All right. Shit happens! And I know how the organisers, with their sense of professionalism, feel right now after an award ceremony that was supposed to be “a festive Gala” but was spoilt by technical problems. Here in Copenhagen, in my armchair, with my usual slippers that I have also used for many workshops, when these have taken place in hotels where you stay and work, I saw the wonderful host Nadia Jebril alone in the town hall in Malmö, where I was in persona last year. She was presenting one award after the other. I heard her voice, I saw the nominees, I heard the jurors saying who were the winners, but their lips were not moving. It was like a stop motion animation film. The same for the winners in their homes thanking. A classic dramaturgy for an award ceremony, in this case damaged by technical problems. The organisers recognised the mistakes and ask you to go

to https://www.facebook.com/NordiskPanoramaFilm/videos/779104632910601

if you want to see the award ceremony in the right speed and with image and sound synchron.

Please do so! They deserve it. 

And for the awards, “The Painter and the Thief” by Norwegian Benjamin Ree got the main award. No objections!

«Tamara is a feminist but also a hopeless romantic in love with a Catholic man with whom she shares few beliefs. Sierzput has just won his girlfriend back but is struggling to hold on to her. And out of sheer boredom, Ponek has broken her own rule and has started sleeping with her friends. A love letter to people in their late twenties, where many are waiting for adulthood only to realise it has already arrived.» The words are taken from the catalogue of Nordisk Panorama 2020, about this film that is in the competition section “New Nordic Voice”.

I was puzzled: Why a Polish film in the Nordisk Panorama? I had to go to the Q&A to get the answer. Here Martijn te Pajs, festival programmer and an excellent conversation partner for the young DANISH director, helped me. Karl Forchhammer explained that he had studied in Prague and at the National Film School in England and had filmed «Last Days of Summer» in Warsaw.

I like the Central European culture, Karl Forchhammer said but considers this to be a very Polish film as well. I agree, knowing films by Piotr Stasik and other Polish coming out from the Wajda film school. It has nerve, rythm, it catches moments of intensity and I believe that the world can look like that in a bohemian environment, where cigarettes are smoked constantly, as well as joints, with a lot of bottles in hand and on the tables, with a sex scene, and a lot of sex being discussed, and what is love – «the last days of summer» – what comes after, as the director said in the Q&A. “It was of course a privilege for me – having the same age as the three protagonists – to be able to sit there with them for a week or two without shooting.”

Watch the film, it would not surprise me if there is an award for it. Anyway the director shows big cinematic talent and sensibility, support him!

https://nordiskpanorama.com/en/festival/

Two days. 20 projects presented. I attended them all online as an observer. From my armchair. And had fewer sighs and shaking my head in disappointment than when the Forum is alive. Why… Maybe because I had close-ups on my screen of the moderators, the pitching teams and the broadcasters and film fund consultants. Instead of sitting far away from the action, in an observer’s seat in a big hall.

The moderators did a very fine job – Gitte Hansen’s face always readable: Here is an emotional project, here is something that could be fun to watch, and sceptical (with good reason), when some of the panelists did not really deliver what she wanted. The same with Mikael Opstrup who also contributed with quick reactions to what was said. Why less irritated… Maybe also, no because it is so important that documentarians meet in tough times, both those who make or support the films and those, who are waiting for good films to be broadcast.

Those pitching were in general well prepared and appreciated that some came 

to the trailer/teaser quickly and that some put in some passion in their talks. I was again thinking that we could do without the end comments, “we are looking for coproductions and pre-sales…”, of course they do, why not just say “ we are looking for funding and (very few said that) creative help”. On the other hand, in terms of pitching, it also still surprises me that so many need a script to look at. It makes a presentation more stiff when your language is written language.

And the responders to the pitch –  they were all very positive, “thank you for the pitch” (I am fed up with that start sentence!) and then some comments, best when they asked questions that reflected some doubts. It is difficult to say something very brief, you need to be prepared, to have read the project in beforehand, watched the material, listen carefully to the verbal presentation. 

Anyway, here is a handful of film projects that made me curious, you can check the details on the Forum’s website, link below:

Calendar Girls, Sweden – because of the original subject, “coming of old age story”, women over 60 in a dance team. The teaser presented what they do and think about as they are getting closer to the end, with humour – and indicated cinematic skills.

The Eclipse, Norway – because of the teaser, totally different from the 19 other presented, and the subject that interests me a lot: Serbia in 1999, and today. The director, Natasa Urban, born in Serbia, goes to her parents to draw out from them, and from herself, the memories of the crucial war. She wants to shoot on 16mm to give the past a cinematic look, she explained in a very convincing presentation.

The Last Relic, Estonia – because I know the project from before, and the director Marianna Kaat, who will, I am sure , catch the Russian soul after having filmed in Yekaterinburg for years, where a “theatre of the absurd reveals the conflicts between the political movements.” Marianna is very proud to have the Danish editor Jesper Osmund helping her. His name was mentioned several times.

