Exclusive: Fast-growing Stockholm and L.A. based B-Reel Films (BR•F) has hired three TV execs including Ulf Synnerholm to steer their expansion into TV drama. 

Synnerholm who takes over this month as BR•F Head of Drama, brings with him a strong experience both in production (through previous jobs at Filmlance and SF Studios) and in TV commissioning. He moves from C More/TV4 where he worked as Head of Production and Executive Producer on TV series including Moscow Noir, and the highly anticipated Thin Ice and Agent Hamilton.

The two other fresh recruits are Anna-Klara Carlsten, line producer on Netflix’s Quicksand, who joins BR•F as TV Drama Producer, and Victoria Kjellberg, former TV executive at Palladium, Shine/Endemol, now Head of Business Affairs and Legal at BR•F.

Fredrik Heinig, BR•F founder & managing partner told nordicfilmandtvnews.com: “Next to feature film and documentary, we have been involved in TV drama in the past few years. We are now ready for the next step in our TV drama push, and building a strong drama team is part of this new drive. We are therefore extremely pleased to have attracted top industry people such as Ulf, Anna-Klara and Victoria.”

Pelle Nilsson, founder & managing partner at BR•F adds: “We’ve already made our mark on the feature film and documentary market with high quality Swedish productions [Bergman-A Year in a Life, X&Y, Euphoria], working with our roster of 30+ talents from our Stockholm and L.A. offices. Our vision is to continue to focus on strong storytelling and to bring the same high-end quality to TV drama.”

Nilsson goes on: “These are exciting times, with new players entering the market. We are bolstering our international TV drama slate parallel to our local content, and Midsommar [which has grossed more than $40m worldwide] is the perfect example of what we can achieve in the English language.”


BR•Fs current TV drama slate includes: Season 2 of the crime series Before We Die (Innan vi dör) co-produced by SVT and Viaplay. The premiere on the pubcaster is set for October 13. ZDF handles world sales. 

The dramedy Swiping (Dejta), Swedish version of the Finnish hit show Click Me, set to air on SVT in the spring 2020. Eccho Rights handles world distribution. 


A handful of English language TV projects in development will be announced at a later date.

On the film side, BR•F documentary Hasse & Tage by Jane Magnusson has received positive reviews in Sweden and sold more than 90,000 tickets, one of the best results in years for a Swedish documentary.

The next event documentary, Greta [about 16 year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg] is wrapping its shoot in New York. Delivery is set for 2020.

The feature biopic I am Zlatan based on David Lagercrantz’s best-selling novel I am Zlatan Ibrahimovic, is set to start filming in the summer 2020, with Jens Sjöberg behind the camera.

Meanwhile the highly anticipated English-language action comedy Kung Fury directed by David Sandberg from his own cult short film, has just wrapped filming in Munich and Bulgaria. The A-list international cast includes Michael Fassbender, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Alexandra Shipp, David Hasselhoff and Jorma Taccone. Due to extensive VFX works, the premiere is scheduled for 2021. BR•F is producing with Laser Unicorns and KatzSmith. Bloom handles sales.

Three questions to Ulf Synnerholm, BR•F Head of Drama
What is your vision as new head of drama for BR•F?
US: I’m looking forward to maintaining the very high production value that BR•F already has on the film side, and bring to the TV side. I want to look at more high-profile international productions, and at the same time more cost-effective drama with a local appeal. This can be achieved by spending more time on the development and less on shooting.

We know the challenges and when we will pitch a project, we will make sure it is fully developed and aimed at the right broadcaster. Coming from C More/TV4, I know the urgent decisions they to make regarding content, financing, and the importance of securing the best talent.

What are the biggest challenges on the market today?
US: Finding the right talent is a major issue. With feature film, talents would be busy a couple of months; now with TV drama they can be booked for several years. We need to create the best environment for directors, actors, writers, but also editors, production designers etc. and involve them earlier in the development process.

Will you hire more people on the development side?
US: Perhaps. It will depend on the flow of projects we have. Quality is our main focus, and respect for broadcasters. We don’t want to waste anybody’s time. We will collaborate with the best local and international partners for each individual project.