Twenty Six of the most promising young Nordic producers attended the networking and training programme Young Nordic Producers Club (YNPC) held on top of a roof terrace in Cannes from May 13-16.

The event was held for the fourth time under the aegis of Noemi Ferrer, Head of International at the Danish Film Institute and Tina Wagner Sørensen, Head of Post Graduate Training at the National Film School of Denmark.  Speaking about YNPC, Ferrer said that unlike last year, the focus was not on production but on distribution and sales, as ‘this is one of the key issues today’.

Guests who gave their valuable input comprised Jan Nazsewski (New Europe Film Sales), Tine Klint (Levelk), Thor Sigurjonsson (Scanbox Distribution), Wendy Mitchell (Screen International) and Signe Byrge Sørensen (Final Cut for Real) who discussed the Oscar campaign of The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence.

Among the young Nordic producers, Sanna Kultanen who just joined Finland’s Tuffi Films said: “I’m building my network and relationships. The other Nordic producers here are already quite established and it’s much more concrete to discuss with people who are a step ahead in their career. You can learn from one another about interesting ways to enter the film industry. I enjoyed in particular the presentation of Un Certain Regard selected film The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki by its director Juho Kuosmanen and producer Jussi Rantamäki.”

Norwegian producer Nina Maria Barbosa Blad from the newly-established family-run Barbosa Blad Film, set up with her father, screenwriter Hans Petter Blad [Comrade Pedersen) and sister Liv Joelle Barbosa said: “We came here with a short film Mannen är en morder (Belles lettres) and I was hoping to find a Swedish co-producer for another short film, which I did! I learnt a lot about distribution, release windows and strategies. 

Also responsible for her own small company, Anna Olafs of Iceland’s NyArk Media felt YNPC was ‘the right things for her at the right point in her career’. Last year she was in Cannes as production assistant on the Icelandic film RAMS. 

Two in-house producers of major Nordic companies – Zentropa Denmark Kasper Dissing and SF Studios’ Anna Lo Westlin were pleased with the opportunity to reinforce their personal network. Dissing who works with Zentropa’s leading producer Sisse Graum Jorgensen felt particularly inspired by the ‘10 mistakes’ case study led by Ferrer. Westlin who started her career in film in the US as Production Associate at Killer Films then Acquisition Exec for Magnolia Pictures, said she used YNPC to reinforce her Nordic contacts and set up cross border collaborations. The accomplished Westlin was associate producer on The Happiest Day of Olli Mäki and wrote, directed and produced the short film Ladies who Lunch starring Louise Peterhoff (Blue Eyes) and Caroline Lagerfelt (Gossip Girl). 

Looking ahead, Ferrer said she and her colleague Tina Wagner Sørensen are looking into establishing YNPC Part 2, possibly in Berlin, to allow young Nordic producers to further develop their skills and networks in Europe. YNPC was supported by Nordisk Film & TV Fond, the five Nordic film institutes and Creative Europe Nordic Media desks.