Trondheim, Norway and Karlskrona, Sweden are the unique locations for this year’s Producers Workshop event, under the banner of the European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs organisation.

Since 1988 and its instigation, the European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs organisation, EAVE, has gained steadily growing renown as one of the leading training programmes for producers in Europe, specialising in professional training, project development and networking. From the head quarters in Luxembourg and via partners all over the world, a number of acclaimed programmes are organised under the EAVE banner. A true flagship is the annual EAVE Producers Workshop, spread over three week-long instalments, traditionally starting out in Luxembourg in March and then moving on to two unique locations for the June and October sessions. For the 2024 edition, these sites are Trondheim, Norway and Karlskrona, Sweden.

After the kick-off in Trondheim June 7th, and playing out until June 14th, the second 2024 session will host 56 participants from 36 countries and 12 scriptwriters with a selection of 30 top industry experts. National partners to the event are FilmInvest, the Norwegian Film Institute, Midtnorsk Filmsenter, Filmfond Nord, Sørnorsk Filmsenter, Midtgard Film Commission, Norwegian Film Commission, MEDIA Desk Norway, and Virke Produsentforeningen. Coordinating the event are Norwegian producer and national EAVE coordinator Gary Cranner, Mantra Film and Bacon Pictures. Cranner, himself an alumnus, shared a few thoughts on this year’s Nordic-focused programme in particular, as well as the EAVE universe in general.

Let’s freshen up on the procedures of the EAVE Producers Workshop. What are the focal points in the three respective annual sessions?

The spring session mainly deals with project development. Workshop two, the summer session, focuses on project development and financing. The autumn session is split into two parts, one with group exercises and then one involving various decision makers, who get presented with projects in various degrees of development to possibly partner up with. This third session is a kind of “mini market” with producers, sales agents, television representatives and the likes. It’s a “softer” situation than a Berlin or a Cannes, and more on the pedagogical side of things, where you can “simulate” being at one of the main markets, approaching very real decision makers, and indeed future partners, which often has been the case. And right now we are in the summer session, and talk a lot about financing and also marketing.

What are some highlights this year, for Trondheim?

A very good mixture, I’d say. We’ve just had a two-day local workshop with eleven Norwegian producers, with group work, script consultancies and plenary sessions and networking. The quality was very high. We had a very good talk by director-producer Arash T. Riahi called “Challenges of Working with Talent (& how to solve them)”, on working with the creative side of a project from a producer’s perspective. “Working with Investors and Strategic Recoupment” has been another topic. This is essential for emerging producers looking to make it to the next level. The programme is very well tailored in order to meet all sorts of challenges, also in an early stage of a career. We will have a case study on a forthcoming project called About a Hero, a film that draws from the works of Werner Herzog via AI technology. Most certainly it will incite a discussion on this topic, which is all around us, and will raise ethical questions that we as an industry must address. Another ethical theme we explore is the issues when it comes to international co-productions and getting an equitable balance when a country with well-functioning film politics collaborates with a smaller country with no national or local funding programme. This situation demands some common decency and fair conduct when it comes to ethics, so that the “big” country doesn’t dominate the production. On a more joyful note, Halfdan Ullmann Tøndelwill be here and show his Cannes Caméra d'Or winner Armand, and will also give a case study lecture on this film for the scriptwriters.

Is it fair to assume that the Norwegian Film Institute shows a good interest in initiatives like these?

They have provided considerable support. We can consider ourselves very lucky in Norway that we have a film institute which shows great interest in and see the value of programmes for producers and other film industry participants. They regard it as a clear and dear priority. Significant mention will also go out to Filminvest, the regional fund, which has made the largest supportive contribution to these Trondheim sessions.

One gets the impression that the full Nordic region has a solid attachment within the EAVE universe – wouldn’t you agree?

Well, for one thing, EAVE has a Danish Head of Studies, Lise Lense-Møller, so we are well represented in the top organisation. Many of the Nordic EAVE alumni are pushing to develop the local industry further, and are also producing great films. I’m quite certain of the fact that this year, with its two EAVE Workshops in Nordic countries, will have a further strengthening effect on our community, within our European community, which is also very strong.

An additional Trondheim workshop session – Producing with Norway – will take place in the presence of Stig Bech, FilmInvest, EAVE participant Benedikte Danielsen, Norwegian Film Institute, Elin Kristensen, Midtnorsk Filmsenter, Kjetil Omberg, Norwegian Film Institute, and Solveig Ræstad, Midgard Film Commission.

The autumn instalment, session three of 2024, will take place in Karlskrona in Sweden, October 14 – 21, with Henrik JP Åkesson Ruben, Filmnode Blekinge, acting as local coordinator. Ten Nordic producers participate in the workshops, with five of them presenting new projects:

Erik Andersson, Läsk, Sweden
Benedikte Danielsen, Norwegian Film Institute, Norway
Caroline Drab, BCD Film, Sweden – project: Puvk
Malin Hüber, HER Film, Sweden – project: Altera
Eliza Jones, Grand Slam Film, Sweden – project: My Best Friend's Baby (Min bästa väns bebis)
Inuk Jørgensen, Sweden
Mette Mikkelsen, New Tales, Denmark – project: The Last Dance
Marta Mleczek, Profile Pictures, Denmark
Thorvald Nilsen, Indie Film Bergen, Norway – project: The Lions at the River Tigris
Ilona Tolmunen, MADE, Finland

Participating Nordic experts in 2024 are:

EAVE Head of Studies Lise Lense-Møller, Magic Hour Films, Denmark
EAVE Script Consultant Nayeem Mahbub, Sweden/Bangladesh
EAVE Legal Expert Katrine Schlüter Schierbeck, Law Factory, Denmark
EAVE Expert Petri Kemppinen, P1 Kemppinen, Finland
Guest Expert Peter Bille Krogh, European Collection Agency, Denmark
Guest Expert EAVE graduate Emile Hertling Péronard, Ánorâk Film/Polarama, Greenland
Guest Expert EAVE graduate Matti Halonen, Wolfberry Film, Finland
Guest Expert EAVE graduate Rikke Tambo Andersen, Tambo Film, Denmark
Guest Expert writer-director Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel, Norway

For more information: CLICK HERE.