Five fine-tuned Nordic producers ready for the world

Starting off in Luxembourg in March, moving on to Trondheim in Norway in June and finishing off in Karlskrona in Sweden in October, 56 producer talents from 36 countries have just completed a year of producing skill fine-tuning at the 2024 European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs (EAVE) Producer’s workshop sessions, getting ready to present themselves and their projects to the international market.

Given the 2024 locations this year, several Nordic spot- and highlights have been on the agenda, not least dealing with production and co-production facilities in the region. Among this year’s participants were also ten Nordic-based producers, five of them bringing their current projects to the workshops.

Fresh from their experience, they elaborated on their thoughts on their EAVE year and talked about their projects, widely varied in scope and character.

Caroline Drab, Sweden, works in fiction, documentary and animation. She’s currently in post-production of If War Comes (Värn), a fiction feature by John Skoog, produced together with Erik Hemmendorff at Plattform Produktion. She most recently produced the short Duty Free by Hllke Rönnfelt, a German-Swedish-Danish co-production, set to premiere at The International Short Film Festival Winterthur in Switzerland in November 2024. Previously, Drab has produced Meanwhile on Earth (Samtidigt på jorden, 2020), a feature doc by Carl Olsson, which screened at Rotterdam, Thessaloniki and CPH:DOX. The film was nominated for Best Cinematography at the national Swedish Guldbagge awards. Before this, she has produced several successful shorts premiering at Tribeca, Toronto and other major festivals. Her workshop project has been Puck, an animated multiplatform series, on which she also participated in the screenplay.

What does it mean to you to be part of the 2024 EAVE Producers Workshop, and what takeaways are you bringing with you from the sessions?

It’s been a wonderful experience connecting with like-minded European producers and expanding my network for future co-productions.

Something that I can gratefully highlight, and what I believe contributes to the success of the strong communal building, is the matchmaking skills of Lise Lense-Møller, EAVE’s Head of Studies. Apparently, she interviews hundreds of applicants each year, she carefully selects and sensibly “matchmakes” the four groups of participants. And within each magically paired group, we participants then come to find our likeminded co-producers, partners, and friends for life. How wonderful.

What project have you brought to the workshops, and in what ways, if any, has it developed throughout the year?

I came to EAVE with the multiplatform project Puck. It’s a 2D animated children's project and the group work at EAVE has confirmed that the story resonates very well also in an international context. The project received great feedback from decision makers and future partners, so I'm excited to enter production soon. My next step is pitching the project at the Cinekid Co-Production Market.

What drives you as a producer, and what do you feel are the essential skills required to make a project stand out on the market?

I'm grateful to be working with incredibly talented people, and what drives me is the passion for the projects. I have a curiosity to work internationally, and grit is what has kept me in this job so far. It’s not easy to be an independent producer. EAVE becomes a springboard and a trusted network to elevate one's career.

Malin Hüber, Sweden, is based in Stockholm and working closely with artists and filmmakers. As co-founder of HER Film, her work ranges from art house gems to Netflix originals. Recent titles include Trans Memoria (2024) by Victoria Verseau, Synthetic Flowers (Blomster, 2023) by Neil Wigardt, The Conference (Konferensen, 2023) by Patrik Eklundand Lucky One (2019) by Mia Engberg, among others. Hüber is a frequent industry consultant for European markets and training programmes such as EFM Toolbox and ExOriente. With collectivity as a central aspect of her practice, she is an alumna of Berlinale Talents, Eurodoc and EAVE. Her workshop project has been Shangri-La, directed by Wingyee Wu.

What does it mean to you to be part of the 2024 EAVE Producers Workshop, and what takeaways are you bringing with you from the sessions?

My main takeaway is the space to think and grow together, both on a personal and professional level. Many new friends and colleagues - it takes a village to make a film.

What project have you brought to the workshops, and in what ways, if any, has it developed throughout the sessions?

I brought Wingyee Wu’s feature debut Shangri-La to the workshops. The project received great attention and feedback, and has advanced in its script development with input of script consultations and peer feedback in the programme. A dead mother refuses rest, a quiet teenager rebels against her father, and an auntie plots revenge on her ex-husband. Connected through past hurts, Shangri-La takes us on an offbeat journey in time through the ever-present Chinese restaurants.

What drives you as a producer, and what do you feel are the essential skills required to make a project stand out on the market?

