Göteborg Film Festival and Nordisk Film & TV Fond announce five Nordic drama series for the NOK 200,000 (€20,000) Nordic drama series screenwriting award.

For the eighth consecutive year, the Nordisk Film & TV Fond funded award for outstanding writing of a Nordic drama series will be presented during TV Drama Vision, Göteborg Film Festival’s conference event and series market.

Five drama series from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden have been nominated for the prize, which will be awarded to the main writer(s).

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The winner(s) will be announced at an award ceremony on the evening of January 30, 2024.

Liselott Forsman, CEO at Nordisk Film & TV Fond says:
 “In the current, tough times for the drama series industry, we need to celebrate the excellence of writing more than ever. The five nominated series help us understand troubled families and our troubled societies through unique and renewing storytelling. On behalf of the Fund, I want to congratulate all the great talents, whom I look forward to seeing on stage in connection to the competition, which once again is arranged in such good collaboration with TV Drama Vision.”

Cia Edström, Head of TV Drama Vision at Göteborg Film Festival says:
“The selection truly highlights the diverse excellence of Nordic drama and creative talent within the region and gives hope for the future of Nordic storytelling.”

The 2023 Nordisk Film & TV Fond Prize winner was writer Kenneth Karlstad for the Norwegian drama Kids in Crime.

TV Drama Vision runs from January 30–31, 2024 at the new festival venue, Hotel Draken. Read more here. The 47th Göteborg Film Festival takes place from January 26 until February 4, 2024.

Nominated series are:

  • Estonia
    Finland, 8x45’
    Nominated writer: Miikko Oikkonen
    Co-writers: Sanna Reinumägi, Olli Suitiala, Tuomas Hakola
    Broadcasters: MTV, TV4
    Produced by: Fisher King
    Producer: Tarja Ahava
    Executive Producers: Matti Halonen, Johannes Lassila, Miikko Oikkonen
    Directors: Måns Månsson, Juuso Syrjä
    International sales: Beta Film
    Premiere: October 12, 2023

    Estonia tells the story of the tragic disaster of the car ferry MS Estonia in the autumn of 1994 and the subsequent investigation. The fictional series is based on real events and explores through the personal stories of the victims, survivors, loved ones, and investigators how it is possible that 852 people lost their lives and no one can be held accountable.
  • Descendants (Heima er best)
    Iceland, 6x45’
    Nominated writer: Tinna Hrafnsdóttir
    Co-writers: Ottó Geir Borg, Tyrfingur Tyrfingsson
    Broadcaster: Síminn
    Produced by: Freyja Filmwork, Polarama, Projects
    Co-producer: Lunanime
    Producers: Guðný Guðjónsdóttir, Tinna Hrafnsdóttir, Kidda Rokk
    Director: Tinna Hrafnsdóttir
    Nordic sales: Tengsl ehf.
    Benelux sales: Lumiere
    Sales rest of the world: Red Arrow International
    Premiere: November 2, 2023

    After the banking crisis, tourism emerged as a profitable opportunity. Challenges arise when three siblings inherit a thriving whale-watching company and the summerhouse built by their parents. Navigating collective decisions regarding a shared legacy becomes intricate, and as they resort to manipulation in defining their entitlements, old wounds open, leading to dire consequences.
  • Painkiller
    Sweden, 6x30’
    Nominated writers: Johan Lundborg and Gabriela Pichler
    Broadcaster: SVT
    Produced by: Garagefilm International AB
    Producer: Anna-Maria Kantarius
    Director: Gabriela Pichler
    Nordic & international sales: Reinvent
    Premiere: January 26, 2024 (SVT Play), January 29, 2024 (SVT)

    Dijana is a proud Balkan mom and retired cleaner. Her daughter Andrea is officially a successful artist, but unofficially still living with her mom. The desire for self-realization has never touched a single cell in Dijana's body. She loves her daughter boundlessly but despises her "job.” When healthcare fails to help Dijana with her chronic pain, Andrea decides to treat her mom herself – and Dijana becomes the involuntary protagonist in her daughter's new art project.
  • Power Play (Makta)
    Norway, 6x55’
    Nominated writer: Johan Fasting, Silje Storstein and Kristin Grue
    Broadcaster: NRK
    Produced by: Motlys, Novemberfilm
    Producers: Camilla Brusdal, Vilje Kathrine Hagen
    Director: Yngvild Sve Flikke
    Nordic sales: NRK
    International sales: Reinvent
    Premiere: October 29, 2023

    The year is 1974. The setting is 2023. Power Play is a never before seen drama about a crucial turning point in political history based on truth, lies and bad memory. When the Labour Party is torn apart by a disastrous feud between the Chairman and the Prime Minister, the young idealist Gro Harlem Brundtland is unwillingly pulled into the tactics and scheming of modern politics. As the government implodes around her, Gro learns to play her own games of power, climbing the ranks until she is left the last woman standing in the ruins of Labour’s celebrated social democracy.
  • Prisoner (Huset)
    Denmark, 6x59’
    Nominated writer: Kim Fupz Aakeson
    Broadcaster: DR
    Produced by: DR Drama
    Producer: Rikke Tørholm Kofoed
    Directors: Frederik Louis Hviid, Michael Noer
    Nordic & international sales: DR Sales
    Premiere: September 1, 2023

    Prisoner depicts the life and work of four prison officers - Sammi, Henrik, Miriam, and Gert. The story starts when they are forced to thoroughly investigate to save their jobs. The prison will close unless they correct the bad press, hierarchy, and drug trade. The investigation turns into a battle for survival - not only for the prison but for everyone inside and outside the walls.