During the busy days of Nordisk Panorama Forum 2023, Business Doc Europe caught up with Klara Nilsson Grunning, a commissioner at the Norwegian Film Institute (NFI) and one of the body’s decision-makers for documentary features, international co-productions, series and digital storytelling.
Before taking on the job at the NFI, Nilsson Grunning, an Emmy Award-winning producer and a former supervising producer at ITVS in the States, worked for the Danish Film Institute and the Swedish Film Institute, and commissioned films such as Queen of Versailles, Children of the Enemy, Transnistra and Nelly & Nadine, crowned Best Nordic Doc at last year’s Nordisk Panorama.
During our chat, we spoke about the projects the institute seeks to support, the current climate for docs in Norway and audience trends, among other topics.
The Norwegian doc slate at the Malmö-based gathering includes Best Nordic Doc competition titles such as Gunilla G. Bresky’s We Are Still Here, Margreth Olin’s Songs of Earth and Tonje Hessen Schei’s Praying for Armageddon as well as New Nordic Voice award contenders Karrar Al-Azzawi’s Baghdad on Fire and Anne Marte Blindheim’s Rahčan – Ella’s Riot.
First, Nilsson Grunning tells us why the Forum is an unmissable appointment for both filmmakers and commissioners: “It’s a crucial platform for Nordic projects to introduce themselves and the unique thing of Nordisk Panorama is that they accept pitches from people that are both new, emerging filmmakers as well as experienced ones. And, they don’t require a certain amount of financial support yet, so they can be both at the early development [stage].”
These flexible rules allow Nordic film institutes such as NFI to board the projects “very early” and back them “with quite large sums of money.” “So you can get support earlier in the process than you would, for instance, at bigger forums like IDFA and other European markets,” she insists.
Commenting on the line-up of projects showcased at the forum, including the Norwegian ones, she says: “As I was part of the selection committee for all the projects this year – it’s my fourth time – I know all the projects that applied. I think this year has provided us with a really good variety in terms of both topics and [level of] experience of the film teams, as well as [in terms of] tones, where these docs could fit. It’s a much bigger variety [than usual]: some are good for broadcasters, some are for the streamers, and some are cinematic.”
The five Norwegian projects pitched at the event – Elle Márjá Eira and Christine Cynn’s Keviselie: Circle of Life; Dheeraj Akolkar’s The Other Side of Silence; Asgeir Helgestad’s Frost Without Snow and Ice; Even G. Benestad and August Baugstø Hanssen’s Fatherhood, and Lillian Løvseth’s Hooked all reflect this diversity, Nilsson Grunning argues.
Next, the commissioner tells us the type of projects she is seeking. Ideally these are co-productions of excellent artistic quality but which can have a positive impact on Norwegian co-producers in creative terms and experience they can gain working alongside more experienced international colleagues.
“Plus, I look for projects that wouldn’t get to the Norwegian audience in any other way. It can be an Indian project, a Pakistani one… Something that is rare, something with an inside perspective – it shouldn’t be about a Norwegian filmmaker going to India but, rather, an Indian filmmaker telling their story and coming to Norway with their film.”
When asked whether there is a specifically allocated budget for documentary co-productions backed by the NFI, she answers: “No, I don’t have one. We include all the films in our overall budget, which covers both Norwegian and international productions. Also, there’s no set amount of films that should be covered by our support. It’s a process mostly based on the applications that come in.”
Speaking of the current climate for docs in Norway, she sounds reasonably optimistic: “I think it’s still on the rise, but we’re closing in on a good ‘peak’ in terms of quality and international circulation in competitive festivals. I’d say it’s peaking, also because there have been so many skilled international directors who have moved to Norway. So there’s an influx of creatives coming to this country.”
Zooming in the topic of the impact of streamers on local non-fiction production, she comments: “I think they’ve been slowly moving into this area. We’ve seen most success with documentary series. […] For example, the producer (Sant & Usant) of one of the projects being pitched right now, The Other Side of Silence, worked on a Netflix series titled Sisters on Track. So they still have an influence, but as international streamers lowered their budgets in Scandinavia, we don’t really know what they mean for us anymore. It’s a kind of uncertain [climate] but it’s probably the same in several other regions.”
Finally, Nilsson Grunning touched upon the type of projects that have proven most successful in Norway over the last few years. These docs are “deeply personal and emotionally-driven stories,” sporting “very specific themes.” Numerous examples include Benjamin Ree’s Sundance 2020 winner The Painter and the Thief, Nataša Urban’s The Eclipse (2022) and Tonje Hessen Schei’s highly lauded iHUMAN (2019).
Looking forward, Nilsson Grunning references in particular Benjamin Ree’s upcoming Ibelin, a documentary named after the World of Warcraft avatar of Mats Steen, a young man who died at a young age from a rare form of muscular dystrophy. After his demise, his parents discovered that their wheelchair-bound son has led an eventful life online for years. After acquiring the rights to his story via a book published by Mats’ father, the director recreates Mats’ avatar in animation form to retrace his virtual life. World rights for the film, currently in post-production, are handled by Autlook.
