Film i Väst, Nordisk Film, SVT join forces

Film i Väst, Nordisk Film and Swedish Television (SVT) are to team up to co-produce new feature film projects.

In a statement, the three bodies said they identified “a lack of projects of this type in the Swedish film market”.

Together, the trio will jointly promote the development and production of films that will consolidate and develop the Swedish film brand for the domestic and international audience.

Each approved project will be eligible for $3m (25m Swedish Kronor) from the three co-producers.

“Our effort can be seen as a vitamin shot into the Swedish film sector that needs to improve production values in order to reach a broader audience,” said Tomas Eskilsson, CEO of Film i Väst.

“The aim is to raise the market share of domestic film on the Swedish repertoire.”

Lone Korslund, head of Nordic co-productions and acquisitions at Nordisk Film said the new partnership would aim to “motivate talented Swedish filmmakers to focus more on production quality with a potential to reach an international audience”.

The intention is to establish a base from which film productions can be launched with budgets between $4m to $6m - around 50% bigger than the average budget of a Swedish feature film.

“We want to raise the quality in Swedish film making and strengthen our position in feature films among the Swedish cinema goers and television viewers”, said Hanne Palmquist, Commissioning Editor Feature Films & TV Drama, at SVT.

Nordisk Film will be responsible for Nordic distribution of the films and TrustNordisk will account for international sales.

SVT will retain domestic broadcasting rights for public service television.