I do salute the Nordisk Panorama system with a Wildcard for each of the countries, where film consultants choose a project to be pitched. The two first mentioned above are wildcards and here is another one that is surprising in content and form, from Iceland:

Band: This is not a Band, Iceland –“… is the make it or break it story of an Icelandic female band that probably will not make it and isn’t really a band”. 40 year old mothers… , a quite funny presentation, visual and verbal, by actress Alfrun Örnaolfsdottir – it helps with an actress pitching – who said that the film follow the women on their journey to, yes to what? They have booked a big hall to perform, but will anyone buy a ticket? Crazy project and crazy it was to have Gréta Olafsdottir from New York saying “just throw some money at them”. It was indeed uplifting to have a wild card as this at the forum.

The Gullspång Miracle, Sweden – because it’s a total wild story about old women, sisters and maybe not sisters, dna tests, paintings on a wall, family secrets, the trailer blew me away, confused me totally but also convinced me that this will be a fantastic family film, full of fun and emotions. Made me curious, and that’s what pitching is there for, right?

… and then of course there were the Swedish “Hacking Hate”, investigative journalism from and about the digital world, very timely, the Danish “The Fake Will – Forgiveness and Redemption”, Sønderby Jepsen’s follow-up to “The Will”, quite a story, and the director is a true storyteller, and the other Danish family film, “The Mountain”, very well presented by Christian Einshøj, no reading from paper, straight from the heart.

The still is from “The Will”, that now is followed by “The Fake Will…”, it’s gonna be a great film, I am sure.

https://nordiskpanorama.com/en/industry/forum/forum-projects/?type=selected

Same procedure as last year – NO:

Online pitching as in many/most of the industry events connected to festivals since March this year. No meetings face-to-face. 10 projects today and 10 tomorrow. 15 minutes per Project. 50% for presentation, 50% for feedback. Business as usual – individual meetings in the afternoon, pre-booked by the Forum staff. And individual meetings later in the afternoon with the North American Decision-Makers, pre-booked as well.

It started at 9 this morning. Moderators were as usual the Danish Gitte Hansen and Mikael Opstrup. Sitting in Malmö. They did not respect the rule of distance, but showed their test results on paper to the camera. Opstrup with the fine Covid-Pass document we make in Denmark, Gitte Hansen with an email from the Swiss authorities; she lives and works in Zürich. Fine to see the two on the screen, much closer than usual. They were fresh, well prepared, enjoying to sit there inviting the filmmakers to present their projects as well as calling for comments from the panelists, i.e broadcasters and film institute/fund consultants. No sales agents or distributors, I guess they will be there for the individual meetings…

I was one of – I think it was mentioned that there were 200 (!) observers. I could see the moderators, the filmmakers and the panelists, who made comments. Sometimes unfortunately with sound and image not being synchronous.

But I could not see, who else was observing. Too many to have on one screen, I guess ! On the website I read the names of those attending, and gosh there are many who – while this is being written – are now busy with the individual meetings.

The panelists – competent veterans like Jenny Westergaard (YLE), Erkko Lyttinen (also YLE, Finland), Charlotte Madsen (SVT, Sweden), Karolina Lidin (Nordic Film/TV Fund), Hanka Kastelicová (HBO Europe), Nathalie Windhorst (VPRO, Holland) – and newcomers like Frank Piasecki Poulsen from the Danish Film Institute, who did his job, positive and straight forward. From the Finnish and Swedish film institutes there were new people, who will have a lot of meetings, I suppose, and learn from that. Also interesting to see what Nils Bökamp can do, film director from Norway, who now works for Netflix. And I liked the energy of Hera Olafsdottir from RUV, the Icelandic television.

Arte, the European Cultural Channel, was there with a representative from NDR/arte, who was asked for comments several times and who was pretty brief saying that « we have no slots for that, sorry ». All right, but some constructive, critical comments or « you should go to my colleague xx » ? OMG is my comment, what happens to Arte.

Another critical point from my side… remember that this public pitch is also a place, where you as an observer can get updated on how broadcasters and film consultants evaluate film projects – content, style, director, production company, film language… I know it’s difficult to be brief but if the comment is only « we have a meeting this afternoon ». What do we observers, the audience get out of it ?

Tomorrow I will write about some of the projects, those that were pitched today and those that will be on screen tomorrow.

Photo is from the Swedish “Calendar Girls”, a project I liked a lot.

https://nordiskpanorama.com/en/industry/forum/forum-2020/forum-programme-2020/

The Swedish animation director had her last work, “Something to Remember”, shown as the opening film at Nordisk Panorama, that runs until September 27 and is accessable for all citizens in the Nordic countries. For free. The film took me by surprise, a masterpiece, 5 minutes long, so I had to watch the previous 3 films she has made. Which I did with the generous addition of a masterclass with the artist, all available with some small clicks on the link below – and an easy creation of an account.

4 films during 11 years. Animal animation. Small puppets – a fish, monkeys, a rabbit, a snail… – put into human situations, in a musical as ”The Burden” (2017) that has won 82 awards ( !!!), 15 minutes long, a dark look at our civilisation, where – as she said in the masterclass – the surrounding is the main character. Dark, yes, yet the characters in this cold world sing and dance to make the burden bearable. Monkeys performs so you think of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers! Hilarious.

