Canneseries wraps with top awards to Yle’s Guts and SVT’s Summer of 1985

At last night’s closing ceremony of the 9th Canneseries - “the best year ever despite the financial crisis faced by producers” according to Artistic Director Albin Lewi, the Nordics scooped two awards. Finnish actress Roosa Söderholm won Best Performance for Guts (Kylmä kausi), Yle’s “Black Swan on skis”, produced by Just Republic. Meanwhile, composer Jonas Wikstrand won Best Music for SVT’s Summer of 1985 (Svärtan), based on a book by John Ajvide Lindqvist, who was also behind Let the Right One In (Låt den rette komma in) and Border (Gräns).

Both series were supported by Nordisk Film & TV Fond (NFTVF), alongside DR Drama’s Harvest (Høst), also selected for the long-form competition, and The Oligarch and the Art Dealer - backed by Nordvision, which opened the documentary competition.

The kudos to Guts and Summer of 1985 come on the heels of last year’s record six awards to three Norwegian shows, including A Better Man (Ølhunden Berit). Norway was in fact a noticeable absentee this year. “Norway is the only country which has always been present in competition since we started, so this was unusual,” noted Lewi, who pointed out that his selection is based on “the best series available, not nationality”.

“Yet we had a very strong Nordic presence this year, with four titles out of eight in the long-form competition, plus one series in the short form (Yle’s Sneakermania) and The Oligarch and the Art Dealer in the documentary section,” Lewi added.

The Artistic Director, who received 300 submissions from 41 countries this year, shared with NFTVF his views on what makes Nordic series stand out on the market.

“Since year one, when Norway won best script for State of Happiness (Lykkeland), we've always been captivated by Scandinavian series, their unwavering quality and diversity,” Lewi said. “Look at this year’s selection: We’ve had Guts, a thriller set against cross-country skiing, the classic Harvest, a cross between Succession and Farmer Wants a Wife. There’s also the hard-hitting thriller Snake Killer (Slangedræber), and then Summer of 1985, which is something you rarely see in series. A bit like Stand by Me with a touch of Guillermo del Toro. A beautiful coming-of-age film with magnificent visuals. I was captivated when I first saw the trailer. The series wasn't supposed to be ready, but the producers accelerated the process, which was wonderful.”

Launched on Yle on January 1st, Guts was the most-watched drama when it premiered, according to Yle’s Executive Producer for drama series Suvi Mansnerus. Backed by the N12 Nordic pubcasters alliance, the show rolled out on SVT in February, NRK in March, and is being binge-watched on NRK Play. “Guts is a thriller through and through,” Mansnerus said about the show created by Just Republic’s Head of Drama Jemina Jokisalo, and co-directed by Akseli Tuomivaara and Petra Lumioksa. Manserus also praised the ensemble cast, which “delivered outstanding performances, committing to intensive cross-country ski training. So every high-speed scene feels authentic and intense.”

The show, produced with Anagram Sweden and Slovenia’s Staragara, is handled globally by About Premium Content.

Snake Killer, written and directed by Anders Ølholm, who also directed Enforcement (Shorta), for Nordisk Film Production Denmark, launched on Prime Video in the Nordics in January. Reinvent Yellow handles the rest of the world.

Pilou Asbæk stars as Smiley, a rogue cop, and his team from the infamous Copenhagen drug squad Uropatruljen, who wage war against crime. Speaking to NFTVF, Ølholm said he’s always been inspired by classic US cop films from the 70s. When contacted by the former Uropatruljen cop, author René Dahl Andersen, who served as a consultant, he jumped on the opportunity to portray the infamous brutal police squad, which existed between 1960 and 2000. “When you’re working in the grey area as a police officer, you’re on a slippery slope,” he said. “The Uropatruljen cops were quiet men who would hit first and ask questions later,” added Asbæk, who spent time with Andersen “to do a bit of method acting”. Harvest, which world premiered in Cannes, will launch on DR this fall, and in the territories as part of the New8 alliance. This family drama about legacy, power and betrayal marks the series debut of Oscar-nominated writer/director Martin Zandvliet, who wrote and directed Land of Mine (Under sanden). Toplining the cast are Katrine Greis-Rosenthal, Elliott Crosset Hove, Simon Bennebjerg, and Lars Brygmann. “The world premiere in Cannes was truly magnificent,” said DR Sales’ Lead Sales Executive Freja Johanne Nørgaard Sørensen, who is having ongoing discussions with several buyers in key territories. Summer of 1985, the high-end drama produced by Media Res International, is due to premiere on SVT in July, with Fifth Season handling sales. The six-parter was co-penned by Amy Deasismont and Melina Maraki based on John Ajvide Lindqvist’s novel of the same title. The story centres on a group of teenagers, whose idyllic summer in the Stockholm archipelago is rocked by the discovery of a drowned local boy and a mermaid, on the mysterious island of Svärtan.

In Cannes to promote the show were the young actor Linus Rogsgård, concept director Björn Stein, creator of Whiskey on the Rocks and The Bridge (Bron), co-director and writer Deasismont (Thunder in My Heart), and producer Anna-Klara Carlsten. They all said they loved Lindqvist’s talent for combining the ordinary with the uncanny, for the nostalgia, and for this coming-of-age story for a wider audience.

Meanwhile, the short-form Sneakermania, the series debut of choreographer-filmmaker Ima Iduozee, impressed with its “unique story of friendship and career in the internationally fascinating world of sneakers, with a diverse cast that showcases the Nordics from a completely new and fresh angle,” said Director of Sales Maria Kivinen at Norse Key Distribution. The show produced by Helsinki-filmi launched on Yle Areena in February.

Last but not least, The Oligarch and the Art Dealer, helmed by Andreas Dalsgaard and co-created with Christoph Jörg (The Lost Leonardo), continued to attract positive reactions after its earlier showcases in Sundance and CPH:DOX. Dogwoof is in charge of sales outside North America. Elk Film is producing with France’s Vestigo, in co-production with the US’s Words & Picture and XTR, the Netherlands’ Scenery, and Switzerland’s Akka Film.

From spring to winter slot in 2027

For the TV drama industry, Canneseries has worked efficiently - even without MIPTV -as a prime launching pad for series craving a prestigious platform in the crowded marketplace. According to Lewi, the festival has carved its space on the festival calendar thanks to Cannes’ star-pulling power, the curated programme, and quality over quantity DNA. “We are complementary to Series Mania,” said Lewi, who highlighted the festival’s small industry sidebar “for its quality and relaxed meetings”.

However, the announcement yesterday that the festival will move its 2027 dates to February 11-16, will undeniably shake the current festival setup, as the Berlinale with its series sidebar will unfold February 10-21, 2027, and Series Mania in Lille later in March.

“The move to February feels both bold and ambitious, clearly positioning Canneseries more directly alongside Series Mania,” commented DR Sales’ Sørensen, who noted the possible challenges, as it will make “alignment and scheduling [of content] more complex”. However, going forward, she said the DR Sales team “will do our best to deliver premium content to both Canneseries and Series Mania”.