As a producer I’m driven by curiosity. As to navigating the market, for me it’s about choosing projects that really speak to you, stories with unique perspectives. It’s more about the people and their vision, and, of course, your network of colleagues, who will come together and make the films happen with you.

Eliza Jones founded Grand Slam Film together with Markus Waltå after they graduated in film production from the Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts in 2015. Grand Slam has produced a number of short films that have toured and competed in the official section at Cannes, Sundance, Berlin, Tribeca and Toronto. They produced Ninja Thyberg’shighly acclaimed feature film Pleasure (2021), selected for Cannes 2020 and Sundance 2021. It sold worldwide, and is distributed by Mubi in the UK and Neon in the US. Their latest films are Måns Nyman’s Locals (Stammisar, 2022) and Andreas Öhman’s One Day All This Will Be Yours (En dag kommer allt det här bli ditt, 2023), which after its critically acclaimed Gothenburg premiere had its North American premiere at Seattle in 2023, and Pella Kågerman’s short film Reckless (2021), which was selected for Sundance 2022 and distributed at The New Yorker screening room. Her workshop project has been My Best Friend’s Baby (Min bästa väns bebis), directed by Sophie Vukovic.

What does it mean to you to be part of in the 2024 EAVE Producers Workshop, and what takeaways are you bringing with you from the sessions?

Grand Slam Film turns ten years in 2025, and I applied for EAVE, as it’s supposed to be a one-of-a-kind producers’ workshop – and it’s time to level up as a ten-year-old! To be honest, it has turned out to mean a lot to our production company, to our project My Best Friend’s Baby, and to me as a producer. In this overwhelming climate for independent producers, it offers a sense of insight and, perhaps, belonging. All us participants are choosing to persevere in the hard earned privilege of producing film and culture in our respective countries. There’s a powerful energy in being in the same room as other people who share your struggles, insecurities and passion.

What project have you brought to the workshops, and in what ways, if any, has it developed throughout the sessions?

We have developed Sophie Vukovic’s My Best Friend’s Baby in the workshop, and the timing couldn’t have been better. We’ve been spoilt with really positive feedback from our group and very specific and helpful input from our script consultant Clare Downs. We are in a very solid stage of final financing and early pre-production, really working in parallel on the creative side. It is a film about love, friendship and family. How perfect to develop it in a group like this?

What drives you as a producer, and what do you feel are the essential skills required to make a project stand out on the market?

I believe in the importance of culture. That is what drives me. I take ostentatious pride in being a producer of Swedish film, and don’t take any of it for granted. How to make a project stand out on the market – that’s a million dollar question. Markus and I would never want to pick projects depending on how I believe the market would see them – that sounds speculative and anxious – but rather push for what’s unique in the projects and creators we love and work with. That’s a driving force.

Mette Mikkelsen, Denmark, is CEO at New Tales. She has been producing several fiction films and documentaries, i.e. Alexander Bak Sagmo’s feature Needle Boy (2016) and the CPH:DOX feature documentary Visitor (2018), directed by Sebastian Cordes. Her latest output include the feature film Esther’s Orchestra (Esthers orkester, 2022), also directed by Bak Sagmo, and the CPH:DOX Danish Film Awards-nominated documentary Undersea (Under havet, 2022), by Jannik Splidsboel. She has produced 21 titles, mainly as delegate producer. In 2025 she and the company will be releasing a new feature film and two new documentary hybrids. Her workshop project has been The Last Dance (Den sidste dans), directed by Michael Graversen.

What does it mean for you to be part of the 2024 EAVE Producers Workshop, and what takeaways are you bringing with you from the sessions?

I had heard from the Danish Film Institute that it was an advanced programme, so I was proud and happy when I was accepted. And sure enough – it's an advanced programme where you get to build extra blocks on your basic knowledge of all the different things we as producers deal with.

But beyond that, the EAVE team also creates an atmosphere where participants dare to be honest and vulnerable – and that's for me more or less the most important thing. You get to know your colleagues on a deeper level, and to know how they handle challenges. If you want to co-produce, you know which person you are putting your project in the hands of. Everyone who participates is already a qualified co-production partner upon arrival, so it's the cohesion and sharing of knowledge that I think has been extra rewarding.

What project have you brought to the workshops, and in what ways, if any, has it developed throughout the sessions?

