Until the end of 2018, the Danish executive will split her time between her new position and current job as Head of Post Graduate Training at The National Film School of Denmark. The newly created Film Institute or ‘Filmshúsið has an annual budget of DKK 1 million from the Ministry of Trade to attract foreign productions and market the arislands internationally, and an extra DKK 2 million from the Ministry of Culture for film production.

Sørensen’s appointment comes at a time when the Faroese film and media industry is starting to emerge, with the recently introduced 25% tax incentive to attract foreign shoots, and a new generation of directors and producers. Rising talent Sakaris Stórá’s first feature Dreams by the Sea - produced by the local company Fish & Film, with Denmark’s Adomeit Film, was the first feature length film using a majority of local cast and crew. The film has toured several festivals and opened in Danish cinemas in February. At the last MIPTV, another Faroese project, the crime drama Trom based on a novel by Jógvan Isaksen was pitched by local producer/writer Torfinnur Jakupsson.

Sørensen said: “The Faroe Islands have an amazing unspoilt and untouched scenery, which attracted recently Wim Wenders for his film Submergence; and the small country with its 50,000 strong population is enjoying a cultural outbreak. I am confident we can develop a local media infrastructure, attract inward investment and lift its talent pool.”