Large number of international guests decide that 2021 edition of Nordisk Panorama is the place to be

As with the large majority of film festivals around the world, Nordisk Panorama was forced to move to a wholly online format during 2020. Despite a successful online edition, there was the hope that the showcase of documentaries and shorts from the Nordic region would be able to return to a more traditional format come 2021.

While this year has seen Nordisk Panorama having to deal with problems beyond the pandemic (see our story: CLICK HERE), its wishes came true when the festival kicked off on 16^th September with a packed programme from both industry and audiences.

The festival played host to over 750 accredited guests from across the world and – even with the festival offering a hybrid format – approximately 75 percent of these guests were present at Nordisk Panorama onsite.

For many Nordisk was the first international festival they’d attended in person since the pandemic began and there was a palpable sense of delight in being able to see fellow industry professionals face to face once again – even if ongoing health restrictions curtailed the traditional official festival ‘Happy Hours’. But even in the absence of the more formal networking events, there were plenty of opportunities for industry professionals to come together.

The Nordisk Panorama Market played host to a number of popular events. The Town Hall generated a massive amount of buzz (see story: CLICK HERE) alongside a number of other masterclasses.

These included ‘The Mindset, the Method and the partnership’ with Axel Danielson and Maximilien Van Aerttryck in which the Swedish duo behind such films as the exceedingly popular Swedish documentary short Ten Meter Tower explored the nature of a creative partnership.

Also on hand were the directors of the Nordisk Film & TV Fond supported A-Ha The Movie which also screened at the festival. Thomas Robsahm and Aslaug Holm discussed their approach to the film as well as how they gained the trust of their subjects.

Other masterclasses covered subjects such as representation in the film industry, sustainability and the notion of Art as Activism.

As always the Short Film Pitch (showcasing 12 new shorts that are in pre-production) and the Works In Progress (presenting six nearly completed documentary projects to buyers, sales agents and festivals), proved a valuable affair as filmmakers met with decision makers in attendance to discuss their projects. This year’s documentary WIPs included Nordisk Film & TV Fond supported projects The Gullspång Miracle (Sweden), Behind The Swedish Model (Sweden) and White Lies (Norway).

The Nordisk Panorama Forum also played host to a wealth of pitched projects and the networking event Producers Meet Producers which featured presentations, tailored match-making and round table discussions.

This year the forum welcomed Poland as a guest country in an initiative organised in collaboration with Polish Docs.

At the end of the forum, Swiss television commissioner Gaspard Lamuniére from RTS, who is due to retire in January, said to all those present:

“I was so stupid not to come here before – I started two years ago. Because I always thought the good projects coming out of this Forum would afterwards be pitched again at IDFA or other forums, which is not the case all of the times. Being here I can see why Nordic documentaries are so good. It’s because you have all this involvement of the film institutes. If I could take Swiss Film to see this pitching forum they would just be “What?” Really thank you because you are great filmmakers here, great producers, great colleagues and commissioners.”

Whilst the Industry was well catered for, audiences were also delighted to be heading back to cinemas to see festival fare. Aside from the aforementioned A-Ha The Movie, the festival’s opener Cannon Arm and the Arcade Quest directed by Mads Hedegaard proved a feelgood success whilst the festival also played host to the International Premieres of Yasaman Sharifmanesh Aboli’s Journey (Sweden) and Young & Afraid by Sverre Kvamme & Petter Aaberg (Norway)

Sharifmanesh’s film would end up walking away with the Best Nordic Documentary award and with it €11,000. Other award winners were Jerry Carlsson who garnered Best Nordic Short and €5,000. for his film The Night Train (Sweden/France) while the New Nordic Voice award, and €5,000, went to Cecilie Debell and Maria Tórgarð for their film Skál (Denmark/Faroe Islands).

The City of Malmö’s Audience Award saw animated feature documentary Flee by Jonas Poher Rasmussen (Denmark/France/Norway/Sweden) add to its list of fulsome plaudits with a €2,500 prize while the Young Nordic – Children’s Choice Award and €1,500 was nabbed by Stories from the Shower by Teresia Fant (Norway).

Despite all the obstacles Nordisk Panorama seems to have had something of a banner year. Reflecting on the festival, the director of Nordisk Panorama Anita Reher said:

“It was exhilarating and energising to be there with people in person after 18 months of online communication. The filmmakers were thrilled to see their films for the first time in theatres with audiences. Our hybrid format was a huge success as we were able to expand the range of decision-makers to include people from all parts of the world. The initial feedback from the participants has been uniformly positive. We think it is our most successful festival to date.”