The Norwegian winners of the first Creative Courage award describe their collaboration

The Creative Courage award celebrates the brave producer-commisioner collaboration behind a quality series that pushes creative boundaries. The first-ever recipients of the award, presented by Nordisk Film and TV Fond during the Göteborg Film Festival, are Maipo Film’s producers Synnøve Hørsdal and Petter Onstad Løkke, along with NRK’s Head of Drama Marianne Furevold-Boland and Executive Producer Alec Thom. The award honours their collaboration on the 7-episode Norwegian drama series Dates in Real Life.

Dates in Real Life is written and directed by Jakob Rørvik, and produced by Maipo Film. The series follows Ida (Gina Bernhoft Gørvell), a woman in her mid-twenties who spends most of her life online. When she is dumped by her Internet boyfriend Marvin (Jacques Colimon), she has to start looking for a partner in the physical world.

Synnøve and Petter:

• How did you decide that Maipo should to produce this series?

We had seen Jakob Rørvik’s short, and noticed him as a filmmaker. We contacted him, and he immediately came to us with a feature film idea. We developed the feature, and did a short film together first. In this process, he pitched the idea for Dates in Real Life, which we were all very excited about from the start. It was a relevant and innovative take on gaming and VR, which at the time had received much negative focus. Jakob wanted to create a story that was more balanced and also highlighted the social and positive sides of VR. NRK came on board relatively early, and gave us funding to develop some episodes and the storyline for the series.

At the time, the Norwegian Film Institute (NFI) had a scheme for TV drama pilot development with a focus on original series. We were lucky enough to receive funding, which gave us the opportunity to create a 10-15 minute test that included VR scenes. The various partners we gained along the way all questioned or were very unsure about how the VR scenes would work. This test demonstrated that it was possible to tell a story using VR while still maintaining an emotional connection in the scenes set in VR.

• How was the series then greenlit, and how was the collaboraion with NRK?

We made our first development deal with NRK in September 2018. There were three steps of development with NRK, and although it was a long period, NRK has been supportive of our wish to make a genuine and original series set in this particular environment. VR and gaming was, and still is, quite alien to most people, but Marianne and Alec have always supported the idea and stayed true to the characters and the vision we had. Others suggested that we should remove most of the VR scenes and have it be something our character did, rather than something the audience experienced alongside her.

After NRK made a formal decision to commission the show in early 2022, and we secured N12 later that year, we were fortunate enough to receive support from Nordisk Film & TV Fond and NFI. With this, and Dynamic on board for world sales, we were able to greenlight the project.

Marianne and Alec:

• How did you know that you wanted to commission the series?

Dates in Real Life is a love story set in a unique universe. The series takes a sincere and thoughtful approach to exploring a way of life rarely seen on Norwegian screens. By portraying these kinds of relationships and love stories, we believe NRK is fulfilling its commitment to reflecting the diversity and contemporary realities of our time.

It is essential for us to create content that feels both relevant and authentic to our audience. We envisioned this series as one that could foster identification, curiosity, reflection, and engagement among viewers. Creating distinctive dramas is at the heart of what we do, and Dates In Real Life is a true testament to that mission. It was an obvious choice to move forward with its development.

• How was the collaboration with Maipo?

A key premise for a successful partnership and collaboration is that the production company, the producer, and we as the broadcaster, share the same vision and see the same potential in a project. We must have a common sense of ownership and ambition. It is crucial to foster trust and delegate responsibility, but this must be grounded in a clear and shared foundation. And we must be in it together, from start to finish. So yes, we work closely with the producer, but we do not dictate.

NRK and Maipo:

• What were the biggest learnings or surprises from the process?

Marianne and Alec: We were curious to see if it was possible to create emotional identification with the storylines and the dilemmas our characters faced, given how much of the action unfolded in VR. However, it turned out to be a universe where resonance, recognition, and affirmation were easily found. The fact that avatars were the ones experiencing joys and sorrows became entirely irrelevant.

Synnøve and Petter: We’re not sure it was a surprise, but shooting the VR was probably the most challenging and where we encountered the biggest surprises. Shooting a series like this, with a mix of live action and VR, was not something anyone had much experience with, so some of it involved learning by doing. We had some very good partners who were experienced in VR and did a fantastic job, but the shoot itself became much more time-consuming than we had anticipated. Dates in Real Life has one writer and director who handled everything on his own, without a co-writer or co-director, which meant he was under constant time pressure. However, it also meant that his vision and idea were carried out in every detail, and we are very proud of the result.

• What could help Nordic players dare more when producing and commissioning?

Marianne and Alec: To create unique stories that break through the massive stream of media content that audiences are exposed to, you must be willing to innovate, and to innovate you must take risks. And in order to take risks, there must be a high level of trust. Therefore, it is essential for us as broadcasters to establish and maintain strong bonds of trust between the broadcaster, talents, and producer.

Synnøve and Petter: We think daring means doing things you don’t have the answers to. Doing things where you don’t know the outcome. With the pressure in the industry at the moment, commissioners seek security — things that have worked in the past. Understandably so, but you’re not likely to find the next big thing, and certainly not create innovation. Instead, you risk producing replicas of earlier shows, and the audience will lose interest, as they’ve seen it all before. You also have to accept the occasional failure if you choose to be more daring, but it will be rewarded with moments of greatness!

Official trailer:

Motivation for the award:

“It is funny, ironic, and touching. The first-ever Creative Courage series award goes to a brave producer-commissioner collaboration that has brought something wonderfully fresh to our Nordic industry. This inspiring series renews the romantic comedy genre, combines animation with live-action and offers an insightful take on dating in a world where a virtual life might feel safer than a real one. Thank you, NRK and Maipo, for making Jakob Rørvik’s series Dates in Real Life happen, to the joy of us all.”

The winner was selected by Liselott Forsman, CEO Nordisk Film & TV Fond, and Cia Edström, Head of TV Drama Vision, Göteborg Film Festival.