01/04/2008

Today is a historic day for the Norwegian film industry with the official first day of activity of the new Norwegian Film Institute (NFI), the centralised film organisation under the aegis of managing director Nina Refseth.

During yesterday’s press conference at Oslo’s Film Hus celebrating the launch of the NFI, Norway’s Minister of Culture Trond Giske spoke of “the biggest organisational change ever in the in history of Norwegian cinema”.

Refseth, who was appointed several months ago at the head of the Institute, said: “The NFI is the legitimate child of White Paper Number 22 on Norwegian film and will be a tool for implementing the objective of making 25 feature films per year.”

The new institute – which replaces the former Norwegian Film Institute (previously responsible for the promotion and preservation of Norwegian films), the Norwegian Film Fund and the Norwegian Film Development Agency – will be overseen by a Board of Directors appointed by the Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs. The Board’s chairman Kristenn Einarsson as well as four of the eight members of the NFI board were already part of a Film Committee that in 2006 wrote a crucial report, then used by the government to write its White Paper on Norwegian cinema.

Those four board members are Nina Grünfeld, director of the Westerdal School of Communication; Henning Camre, former head of the Danish Film Institute, now president of the Think Tank on European Film; producer Aage Aaberge, head of local production house Neo Film; and Solvår Amdahl, director of Midnorst Film Centre.

Other NFI board members include filmmaker Lisa Marie Gamlem, novelist Eirik Ildahl, previous State Secretary Randi Øverland and manager Morten Andreassen.

The NFI has an annual budget for operating costs of over NOK 100m (approximately €12.4m) and NOK 300m (€37m) for film support.

Ivar Køhn, former feature film consultant for the Norwegian Film Fund, is now head of the NFI Production and Development department. Jan Graff is the new head of administration; Mia Lindrup, who oversaw Film and Audience at the old Norwegian Film Institute, is now head of Audience; and Mette Tharaldsen will head the Information department.