors, in the positioning and marketing of the film. It’s essential for all partners to be involved as early as possible, long before the film starts shooting, to communicate about the film in the same way. Otherwise the risk is that the audience will be confused and simply won’t show up. This is an area where I feel we can play a bigger role in the future. 

Finally, Sweden and Denmark need to have production rebates, tax incentives to create a stronger base for the entire film and TV sectors.