for Co-financing of Documentaries

Malmö, Sweden, 22-24 September 2013

In 2013 Nordisk Forum celebrated its 20^th edition as an invaluable annual meeting place for documentary producers, commissioning editors from TV, film institutes and regional film funds, as well as international distributors and sales agents.

The 20^th Nordisk Forum took place in Malmö, Sweden during three days, 22-24 September. 260 professionals from 19 different countries attended the event.

Producers Meet Producers
Nordisk Forum kicked off on Sunday 22 September with the full-day networking event Producers Meet Producers, created to strengthen the potential for future co-productions. Featuring snappy presentations, tailored match-making and round table discussions. 33 selected producers got the chance to present themselves and their ambitions to each other.

Dutch Delegation
To facilitate connections outside the Nordic countries, Nordisk Forum welcomed a small Dutch delegation to the event. Nine Dutch producers were invited to meet with the Nordics at Producers Meet Producers where representatives from Dutch television, distribution and the film fund outlined the Dutch production landscape.

The Dutch delegation was arranged in co-operation with Documentary Consultant Pieter Fleury from The Netherlands Film Fund, and also welcomed commissioning editors from Dutch television to the pitching and meeting tables. One Dutch project was selected for the Nordisk Forum pitch, while two Dutch projects were selected in the observer+ category, giving access to scheduled meetings with decision-makers.

Observer+
For the third year, the observer+ category gave selected observers access to meetings with decision-makers. Observers who had applied with a project and had been selected by a selection committee were able to request meetings with decision-makers and experts through the Nordisk Forum booking system, to ensure the quality of the matchmaking. 21 projects were selected in the observer+ category.

Regular observers without a selected project were still free to approach decision-makers for meetings, if decision-makers had an available slot in their meeting schedule and many meetings were organised by producers on the spot.

Pitching and Meetings
In addition to the 19 regular pitches, Nordisk Forum presented the five Nordic Wildcards to boost the element of innovation and surprise. One project from each of the five Nordic countries was brought to our attention by the documentary consultants at the Nordic film institutes because of their novel qualities. The filmmakers and their projects all had a most positive response from the forum attendees.

The pitching sessions were moderated by Gitte Hansen, Deputy Director, First Hand Films (Switzerland) and Mikael Opstrup, Head of Studies, EDN (Denmark).

In the afternoons, time was set aside for individual meetings - totalling 435 arranged by the Nordisk Forum Staff. On top of this, many meetings happened on the spot.

Nordisk Forum Online
Nordisk Forum Online featured profiles of all participants at the forum, with detailed profiles of decision-makers available alongside project info and trailers in addition to our online submission of meeting requests. NF Online opened four weeks before the physical forum, giving all delegates a chance to prepare before the event. The platform stays open until April the following year in order for participants to follow up with connections made.

Financiers and Distributors
Besides 50 Nordic and international financiers, 15 international distributors, sales agents and experts were available for meetings, sharing their knowledge about the film and television market, giving advice about a projects' potential in terms of distribution. They all introduced themselves to the accredited Nordisk Panorama participants on the first night of the forum, before the two days of pitching and meetings.