Two staff members have been made redundant at Nordisk Film & TV AS: head of production Cornelia Boysen (Kurt Turns Evil) and producer Roy Anderson.
Rune Trondsen, Head of Fiction, explained to nordiskfilmogtvfond.com his company's decision. "Since 2003, we have produced 14 films, mostly family films, with a few experimental films. Up till now, Norway had quite a good subsidy system, but this will change at the end of 2009. Producing commercial family films will become too risky. This is why we've decided to close down our feature film production arm." Nordisk Film will nevertheless continue to invest in local TV programmes and documentaries and will keep its stake in the two Norwegian production companies Neon Film and Maipo Film.
By relying on the generous Norwegian subsidy system that offered matching funds up to 95% of a film's box office earnings, Nordisk Film & TV AS has supplied the Norwegian market over the last six years with a regular flow of commercial children's films, with the successful Junior Olsen Gang franchise as flagship. The company received over NOK 224 million in public support during that period, much more than any other local production outfit. But since Norway decided to join the European Co-production Convention, new subsidy rules have been drafted and will be put into force as of January 2010. The main change according to Ivar Køhn, Head of Production at the Norwegian Film Institute is the reduction of the bonus from 95% to 75% of a title's box office gross. For Køhn, this subsidy level is still much higher than in many other European territories.
Nevertheless, the fear for the NFI is that other Norwegian producers will withdraw their investment in local children's films. Sveinung Golimo from Filmkameratene who sits on the board of the Norwegian Producers Association agrees that the new rules are tougher for local producers, but still represent an incentive to make children's films.