Nordisk Panorama and ARTE, Europe’s leading cultural streaming service, are launching a new partnership to strengthen opportunities for emerging documentary projects and build closer connections between Nordic filmmakers and the European industry. At the heart of the partnership is the new ARTE European Talent Development Award, worth €10,000.
The prize will be awarded to one of the 24 documentary projects pitched at Nordisk Panorama Forum in Malmö, 20–22 September 2026. It will recognise a project with outstanding artistic potential that is currently in development or production.
The jury for the inaugural award consists of Bernd Seidl, Commissioning Editor at ARTE/SWR; Swedish documentary producer Elin Kamlert; and Finnish documentary director Arthur Franck.
“The alliance further reinforces Nordisk Panorama as a bridge between Nordic filmmakers and key international industry players, strengthening its role in giving documentary projects greater visibility, recognition and access to the support they need,” organisers underline
Heidi Elise Christensen, Managing Director of Nordisk Panorama, comments: “When ARTE approached us about building closer ties with Nordic filmmakers, my first reaction was: ‘What’s the catch?’ ARTE is already one of the most sought-after partners for Nordic producers, so why would closer ties be necessary when there is clearly no shortage of interest? But the more we talked, the more it became clear that this wasn’t about creating demand for ARTE. It was about making the connection between ARTE and the Nordic documentary community more direct and creating more opportunities for the right projects to find their way to ARTE.
“As a former producer, I know how difficult it can be to finance films and how important the right partner can be,” she adds. “We’re therefore both proud and enthusiastic to host this initiative and create a space where promising projects can come closer to one of Europe’s most important documentary players. And I still haven’t found the catch.”
Fabrice Puchault, Head of Society and Culture at ARTE France, comments: “We really appreciate the space that Nordisk Panorama has created. Their very productive platform allows access to projects from across the Nordic world, where immense talents exist in documentary filmmaking.”
“Historically, ARTE has already worked quite a lot with Nordic filmmakers and producers, with ARTE GEIE notably signing a cooperation agreement with SVT in 2026. But we want to strengthen our ties even further and provide another opportunity for projects to develop.
As a European cultural platform and a major financier in the documentary landscape, we need these stories as much as they need us,” she adds.
