Nordic Script training programme unveils line-up of participants

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The selected 12 participants of NORDIC SCRIPT, powered by Nordisk Film &TV Fond, will be working with an outstanding team of scriptwriting tutors: mentoring organiser Margrete Soug Kåset (Mammon 2, Monster, Himmelblå), Adam August (Follow the Money 3, Cry Wolf), and Maria Clauss (All That is Left, Beartown 2, Top Dog 2).

Each mentor will be coaching a small group of writers and a story editor at the following three partner showcases and locations:

• Oslo Seriedagene (September 12-16)
• Göteborg Film Festival’s TV Drama Vision (February 2023)
• Helsinki City, June 2023.
  

The writing single talents or teams have applied with a drama series project, to be developed at the above-mentioned three training and networking sessions.

A total of 57 applications were submitted from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, of which 39 are female writers, story editors or producers.

In a joint statement, tutoring trio Margrete Soug Kåset, Adam August and Maria Clauss said about the NORDIC SCRIPT 2022 participants and projects: “We have taken into consideration geographic spread, gender balance and general diversity. We’ve seen a great variety in genre and themes, a mix of experienced and younger writers, with a majority of seasoned writing talents. The clarity of the project has been a key factor for our decision-making process.”

LIST OF NORDIC SCRIPT PARTICIPANTS 2022
WRITERS AND PROJECTS

• 67 METER DOWN (Norway)
  Scriptwriter: Mahmona Khan
  Genre: Suspense thriller
  Logline: Norwegian-Syrian Mina (17) is disabled and willing to do anything to escape the past and trauma. Behind the harsh, life-affirming façade, she hides a truth and darkness that can have fatal consequences.
  Mahmona Khan (born in 1973) is a Norwegian seasoned author, writer, journalist and an active social commentator. The series Tainted (Skitten snø) produced by Miso Film for NRK in 2019, was based on her acclaimed debut fiction novel of the same name, which she adapted for television, alongside Thomas Moldestad.
• ESTER BLENDA (Sweden, Framgångens jävla solsken, WT)
  Scriptwriter: Anna Hylander
  Format: 4x45’
  Genre: Drama biopic. Based on the book Life in every breath (Ett jävla solsken) by Fatima Bremmer and the documentary Ester Blenda by Anna Hylander.
  Logline: Blenda Nordström (1891-1948), was one of Sweden’s first female reporters. In the series, Ester Blenda's life is a desperate search for her readers' love, a struggle to stand up for herself in conservative times, and a longing for the love of Carin.
  Anna Hylander (born in 1973) graduated from the Film School of Gothenburg University in 2001. Since then, she has worked as a director across film, series and documentaries and as a TV producer. She was nominated for a Prix Europa and Prix Italia in 2007 for SVT’s series Golden Brown Eyes, and her documentary Ester Blenda was Guldbagge nominated for Best Sound in 2017. Since 2919, she has focused on screenwriting and attended workshops with Stephen Cleary and Petra Revenue.
• I HATE ME (Norway, Jeg hater meg)
  Scriptwriter: Marta Huglen Revheim
  Format: 6x30’
  Genre: sci-fi comedy
  Logline: Anne (29) and Julianne (55) are neighbours. They don’t get along, but soon they discover that they have a lot in common, so much that they start to wonder if they might actually be the same person.
  Marta Huglen Revheim (born in 1988) graduated with a BA in screenwriting in 2016 from the Norwegian Film School in Lillehammer. Since then, she has worked on nearly 20 productions including NRK Super’s series ROT, and TV2’s hit YA series Heartbeat S1-2 (Hjerteslag), remade into Swedish for C More-TV4.
• MADNESS (Sweden)
  Scriptwriter: Johanna Ställberg
  Format: 8x45’
  Genre: Drama comedy
  Logline: Madness is series about a woman who has realised in the prime of her life, that she has to take her power back.
  Johanna Ställberg is a versatile writer, director, actress and producer. She has written and directed the short film I’m a Paedophile (2020) and Family Entertainment (2022). A fan of comedy, she has worked in various sketch groups.
• PLAY MONSTER (Finland)
  Scriptwriter: Ilja Rautsi
  Format: 6x50’
  Genre: Horror
  Logline: Play Monster is a psychological horror series happening on two-time levels, about six friends who revive their deadly childhood game 25 years later, and find out who they truly are.
