Complete jury of five prominent Nordic professionals and keynote speaker announced.

The Nordic film graduates’ pitching and networking industry event co- organised by Nordisk Film & TV Fond and the National Film School of Denmark, was originally due to take place September 2-3, 2020, but will now unfold October 21-22, 2020.

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Although pushed back a few weeks, the Nordic Talents event will be stronger than ever with a jury including five acclaimed Nordic professionals and a masterclass with Christoph Fey.

Liselott Forsman, CEO at Nordisk Film & TV Fond said: “All events now need to make decisions under hypothetical circumstances. An important part of Nordic Talents is enabling real dialogues between Nordic upcoming and professional talents and as September still seems risky, the Fund has decided to postpone to October, in coordination with the National Film School of Denmark. Simultaneously the new dates give us enough time to create a good hybrid or virtual event, in case of a second pandemic wave.”

Tina í Dali Wagner, co-organiser of Nordic Talents on behalf of the National Film School of Denmark said: “In this exceptional year where we’re celebrating Nordic Talents 20th anniversary at the National Film School of Denmark, it is out of the question to cancel the hugely popular event, attracting 200 film students and industry people each year. We will continue however to closely monitor the health situation and travel restrictions in Denmark, and are making plans for a digital alternative in case the physical event can’t unfold as anticipated.”

In the meantime, Nordic Talents is going ahead with preparations for a memorable 20th anniversary. Up to 15 projects from Nordic film graduates will compete for the coveted NOK 250,000 Nordic Talents Pitch Prize and the NOK 50,000 Nordic Talents Special Mention, handed out to the best two ideas for a fiction, animation, documentary film or TV/web series.

Nordic Talents Jury
Four prominent Nordic professionals will be joining the previously announced jury member-Swedish director Amanda Kernell (Charter, Sami Blood).

  • Sigurjón Kjartansson (Iceland), seasoned writer and showrunner (Trapped, The Press), Head of Development at Baltasar Kormákur’s RVK Studios.
  • Eva Mulvad (Denmark), multi-awarded documentary filmmaker (Enemies of Happiness, The Good Life), winner of the 2006 WIFT (Women in Film and TV) award for young film talents, and co-owner of the company Danish Documentary.
  • Jussi Rantamäki (Finland), owner and CEO of Finland’s Aamu Film Company, producer of the multi-awarded films The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki, The Painting Sellers, Lady Time among others.
  • Tone Rønning (Norway), NRK executive producer/commissioning editor of multiple international success series (Lilyhammer, State of Happiness, Valkyrien) and president of EBU’s fiction group.

Liselott Forsman adds: “The Fund is thrilled that five distinguished Nordic professionals have accepted our juror invitation. Nordic Talents is surely a brand in our region, and we are happy to spread the concept outside the Nordics too, through our European guests. This year our Masterclass speaker is the prominent entertainment lawyer Christoph Fey from Germany. His 2020 Berlinale talk on talent rights in times of global streamers was a real highlight at the festival. It is truly great that he is now planning a special lecture for the Nordic Talents audience, which will interest both experienced professionals and all talents now entering the international markets.”

Masterclass
As stated above this year’s keynote speaker who will hold a masterclass on Thursday October 22 is Christoph Fey, a Berlin-based international entertainment lawyer and writer.

Christoph Fey works for the media law firm Unverzagt von Have, where he represents talents involved in film and TV dramas such as Unorthodox, Babylon Berlin, Deutschland 83/86/89, Homeland, A Dangerous Method, The Grand Hotel Budapest. He also runs the film financing company Fred Films and is the founder of the Entertainment Master Class, a not-for-profit Entertainment Academy.

The 2020 line-up of Nordic film graduates selected for the Nordic Talents pitch competition will be announced Friday June 26.

Celebrated Nordic filmmakers who won prizes at Nordic Talents include Milad Alami, Maria Bäck, Gustav Möller, Hlynur Pálmason, Marja Pyykkö, and May el-Toukhy among others.

For further information on Nordic Talents: CLICK HERE.
Or contact Project Manager Ann-Sophie W. Birkenes: ann-sophie@nftvfond.com