Their first pitch presentation will be on Wednesday at Göteborg’s TV Drama Vision.

Reykjavik-based Glassriver was co-founded by writer/director Baldvin Z (Case, Life in a Fishbowl), creator/writer Andri Óttarsson (Case, Stella Blómkvist), former Sagafilm producer Abby Hafliðadóttir (Case, Mr Bjarnfreðarson) and business partner and CEO Hordur Rúnarsson (Beyond Strength). “In the wake of crime drama Case’s international success, in particular in the US and the UK, we said let’s do something together, and bring our projects to the next level”, told Rúnarsson to nordicfilmandtvnews.com. 

Glassriver is focused on drama through Baldvin’s unique vision but is open to all types of genres, from suspense to romantic drama, documentaries and animation. The company also collaborates with external writers/directors such as debut filmmaker Margrét Seema Tayar, working on the creative documentary Beauty and the Beast, produced by Sweden’s [sic] Films.

With the high calibre of creators attached to the company, Glassriver is attracting a lot of attention from co-financiers, both domestically and abroad. “The Icelandic Film Centre does what it can but doesn’t have enough money to cope with the demand from SVOD players who have changed the landscape of drama consumption. But the market is reacting fast and we are seeing a surge of OTT players like Síminn, while RUV is getting more aggressive", noted Rúnarsson. Internationally, the company has also started negotiations on some of its internationally-oriented dramas.

In Göteborg, Rúnarsson will pitch the 8x45’ drama Black-Out created by Andri Óttarsson with novelist Mikael Torfason (co-creator ofBlack Port, selected for the Berlinale CoPro Series). The show is in early development stage. Another high premium series, the crime drama The Trip created by Baldvin Z and Andri Óttarsson, is in the last stages of development. Iceland’s Síminn has commissioned the show to be directed in 2019 by Baldvin Z.

On the feature film side, Glassriver is preparing the animated film The 14th Santa, produced with Caoz, and the film Again from the Top, written by Sigríður Pétursdóttir.