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What are our ambitions for short films? Is the short film an art form and a goal in itself or is it primarily a stepping stone to other, mainly longer, formats? What matters most: that short films are produced and may serve as a playground for new and established names alike, or that the films are also screened? Where do we want short films to be shown? What are acceptable viewing figures? How much does the desire for distribution influence the short films that are actually made? These are a few of the questions which will be taken up for debate during the first Nordisk Short Film Circle as we survey the Nordic short film scene in a series of talks.
10:00
Welcome
10:15
Short Films and the Global Market: what do you want to achieve with your film?
Keynote speaker: Sue Biely, short film expert (Canada)
Sue Biely is a passionate advocate for short films and possesses detailed knowledge on the short film industry. In 2002 she took over the acquisitions dept of the pioneering short film program ZeD on CBC, the Canadian TV station. She is now Director of Development & Acquisitions for her own company, The Nimble Company, which makes video-based creative content for multiple platforms. Sue Biely will outline the short film and the global market, and address the issue of what kind of film it takes to reach particular goals.
11:15
Just Do It: talents of the right stuff
Speakers: Lise Saxtrup, Producer; Caroline Sascha Cogez, Director (Denmark)
What to do when rejected by the film school? You create your own! Super16 is a film society and homemade filmschool for directors and producers, aspiring to develop their talent through a semi-professional network. What could have been a flash in the pan is now seven years running, has established strong ties with the production community and produced a number of extraordinary short films, one of which lately was selected for competion in Venice.
12:00
Lunch (can be bought on the premises)
13:15
Salvaging the Short Film: competition as kick start
Speakers: Ulla Simonen, short and documentary film consultant, AVEK; Miia Haavisto, short and documentary film consultant, Finnish Film Foundation; Sari Volanen, commissioning editor, YLE TV1 (Finland).
Last year a major short film competition provided the solution to the lack of quality short film projects in circulation. 212 applications and ten completed films later, the three consultants sum up the experience, advantages and disadvantages of this strategy.
14:00
Hooking the TV Audience: betting on short fiction films
Speaker: Anne-Marie Söhrman Fermelin, short fiction film consultant, Swedish Film Institute
The Swedish short fiction film scheme was inspired by the erstwhile Short Fiction Film Denmark, and is a partnership between the Swedish Film Institute and SVT. It is now in its sixth year and has resulted in extraordinary viewing figures for the short format on television. Anne-Marie Söhrman Fermelin describes the strategies behind this success in hooking Swedish TV audiences and turning “Svensk Novellfilm” into an attractive option for the Swedish film industry.
14:45
Coffee
15:15
Watch Out: the Icelanders are coming!
Speaker: Gréta Olafsdottír, short and documentary film consultant, Icelandic Film Centre (Iceland)
What is happening in Iceland? In the last few years several fascinating new directors have emerged and in 2005 Iceland secured an Oscar Nomination in the short fiction film category. A new generation seems to be advancing in the short fiction film, documentary and feature arenas. Gréta Olafsdottír provides an assessment of the role of the short fiction film in the new Icelandic filmscape.
16:00
International Festival Hits: what’s the secret and is it really worth it?
Speaker: Toril Simonsen, head of international relations, short and documentary films, Norwegian Film Institute (Norway)
Norwegian short fiction films enjoy huge popularity and triumphs on the international festival circuit where they frequently feature on festival programmes and often pick up awards. What’s the secret behind this success? And how valuable is festival exposure as a parallel or perhaps the sole distribution channel? Toril Simonsen makes an assessment and shows one of the latest international prize winners.
16:45
Evaluation & Discussion
Sue Biely gives her perspective on the issues presented during the day and opens the floor for discussion.
17:30
Closing