The new genre and auteur-driven production company is headed by Drive Studios’ former head of development Anders N.U. Berg.
Trained as a producer/financier at the prestigious New York University’s Stern-Tisch dual degree programme, Berg is credited for the Danish YA shows My Different Ways (Noget om Emma) sold by DR Sales to several territories (read DR Sales’ Next Generation Label attracts global buyers), as well as Limboland and Two Days (sold to HBO).
Going solo, Berg has set up the Copenhagen-based Fredo Pictures earlier this year, with the ambition to create commercially-oriented genre series and auteur-driven films, both Danish and international.
The CEO and producer says he has secured a “substantial amount of development funds” to acquire big IP and attach top creative talent, which will enable him to finance the development of at least 8-10 major projects in the initial phase. Private investors involved in the venture include the Danish advertising outfit Holy Ravioli, who had been looking to branch into scripted content.
Jacob Harregaard - formerly at Nordisk Film Distribution, is the company’s new financing and strategy advisor, Mikkel Vind Vogt, former Drive Studios production executive is head of operations and line producer, while Anja Nemeth serves as legal counsel. Furthermore, a production partnership with Malmö-based Anagram will from the outset, “facilitate physical production of large-scale productions”, according to Berg.
Detailing to us his vision, the entrepreneurial-minded producer says he founded his company “on the notion that the future of scripted TV in Denmark and Europe at large, is heading towards fewer, but larger productions.” He believes his clear editorial line focused on genre stories and well-known IP with built-in cross border potential, combined with his team’s production and financing expertise, will respond both to more conservative-minded decision-makers, and a bigger demand for better content from global streamers in the years to come.
Headlining Fredo Pictures’ slate in development is the four-part true crime Britta, based on the definitive non-fiction eponymous book by journalist Emil Ellesøe Ditzel published in 2021, as well as “life rights of the two most important key sources to the story,” according to Berg.
The crime story chronicles the large-scale scam of the Danish social worker Britta Nielsen who, during more than 20 years, stole DKK 125 million (€16.7m) in government funds earmarked for vulnerable people, and spent it on a lavish life in Germany, Holland and South Africa. She was eventually arrested in 2018 and is currently serving her prison sentence.
Senior Danish screenwriter Ida Marie Ryden (When the Dust Settles, Dicte) will be steering the writers’ room as creator and head writer.
Speaking to us, Ryden said the series won’t be a straightforward true crime. Beyond the entertaining and action-packed elements, the character-driven story will focus on two more complex layers: Firstly, the Danish welfare system, based notably on trust, which Britta abused over two decades. Ryden says she will highlight the uniqueness of the Scandi model which puts Denmark second on the top nations of the World Happiness Report, but obviously failed in this particular case due to the lack of safeguards.
“In that sense, it’s uniquely Danish, but the story will appeal to a wider international audience,” notes the seasoned writer.
Secondly, the story will turn on Britta’s moral - or lack of moral/values and guilt. “I’m curious to explore how she succeeded in living with herself, while doing a criminal activity for 22 years, “said Ryden, who will use fiction to flesh out the main character and her world.
Berg said the plan is to finalise the pilot script early 2024 to show to interested parties.
Another true crime series in development is The Case Against the Amager Man from showrunner Jens Dahl, co-writer of Nicolas Winding Refn’s iconic feature Pusher and creator of the series Lulu & Leon.
The six-part series centres on public prosecutor Anne Birgitte Stürup’s fight to put the notorious Danish serial killer and rapist Marcel Lychau Hansen (known as ‘The Amager Man’) behind bars. The story is based on two non-fiction books including Stürup’s autobiography.
Also in development is Unicorn, a 6x35’ crime dramedy created by Rikke Louise Schjødt (Limboland) and Rebecca Martin (Ich bin Sophie Scholl) about a Danish Bonnie & Clyde couple in the Copenhagen tech start-up scene who scammed well-known start-up inventors and public funds.
Berg expects to close deals with broadcasters and/or streamers on both series in January 2024.
On the feature film side, Fredo Pictures is the Danish co-production partner on the international project Iris directed by rising Cypriot talent Myrsini Aristidou. The father/daughter relationship drama is produced by 1.61 Films and Filmblades in Cyprus, Graal in Greece, and The Living in France. The premiere is set for the spring 2024.
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