Filmkontakt Nord - Gateway to the Nordic Independent Documentary & Short Film Community [by Karolina Lidin]

All over Europe, the 1990's witnessed a general rise of consciousness and the joining of forces within the short film and documentary communities. There was a growing sense that short film and documentary production and distribution was threatened and that it was called for to establish organisations and initiatives to tighten the professional networks in order not only to survive but to develop and flourish.

 

Filmkontakt Nord is one of the results of this period of uprising and regrouping, and since its establishment in 1991 by the independent Nordic short film and documentary community, Filmkontakt Nord (FkN) has been dedicated to the advancement and promotion of Nordic short films and documentaries both within the Nordic region and internationally. FkN assists international film festivals, television buyers, distributors and journalists as well as the Nordic film professionals.

 

FkN's main objective is to serve as a common Nordic platform for a stronger production and distribution network and a visible united exposure internationally, joining a strong cultural profile with a market-oriented perspective.

 

During its more than 10 years of activity, FkN has established itself as a central source of information and expertise for the Nordic and international short film and documentary community.

 

FkN's offices are located in Copenhagen, including its 2500-title Video Library, offering easy access for festival programmers, buyers and other professionals from all over the world.

 

 

Background/History

 

Filmkontakt Nord was established in 1991 by the independent short film and documentary filmmakers in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The objective was to boost activities focussed on the promotion, marketing and distribution of Nordic short films and documentaries both within the region and internationally. Gathering the five neighbouring countries of the North made sense not only in terms of geographical proximity and historical/cultural ties, but also in terms of the volume and scope of quality productions. The more than 200 new independently produced short film and documentary titles premiering every year span the genres from experimental, animation, fiction, children's films and documentaries.

 

The Nordic countries share a strong tradition for personal filmmaking throughout the genres, maintaining short film and documentary filmmaking as an area of high artistic standard and a wide and unpredictable scope of personal expression without losing audience appeal. And a new generation is rising with strong potential, so we not only can pride ourselves with proven talents such as Per Carlesson, Marja Pensala, Eva Dahr and J?rgen Leth, but now also promote newcomers such as Jens Jonsson, Joachim Trier and Alice de Champfleury, just to name a few.

 

The initial work had begun already in 1988 when the Nordic independent filmmakers met twice to discuss measures to improve the climate for production and distribution of short films and documentaries. During the following two years, a 5-point programme was agreed upon, including the establishment of a Nordic film festival, the strengthening of Nordic distribution, the opening of a Nordic office, the tightening of the Nordic region as a single market internationally, and the establishing of a Nordic film fund.

 

The first and last points were realized in 1990 when the Nordisk Panorama Film Festival was held for the first time and the Nordic Film & TV Fund was founded, and in 1991, the Nordic office, Filmkontakt Nord, was opened, headed by Kerstin Hagrup. Whereas Nordic Film & TV Fund was founded by the film institutes and public television stations, FkN was established by the independent film community and has since maintained its status as the independent filmmakers' organisation, with Nordisk Panorama as the main event and international showcase. This has been possible thanks to the visionary and pioneering work of Kerstin Hagrup and the generous funding from various Nordic financial sources: The Nordic Cultural Fund and Nordic Film & TV Fund, who subsidized the initial 2-year trial phase and has since continuously contributed to various projects, The Nordic Council of Ministers, whose support has been the financial cornerstone since FkN was made permanent in 1993, and the Nordic national film institutes, who contribute both financially and collaboratively.

 

 

FkN Services

 

FkN Services are generally open to all professionals working within the short film and/or documentary sector - primarily Nordic professionals venturing internationally and international professionals approaching the Nordic market.

 

- FkN Website: Nordic Portal for short films and documentaries: An upgrading of FkN's website to be launched in 2003 will integrate a.o. FkN's newsletter, film database and contact database into an efficient and precisely targeted marketing tool designed to benefit the Nordic film community and the International Market alike. The film database offers key production and distribution information concerning its 2500 titles and it is possible to search among the titles according to themes, length, target groups etc.

 

The Nordic Portal will serve not only as a comprehensive source of information profiling the entire region, but more importantly as the direct link between Nordic and international professionals. All professionals can sign up for the electronic newsletter by sending a mail.

 

- FkN Video Library: The FkN Video Library, consisting of more than 2400 titles and increasing by some 200 titles per year, serves as a unique collection of both new titles and recent classics. In addition to all titles handled by the national film institutes, the FkN Video Library includes titles handled exclusively by the independent producers themselves. International film festivals, TV-buyers, film schools and other professionals make regular use of the FkN Video Library when looking for new titles and assembling Nordic retrospectives. The FkN Video Library's location at the Filmkontakt Nord's central office in Copenhagen offers easy access for visitors from all over the world, last year including representatives from a.o. the international film festivals, FIPA, Cracow, Rouen and Leipzig. All independently produced Nordic short films and documentaries can be registered in the Video Library and Film Database for a fee of DKK 500 (Euro 65), unless the film is handled by the national film institute's festival distribution in which case it is free of charge.

