The Nordic producers' associations join forces in 2026, especially to secure ongoing funding for film and TV, as each country faces an increasingly cost-conscious environment.

The four Nordic producers' associations have teamed up to share best practices, especially to secure ongoing funding for film and TV, as each country faces similar challenges in a cost-sensitive environment, where Nordic producers compete with resourceful global players to deliver high-quality content.

At a Nordic Meet-up in Copenhagen in November, Johan Holmer and Sanna Thiel from Film & TV Producenterna, Åse Kringstad from Virke Produsentforeningen, and Laura Kuulasmaa from APFI joined Danish host Anna Porse Nielsen to discuss challenges and share insights across borders. The agenda touched on future funding, producers' framework conditions, and ways to strengthen Nordic collaboration.

The Nordics have a long tradition of cross-border financial collaboration, with companies such as SF Productions, Nordisk Film, Miso Film, Bacon Production, New Land, and BBC Studios Nordic Productions among others.

Additionally, nearly all Nordic productions rely on Nordic co-financing, and it’s time to strengthen these ties, suggested Anna Porse Nielsen, setting the scene: "We experience the same challenges in a difficult financing environment. To continue performing at the highest level, we need to address the challenges. Both Nordic and international cooperation are central," Porse Nielsen said. “Our markets are small, and we are highly dependent on political interest and an understanding that they must safeguard vulnerable financial ecosystems. In return, we provide content of the highest quality, which we can all be proud of," Porse Nielsen said.

“The Nordic countries possess talent, expertise, and a strong international reputation,” Johan Holmer told NFTVF. “As small language regions, we depend on both public initiatives and cooperation within the Nordic sphere. With the right public measures and a supportive co-production environment, we can finance productions, preserve recordings, and enhance our international competitiveness. This is the goal we want to continue working towards.”

In Sweden, current developments revolve around the film inquiry which is now under review by the government. The report suggests reforms in new financing methods, such as reducing VAT on cinema tickets, reinstating a cinema fee, and introducing a co-financing fee for streaming services. In September, the inquiry also released a report with key proposals concerning illegal IPTV. “Both proposals for financing reforms and for illegal IPTV are important for the industry and for Sweden,” Holmer said.

From the Finnish perspective, all Nordic countries face a challenging market environment, with a global recession impacting both advertising markets and paid subscriptions, prompting cost awareness among commissioners.APFI’s Laura Kuulasmaa is confident that media and film agreements in each country, soon to be renewed, will provide a long-term outlook for the industry and demonstrate the state's commitment.

“We don’t have similar media and film agreements in Finland as in the other Nordics, but I believe we can build on our growth strategy and growth deal when promoting more concrete actions, such as implementing the AVMS directive,” Kuulasmaa told NFTVF, referring to the implementation of the AVMS directive (article 13.2), i.e. the investment obligation on streamers (culture levy), which will bring new funding to the market from January 2027.“

Although we were able to get the government to cancel the cuts to culture funding this autumn (Including €5,5m from the Finnish Film Foundation funding), the state's financial situation will not improve soon. We need to continue defending culture funding as well,” Kuulasmaa said.