  Ilja Rautsi (born in 1979) graduated with a BA in screenwriting from Helsinki’s University of the Arts in 2009. He is working mostly as a writer, but has experience in directing, acting and editing. His most recent writing credit is the horror feature Hatching by Hanna Bergholm. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was sold to more than 50 territories. He is also attached to Sara Saarela’s upcoming feature Memory of Water. Rautsi’s own short film as writer/director Helsinki Mansplaining Massacre (2018) travelled to world festivals and his 2021 short Night of the Living Dicks won Best Director at Brooklyn Horror Film Festival and a Special Jury Prize at the Palm Springs Short Festival.
• POP THE CHERRY (Denmark)
  Scriptwriter: Rum Malmros
  Format: 8x45’ or 60’
  Genre: drama-coming of age for 15+
  Logline: Heart-warming drama comedy about fear, courage and loyalty, and not least, expectations for body, gender and the first time, for four teenagers, in a far from boring small town.
  Rum Malmros (born in 1976) is a screenwriting graduate from the National Film School of Denmark. Since 2003, he has worked across film and series as a script developer, writer and director. His writing credits include DR’s kids’ series The Secret of Absalon and The Pact. He has also been teaching short film development, screenwriting, producing, editing and directing at Talentskolen’s Film department.
• SOMETHING ROTTEN IN HELSINKI (Finland)
  Scriptwriter: Reeta Ruotsalainen
  Format: 6-8x35’
  Genre: Tragicomedy-anthology series
  Logline: Loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic Hamlet set in present-day Finland, dealing with identity, family, trauma passed on from generation to generation.
  Reeta Ruotsalainen was born in 1984 in Helsinki. She graduated with a BA in screenwriting from Aalto University in 2017. She was nominated at the Terror in the Bay Film Festival for Best Original Screenplay with her graduation film Now That You’re Mine. She was episodic director of the crime show Arctic Circle S2 commissioned by Elisa Viihde and co-wrote with Max Malka the upcoming Netflix/Yle series Dance Brothers for Endemol Shine Finland.
• TINNITUS (Iceland)
  Scriptwriter: Helga Arnasdóttir
  Format: 6x50-60’
  Genre: crime thriller
  Logline: When an unidentified body floats ashore Iceland‘s West Fjords, Katrín, a journalist and single mother digs deep to uncover the connection to a series of un-investigated missing persons cases that span decades.
  Helga Arnasdóttir is an Icelandic-born TV reporter, news presenter and documentary filmmaker. Her first film as scriptwriter and producer Birta by Bragi Thor Hinriksson won Best Child Actor at the Schlingel Film Festival in Germany 2021. Arnasdóttir holds a BA degree in French and political science and a MA in International Journalism from the City University of London.
• WHERE WE LIVE (Norway)
  Scriptwriter: Lev David
  Format: 8x30-60’
  Genre: horror-family drama
  Logline: It’s the story of the Hasan-Hansens, an Oslo family, fallen on hard times. When an improbable turn of fate rids them of all their problems, they find themselves moving into an apartment -- and life -- that they should never be able to afford, that is not really theirs. This is when things get weird.
  Lev David was born in 1980 in Durban, South Africa and resides in Oslo. He is a scriptwriter, film and TV creative consultant and occasional director. His short film Down Focus won the Features Africa First Award 2013. His kids animated series Junk Pilots (South Africa) won the Disney Channel Prize for New Series at the Annecy Animation Festival in 2018. He has developed the concept for the Viaplay dramedy Melk.

INFORMATION ON STORY EDITORS

MARI MAGNUS, Producer Scripted Drama-NRK P3, Norway
Mari Magnus (born in 1989) is working for NRK P3 as producer of scripted drama since 2020. She has worked mostly on scripted series for teen audiences. Those include the cult series SKAM (NRK P3), SKAM Austin (Facebook Watch) and Young Girls (NRK Super). She is a graduate from Oslo’s Westerdals School of Communication.

JASMINE H NAGHIZADEH, Producer, Nimbus Film, Denmark
Jasmine H. Naghizadeh (born in 1989) is producer at Nimbus Film since 2019.
She graduated in Media Production and Management from the Danish School of Media and Journalism in 2015. She has produced a number of short films (Rabbit, Sky Pop) the web series Room for Rent (2018) and was associate producer on the Icelandic-Danish co-production Echo by Rúnar Rúnarsson. Her feature film debut as a producer is My Robot Brother by Frederik Nørgaard.

JOHAN LUNDSTRÖM, Producer, StellaNova Film, Sweden
Johan Lundström is a 33-year old producer. He graduated with a BA in production from Stockholm University of the Arts in 2018 and immediately joined StellaNova. His graduation film Get Ready with Me (2018) won a Student Academy Awards. He was line producer on SVT’s series A Royal Secret.