 

- FkN International Market Platform: FkN is present at international film and television markets, either as sales agent, promoting films on behalf of the producers, or as an umbrella for a group of small or medium-sized producers.

 

The FkN International Market Platform plays an important role not only in terms of international promotion and visibility of Nordic productions, but also in terms of educating and professionalizing the Nordic short and documentary producers internationally.

 

FkN regularly attends MIP-TV/MIPDOC and MIPCOM/Junior MIP MIFA as sales agent, promoting recent Nordic short and documentary films to a broad segment of international buyers. By gathering a larger collection of single films from all of the Nordic countries, FkN offers to represent independent shorts and documentaries in a both time and cost effective way for the Nordic producers and international buyers alike. The films are presented in a special catalogue, distributed before and during the market, and FkN meets the interested TV-buyers and distributors for further information. After the market, FkN provides the producers with individual reports on meetings and screenings, for the producers to follow up on accordingly. This year at MIPDOC/MIPTV, FkN will be promoting 35 brand new documentaries, a catalogue will be distributed during the market and Katrine Kiilgaard is fully booked with meetings with international buyers.

 

Until recently, FkN also hosted the Nordic Producers' Stand for animation and documentary professionals at MIFA and Sunny Side of the Docs respectively, offering preparatory consultancy before the markets and facilitating networking during the events. In addition, FkN organised info-meetings, mini-seminars and receptions as professional meeting fora for producers, commissioning editors and buyers. Generally, FkN functioned as a matchmaker and facilitator, offering its expertise on co-production, marketing, distribution and sales, thus paving the way for producers into the international market. However, since MEDIA no longer can support national/regional umbrellas within the European market framework, it has proven difficult to secure the necessary financing for the continuation of these genre-oriented initiatives.

 

FkN's market activities are open to all Nordic producers/productions. Should the number of entries exceed the number possible, a selection will be undertaken by FkN with priority given to first-time participants.

 

- FkN Network: FkN's activities entail the accumulation of valuable market information, in-depth knowledge of films and the film communities, and a tight-knit network of professionals in the Nordic countries and abroad - all of which is made available to FkN's constituency of filmmakers, broadcasters, distributors, festival programmers and other professionals. Market research and networking is conducted on a daily basis and via presence at markets and festivals, benefiting the Nordic community as a whole by increasing Nordic exposure internationally and facilitating professional contacts between Nordic professionals and international partners.

 

 

Nordisk Panorama Event: Malmö, 23-28 September 2003

 

Nordisk Panorama, the main Nordic event for short films and documentaries, takes place annually during the last week of September. The Festival ambulates between the Nordisk Panorama Host Cities of the 5 Nordic countries, Malmö (2003), Reykjavik (2004), Bergen (2005), ?rhus (2006) and Oulu (2007), adding the colours of local and regional film-making to the vast landscape of Nordic short films and documentaries.

 

Nordisk Panorama was established by FkN's Founding Committee in 1990 and FkN remains the main organizer of the event, in charge of supervising and developing the festival as it circulates among the Nordic Countries. Since the first festival in Grimstad, Norway, the event has evolved with the addition of Nordisk Panorama Market and later Nordisk Forum for co-financing of documentaries. 2003 marks the 10th anniversary of the triptych constellation, addressing the many-facetted and ever-changing demands of the short film and documentary community within the Nordic countries and to an increasing degree the rest of Europe, in 2002 counting 377 delegates from 20 different countries.

 

- Nordisk Panorama - 5 Cities Film Festival: This year's festival will be the 14th edition of the main Nordic festival for short films and documentaries, the annual meeting place for 300-400 professionals from the Nordic short film and documentary sector (filmmakers, film schools, financiers etc.) and an increasing number of professionals from throughout Europe. 50-60 of the very best Nordic short films and documentaries are presented in the two competition programmes and a number of European side programmes and seminars are held, highlighting current trends and issues of importance on the international scene, including the impact of new technologies.

 

A number of Nordic directors now well known on the international feature film scene once made their debut at Nordisk Panorama, so this is the main annual event to take the pulse on the Nordic scene, follow the development of proven talents and discover new potential. Recent Nordisk Panorama Short Film Award Winners count Baker Karim for "Malcolm", Ola Simonsson & Johannes Stjärne Nilsson for "Music for One Apartment" and Six Drummers and Eija-Liisa Ahtila for "Consolation Service".