Different is ”Tord and Tord” (2010), 10 minutes, based on a short story by Jorun Jonasson, narrated by Thomas Lindholm. ” One day Tord accidently enters the apartment next to his own. A man, also named Tord, has just moved in. Tord and Tord start hanging out together.” Dark, yes, and sad, yes, but again with a subtle humour bringing my thoughts to Samuel Beckett, when the fox and the hare start to reduce their communication to codes – on small pieces of paper put through the letter slot of their doors. At the end there is nothing to say and do.

In 2014 she made ”Bath House”. In the masterclass she mentioned that this is a true Swedish local phenomenon that nowadays is falling apart – and that’s what you see in the film, when a handful of animals enter the institution to make life difficult for the manager, who wants all to be in order.

In the masterclass Niki Lindroth von Bahr talks about her upbringing in an art family, her education as an artist, her troubles with getting funding for her work, her place in the art world and in the film world, they are so very different. The masterclass was sent from Manchester, where she right now is working on a Netflix production.

https://nordiskpanorama.com/en/activity/masterclass-with-niki-lindroth-von-bahr/

This fascinating film premiered at Sundance, is about to go into theatres in Sweden and Norway , and is in the Best Documentary Competition at Nordisk Panorama, that runs until September 27. It’s an amazing story with extraordinary characters with unusual personal backgrounds – it’s a thriller about stolen art, a psychological drama, a love story, shot over years , with characters that develop, to say the least, a dramaturgy that breaks rules, with several twists, it’s lovely off mainstream documentary storytelling. I was hooked from start till end.

It would be wrong of me to reveal totally, where the story goes, not so say where it ends. So, let me give you the starting point: Barbora, Czech painter living in Norway, has two of her paintings stolen from a gallery. One of the thiefs, Karl-Bertil, is identified via surveillance cameras, and in the courtroom the painter goes to the thief to ask if she may paint a portrait of him. They meet, she paints him, her style is photorealism – and the two builds up a strong emotional relationship. He is a drug addict, he can’t remember, where the stolen paintings went, they stay in contact, she helps him, he helps her; the story is told from the angles of them both. Barbora’s boyfriend, Øystein, who took her away from a violent relationship in Berlin, asks her why she is drawn to the destructive that Karl-Bertil represents, and if she is aware of the moral responsibility she takes helping him. The couple seeks therapy help. The un-chronologically told story gives the viewer surprising background information on Karl-Bertil, and the director of the film succeeds to paint (sorry!) a portrait of a man with many faces. Far from the usual “just another junkie”.

A film full of energetic scenes, touching, entertaining. Watch it!

https://nordiskpanorama.com/en/festival/

I was there. Not on the couch, sorry, but in my old armchair (Børge Mogensen, black leather, for you, at least the Danes, to know the quality…) from where I normally watch football on television, with my feet up on a footstool, wearing slippers. Just back from the garden house and the warm September day…

…with my laptop, ready for a festive opening. Anita Reher, the boss of Nordisk Panorama, welcomed with warm words to the filmmakers, the audience, the team behind her and the funders. She then passed the word to Nadia Jebril – Palestinian parents – from Malmö, on her couch, a superb host, who took us through the program in the warming-up for a festival mood, from her couch, including a couple of obligatory talks from funders from the city and the region. All in a very professional and inviting atmosphere…

continue reading…

Two opening films. The first one, five minutes long, «Something to Remember» by Niki Linderoth von Bahr. Magnificent. Big word. But that’s what this short film is. A visual poem with puppets (see the photo), arranged as a “lullaby before the big disaster”. So happy to have been given the chance to leave the documentaries for some few minutes to experience an artist that makes me smile and think about our civilisation exactly like Roy Andersson does. I have seen it a couple of times since this opening, the lyrics, the singing, the décor, “the locations”… I have read that the director has made many short films that have travelled the world, and thank you Nordisk Panorama to give us a retrospective  and a masterclass (on Sunday) with Niki Linderoth von Bahr. Must be a highlight of the festival.

The second film, the documentary “Lady Time” by Finnish Elina Talvensaari, did not catch my attention. The story about Sirkka-Liisa, an old woman who died alone leaving furniture and personal things in the flat that the director moves into, has a very sad tone to match the loneliness of the former resident in the flat. The director investigates her life through family photo albums, letters, diaries – to give her Life. And the director seeks to do so through a visual language that for me very often becomes demonstratively “filmic” and pathetic. In the Q&A, half an hour, where the director talks to festival programmer Cecilia Lidin, she stresses that she felt that she had to include herself in the story, and in some of these moments there is some humour, otherwise I had a hard time to stay with the monotonous bringing to life Sirkka-Liisa, who had a tough but also good life with her husband, and lived alone the last twenty years of her life – she died more than 90 years old. And I have to confess that I – during the watching –  was thinking of the ethics connected to the director opening very private letters from the dead woman, to make her film. Actually I remembered my own hesitation when I sat with my mother’s letters and diaries after her death. Same generation by the way.

www.nordiskpanorama.com