Norwegian Aspenes, who has a background as a producer and film commissioner, will succeed Torleif Hauge in June.

Among 30 strong applications from all Nordic countries, Cecilie Aspenes has been appointed Nordisk Film & TV Fond’s (NFTVF) Fiction Advisor, and will succeed retiring Senior Fiction Advisor Torleif Hauge June 1. She steps into the role with over 20 years of experience from the Nordic industry. Aspenes will hold a fixed-term appointment of five years, with a possible five year extension.

NFTVF’s CEO Liselott Forsman welcomes Aspenes:

“Cecilie Aspenes was selected to be our new Fiction Advisor after a long hiring process and a good number of interviews with highly competent applicants. She joins us with the best possible professional experience for the job, from production, acquisition, consulting and public funding. In addition, she brings her pan-Nordic experience and strong engagement to work for the future of the whole Nordic fiction industry. We are very happy to welcome Cecilie Aspenes to Nordisk Film & TV Fond when Torleif Hauge retires after 15 years of highly appreciated work for the industry.”

Most recently Aspenes held a position as a commissioner of films and drama series at the Norwegian Film Institute (NFI). Before joining NFI, she worked as a producer at Danish-Swedish-Norwegian Miso Film and Norwegian Fantefilm. Her professional experience also includes various positions within several Norwegian production companies and the public service company NRK. She has worked as Purchasing Manager at Scanbox and as Project Manager at NFTVF. Aspenes holds a producer’s degree from the Norwegian Film School. She values her experiences from both creative producing and public funding, when entering her new position:

“I have a background in the creative industries as well as in public administration, and I would say that both provide valuable experience to my role at the Fund. The role of commissioner is the one that most closely resembles that of Fiction Advisor, and I bring with me both the experience of identifying a project’s potential and qualities as well as the ability to assess projects that go with the organisation’s strategic goals. I feel it’s necessary to understand both ends of the table in the role of Fiction Advisor. For me personally, the most important thing is to establish a dialogue with partners that is predictable, consistent and trustful. Whether that involves applicants and creative professionals, or partnerships and politicians.”

The Nordic perspective is familiar to Aspenes from her years at NFTVF (2012-2017). She looks forward to returning to a pan-Nordic perspective:

“I’ve missed working on a pan-Nordic level. There are so many exciting high-quality projects and so much talent across all the countries. Despite being distinct and independent nations, we are geographically, culturally and politically intertwined, and I can’t wait to take a closer look at the many stories we in the Nordic region have to offer. On a personal note, it will be lovely to regain the broad overview of what is happening in each country, and I look forward to many fruitful and positive collaborations in the years to come.”