 

Filmkontakt Nord organises the festival in collaboration with the alternating host cities, Malmö, Reykjavik, Bergen, ?rhus and Oulu. More information about this year's festival programme can be found here.

Film Entries, deadline: 15 May 2003

Accreditation, deadline: 15 August 2003

 

- Nordisk Panorama Market: As a parallel activity to the festival, FkN organises Nordisk Panorama Market, which offers an annual overview of ca. 200 new short film and documentary titles registered in FkN's video library and film database within the last year. The market welcomes international film festivals and buyers from all of Europe. In addition, FkN publishes a market catalogue which is a valuable marketing tool during the festival and throughout the year at international film & TV markets and festivals.

 

In 2002, Nordisk Panorama Market welcomed representatives from a.o. Canal+ France, ARTE, AVRO, VPRO, the Nordic public service broadcasters as well as the international film festivals, Clermont-Ferrand, Vila do Conde, Gothenburg, Oberhausen, Torino, Cinéma du Réel, Festival des Femmes, Semaine de la critique and Visions du Réel, Nyon. The more than 40 TV-buyers, financiers and festival programmers from 13 countries maxed the use of the screening facilities with more than 800 screenings, calling for an expansion of the facilities for 2003.

Film Entries, deadline: 15 May 2003

 

- Nordisk Forum for co-financing of documentaries: Two days prior to the festival, FkN organises Nordisk Forum - this year celebrating its 10th edition - which is attended by 150 - 200 professionals, including producers, financiers and other representatives from TV stations, film institutes and regional film funds - in 2002 representing 16 different countries. Every year European professionals from a non-Nordic region are invited to participate, in 2002 Scotland and Ireland, in 2003 the Baltic countries. In addition, students from the film schools' producers programmes attend in order to experience the realities of co-financing first hand and have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the professional community.

 

During Nordisk Forum the financiers are presented with 24 projects of which 70 - 80% secure financing as a result of the Forum, which based on the previous years' figures can demonstrate a turnover between financiers and producers of approximately 650.000 Euros.

Project Entries, deadline: 15 June 2003

Observers' accreditation, deadline: 15 August 2003

 

This triptych event is the annual Nordic platform for directors, producers, distributors, buyers, festival programmers, financiers and institutions and serves as a combination of professional meeting place and international showcase for new Nordic short film and documentaries. It is the explicit aim of the event to continue to develop its proven concept with annual innovations both in terms of programming, seminars and side events, thus catering to the diverse and evolving demands of the professional sector.

 

 

FkN Organisational Structure & Staff

 

Filmkontakt Nord is a non-profit foundation under Danish Law, governed by a Board consisting of five national Board Members, all currently active in the independent short film and/or documentary sector. The national Board Members are elected by the national Reference Groups representing the national associations of independent filmmakers and producers.

 

The office, located in Copenhagen, is operated by a managing director and two staff members undertaking the activities stipulated in the By-Laws in general and by the Board in particular: information, networking, promotion and marketing. Additional staff is hired when required for specific projects.

 

Karolina Lidin, Managing Director, originates from Sweden and has more than 10 years of international experience within the field of short films and documentaries, a.o. The MEDIA Project, DOCUMENTARY, as Head of Development & Promotion, and The Danish Film Institute as Film Consultant and Head of Distribution. Today Karolina Lidin is in charge of the running of Filmkontakt Nord, the supervision of all activities, development of new initiatives, and in particular the organisation, promotion and film selection for Nordisk Panorama - 5 Cities Film Festival.

 

Katrine Kiilgaard, Promotion and Marketing Coordinator, originates from Denmark and has extensive experience in both film production and promotion. Katrine Kiilgaard is in charge of Filmkontakt Nord's Information Services, FkN's International Market Platform and Nordisk Panorama Market.

 

Heidi Elise Christensen, Administrative Officer and Nordisk Forum Coordinator, originates from Denmark and has been attached to both Filmkontakt Nord and EDN since 2001. Heidi Elise Christensen takes care of the daily administration and is in charge of organising Nordisk Forum for co-financing of documentaries.

 

Anne Helene Köhncke, Assistant, originates from Norway and after an internship at The Danish Film Institute now takes care of film registration for FkN and Nordisk Panorama. In addition, Anne Helene Köhncke assists at Nordisk Forum for co-financing of documentaries.

 

Karolina Lidin, March 2003

Filmkontakt Nord

Skindergade 29A

DK-1159 Copenhagen K

Denmark

 

Tel: +45 33 11 51 52

Fax: +45 33 11 21 52

e-mail: mail  filmkontakt.com

Website (under construction)