I brought the project The Last Dance by the director Michael Graversen with me. It is a documentary about the world champion in dog dancing, Jessica Karlgren from Norway, who has been affected by ALS. Through the documentary, we explore how the outside world and she herself react to the disease - and not least, what support dogs can provide that humans cannot necessarily provide. Through the workshop I have found that it is a universal story that appeals to many different countries and nationalities. Most people have either had a serious illness themselves or been close to someone who had; and besides, it's hard not to like dogs. The story has become clearer through the workshop, and I have received good input on how to organise financing for a Danish film that actually takes place in Norway.

What drives you as a producer, and what do you feel are the essential skills required to make a project stand out on the market?

Through my years as a producer, I’ve become aware that what drives me the most are stories about socially relevant topics; be it fiction or documentary. If I feel I have an input for an important subject, I’m particularly driven. However, I can still fall for projects that are “just” good stories.

When choosing current and/or relevant topics, there can sometimes be an overflow in the market with those topics - unless you are the first to see a problem or a tendency. I therefore also try to align myself with directors who have unique approaches to the subject or different forms of storytelling. I myself belong to a minority, I have cerebral palsy, and maybe therefore it has become my focus to make room for stories by or about underrepresented voices. I have noticed that when you have that point of view, your projects stand out on the market more often. You will have either a unique subject or a unique way of telling about it.

Thorvald Nilsen, Norway, started Indie Film Bergen in 2023, a company based on the west coast of Norway, producing documentaries. He completed a master's degree in documentary and journalism at Volda University of Applied Sciences in 2013, where he was also head of the Norwegian Documentary Film Festival. He made his debut as a producer with Ragnhild Sørheim’s documentary series Children Deported (Asylbarn, 2015), and subsequently produced Hildegunn Wærness’ hit series The Fjord Cowboys (Fjorden Cowboys, 2014-2018) for four seasons at Flimmer Film. In 2019, he produced Benjamin Langeland and Stian Servoss’ Once Aurora (En gang Aurora), about the artist Aurora Aksnes, a film that was named Best Nordic Documentary at Nordisk Panorama. Thorvald Nilsen is currently serving as a deputy board member of VIRKE Norwegian Producers Association and as programme director of The Norwegian Documentary Symposium 2024. His workshop project has been The Lions on the River Tigris (Løvene ved elven Tigris), directed by Zaradasht Ahmed.

What does it mean for you to be part of the 2024 EAVE Producers Workshop, and what takeaways are you bringing with you from the sessions?

It’s been a great year! I’ve grown and learnt a lot as a producer, that will strengthen me and Indie Film Bergen. I’ve been fortunate to be part of a group of people from all around the world that has helped me develop as a person. You get really humble seeing all of the projects and meeting extraordinary people. We’ve talked about our projects, companies, and how to structure everyday life in the industry. And also shared good food, bowling, karaoke and late night discussions. My main takeaway is that I’ve made friends that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

What project have you brought to the workshops, and in what ways, if any, has it developed throughout the sessions?

The Lions on the River Tigris is a documentary by the acclaimed director Zaradasht Ahmed, and the film is currently in editing. It is a hopeful story about rebuilding after the damages of war, and the strength of human resilience. This is the logline: “The beautiful ancient Iraqi city of Mosul was conquered by ISIS and became one of the most hated places in the world. In the war for liberation, the Old City was left in ruins. Can the people of Mosul rise again and heal their broken souls?” We are very thankful for all the input for our film during the three weeks of EAVE workshops. It’s been helpful for us, and has been strengthening the film and how we communicate about the project. We are currently looking for a 2025 festival premiere for the film.

What drives you as a producer, and what do you feel are the essential skills required to make a project stand out on the market?

I am first and foremost driven by my curiosity, always wanting to understand more of the world and to work with great people in the process. The job of producing is about always improving and adapting your work with new people and new stories. And the quality of the project and the director’s vision are the most important factors to make it stand out in the market. I work with strong directors and projects, and we are constantly working to improve both the quality of the projects and also how we communicate about the films in the market.

The Nordic producer line-up at the 2024 EAVE workshops participating without projects consisted of Erik Andersson, Läsk, Sweden, Benedikte Danielsen, the Norwegian Film Institute, Norway, Inuk Jørgensen, Greenland/Sweden, Marta Mleczek, Profile Pictures, Denmark, and Ilona Tolmunen, MADE, Finland.

For extensive info on the EAVE operations: CLICK HERE.