Anne Kolbjørnsen is Managing Director and Ole Marius Araldsen Creative Director at the new Norwegian production company that will start operating on January 1st, 2017.

Anagram Norway is a branch of the well-established independent production group Anagram Sweden, active in film, television and live events. Kolbjørnsen and Araldsen both join Anagram Norway from Rubicon TV where they worked as Head of Drama and Head of Development respectively.

In their former positions, the two executives worked on world-known TV dramas such as Lilyhammer, The Third Eye and Maniac. Kolbjørnsen has also worked for several years at NRK drama and produced Hotel Cæsar for TV2 Norway. Araldsen has extensive experience as an author, script producer and creative producer. His previous work places also include Metronome Spartacus and Nordisk Film.

Mats Alders, CEO at Anagram said: “The establishment in Norway is part of our strategy to expand in the Nordic region. In recent years, Norwegian drama series have been hugely successful in the Nordic region as well as internationally. The Nordic region is our home market and a stronger Nordic base will also facilitate international sales.”

Anagram Sweden recently re-structured to facilitate its Nordic expansion. Major productions include the TV series 30 Degrees in February, Viva Hate, Doctor Bares All (Gynekologen I Askim), and the film Eat Sleep Die. Upcoming scripted projects include the mini-series Dehli's Most Beautiful Hands (Dehlis vackraste händer) by Hannes Holm set to air on SVT at Christmas, the feature films Becker by Martin Larsson and Strawberry Days (Jordgubslande) by Wiktor Ericsson (The Sarnos-A Life in Dirty Movies).

Four questions to Anne Kolbjørnsen
 What convinced you to join the Anagram Group?
AB: When Ole Martin and I left Rubicon TV, we had talks with different groups including Anagram. We loved the idea of working for a truly independent company. Anagram also has strong values, a very distinctive creative taste and I am a true fan of their TV show 30 Degrees in February!

What is your vision for Anagram Norway?
AB: Our speciality is high quality drama. We will focus on drama but will also look at non-scripted format and new content as part of our future collaboration and synergies within the Anagram Group. As an independent company, we will look at all production opportunities, on a local, regional and international level. Right now the Norwegian market is tough in terms of financing, but there are greater opportunities as more foreign players (French, British, US) are interested in collaborating with Norway. We look forward to finding the right production and distribution partners for each different project.

What about feature film?
AB: Yes we will definitely look into feature film. Anagram Sweden has a great experience in that field and we will learn from them and apply our own knowledge in working on bigger productions like Lilyhammer and low budget fare like Maniac.

Do you have projects in development?
AB: It’s a bit early to tell. Starting January, we will focus on developing projects for the local market and on possible collaborations with Anagram Sweden.