Firstly, tell us about yourself: your background is in financing and management. In what way has your own job evolved to adapt to today's digital world?
Henrik Zein: I have been part of the management of Nordisk Film Production for more than 19 years. First as CFO and for the last 11 years as CEO and also SVP of Nordisk Film’s Management Board, headed by Allan Hansen.

The shift to digital has changed our working methods both in production and distribution. We are also more data-driven in the back office. We have skilled producers, legal, finance and marketers who seize the best opportunities to maximise rights across all windows, although theatrical remains the most important. We are filmmakers at heart and make films for the silver screen.

Would you say that your expertise in deal-making is even more of an asset today when navigating through rights exploitation?
HZ: We learn every day how to navigate rights. For every major film we work as a team and each film is a test case. We work from development to distribution and brainstorm on the best way to exploit rights. We’re not afraid to take bigger risks, but simply need to understand them. Thanks to our muscle, we look across various genres and budgets, evaluating what is reasonable, how to fund a project in a smart and informed way.

Could you detail your in-house production set up - who runs what on a national and Nordic level - and if you have revamped your production staff in recent years to consolidate your annual output in film & TV drama?
HZ: In Norway Sveinung Golimo is Head of Production, and in Sweden it’s Calle Marthin. I have just hired a new CFO Kasper Brock Laursen (who has a financial background from Coop and TDC) for the Nordics who will lead finance and legal aspects. I supervise the Danish production team. We have in all three countries very skilled producers and writers, and I’m pleased to stress that we have quite a good gender balance among producers.

For me, it’s essential to see a producer as a talent, as they are so essential in making projects come through. I give them confidence and room for individual development. It is motivating for me to see them aim for the sky in terms of quality.

With the growing demand in TV drama, have you beefed up your production staff?
HZ: We have made hires and are still in the middle of that process. We’re looking for producers with a TV drama expertise as we want to develop the drama side.

Is your plan to have a 50/50 film & TV drama slate in the near future?
HZ: So far feature film has been our core business. But we are about to grow the TV area. For me, it’s a question of quality. Projects have to be original and outstanding. We need to find the right IPs and producers who can realise the projects. TV series requires slightly different skills. The development and production is made with one major customer in mind - the commissioning streamer or broadcaster - and they have a higher say than distributors for a film.

We have learnt a lot in the last three years. We have great consultants working with us - such as producers Sven Clausen [former DR TV executive producer, three times Emmy-award winner] who helped us with DNA, and Camilla Hammerich  [Ride Upon the Storm, Borgen]. It’s key for us to learn more and evaluate the financial potential of every project. TV drama is also a fantastic new area to develop talents.

So far we’ve delivered Twin in Norway for NRK, DNA in Denmark for TV2/Arte and we’re still co-producing the Beck franchise with Filmlance International for C More/TV4. We will announce new projects in the spring.

Will you hire an executive to drive the TV drama on a Nordic level and coordinate the local offices?
HZ: I think we will keep it at a local level and let the local offices work together when necessary. Local producers are hands-on and know best the needs of the local market, but we coordinate on an overall level, especially the financing strategy.

Any plan to open an in-house production arm in Finland?
HZ: Not right now. We want to strengthen first Norway and Sweden. Then we could look into expanding our Finnish footprint.

What is your ideal annual production volume – across in-house productions, co-productions - film & TV drama?
HZ: We produce a two-digit number of film & TV projects each year. We’re in a position where we can say no and wait for the right projects. We spend a lot of money on development and acquiring IPs.

Could you remind us of the various stakes you have in indie production houses in the Nordics, and can we expect more strategic partnerships?
HZ: We’re associated to Maipo in Norway, Zentropa and Drive Studios in Denmark, Solar Films in Finland. In terms of new partnerships, I’m sure we will have some coming up in distribution.

Any plans to expand into English-language, like SF Studios that has offices in London to support Scandinavian talents who want to work on mainstream international projects?
HZ: It’s not our ambition to open outposts in London or L.A, although we’re eager to work on international projects, but with the focus of working out of Scandinavia. We want to be part of the journey with talents.

For instance Martin Zandvliet who is a close collaborator, did the international feature film The Outsider two years ago. We handled all post-production –editing, sound, VFX etc, so Martin could be in Denmark with his family during post-production.

Having tight relationships with Nordic talents, allowing them to grow internationally is a way for us to be involved in international projects. We want to be a home for talents. They should feel that we stay by their side, in any situation.

Also we continuously invest in talent. Nordisk Film Spring for instance is part of that strategy. We have gained valuable experience in that field in Denmark, thanks to Lina Flint [Head of Nordisk Film Spring and producer of The Guilty] and have plans for talent set-up in Norway and Sweden.

What is your overall vision to steer Nordisk Film Production in the new decade in the face of fierce competition and disruption from global streaming services?
HZ: We see more opportunities than threats. Nordisk Film has been around for more than 100 years. We produce low and high budget projects, and high quality is our priority. We have the luxury to be able to wait for a project to be mature before launching it. Although there is more pressure on the market, we see new financial models, different genres, formats and technologies, virtual reality, gaming developing, amazing new ways to tell stories. Talents are open to working across territories and formats and the industry is also more open, taking down silos. But film in cinemas will remain our core focus.

What major Nordisk Film projects can we look forward to watching on big and small screens?
HZ: 2020 is looking good in Sweden, with Mårten Klingberg’s My Father Marianne currently number one and we’ll have Amanda Kernell’s Sundance film Charter on screens very soon.

In Norway, we have the English/Norwegian language fantasy film Mortal by André Øvredal [now in cinemas] and are about to start shooting Erik Skjoldbjærgs WW2 drama Narvik-Hitler’s First Defeat [working title]. Then in Denmark, we’re looking forward to Martin Zandvliet’s The Marco Effect based on Jussi-Adler Olsen’s best-selling novels.