11/07/2024 - We spoke to the Norwegian distributor, who touched on his company’s editorial policy, his country’s theatrical market and the role of festivals, among other topics

In our July Distributor of the Month interview, we headed north to chat to Frank L Stavik, a veteran film-industry professional and distributor at Norway’s Fidalgo. During our conversation, we covered the company’s operations, some of its recent acquisitions and the current climate for theatrical sales, among other topics.

Cineuropa: Could you please touch on your company’s editorial policy and how the firm is staffed?
Frank L Stavik: Fidalgo has been in the distribution business since late 1990, and our focus is on arthouse titles, preferably with A-list festival credentials and awards. Sometimes, we also pick up slightly more mainstream films, provided they are of good quality.

The company was taken over by my late colleague, Arild Fröyseth, and myself at that time, and shifted its focus from video distribution to theatrical distribution of high-end films. Our first title – and success – was Aki Kaurismäki’s Leningrad Cowboys Go America.

Starting from 2013, Fernanda Rennó joined the company, so at the moment, it is she and I who are running Fidalgo. In order to manage [things] with such a small team, we have outsourced and digitised many aspects of our business, including PR, advertising and accounting, so that we can focus on the distribution process itself.

What are some of the recent titles you've been working on?
Lately, we’ve distributed Matteo Garrone’s Io capitano [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], Christopher Zalla’s Radical, Pascal Plante’s Red Rooms, Amanda Nell Eu’s Tiger Stripes [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Amanda Nell Eu
film profile] and Anna Hints’ [LUX Audience Award-nominated] Smoke Sauna Sisterhood [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Anna Hints
film profile].

How has the split of income changed between theatrical and other sources of revenue over the last few years? 
Theatrical is becoming more and more important, as TV sales are basically non-existent – Norwegian public TV prefers commercial flicks to arthouse films – and video [revenues] are negligible.

What about your relationship with the audience? What are the main specificities of Norway’s exhibition market?
The audience is getting older, and that’s been the case for a very long time. Therefore, connecting the younger audience with these titles is seemingly becoming an impossible task. But we cannot stop trying. The Norwegian market used to be different, as almost all of our cinemas were publicly owned, and arthouse titles were playing alongside the big, commercial films. Since the commercialisation of the exhibitors here, we have also seen that the interest in smaller films is waning; today, it’s more about popcorn than it is about art. However, there are still some defenders of the seventh art, but in general, commercial thinking is now prevalent.

Could you please touch on some of your most successful campaigns?
We would have to go quite some way back in time… The most recent one that did okay was the launch of the Danish film Rose [by Niels Arden Oplev] in 2022. That film received great reviews and recorded a decent result, with around 15,000 admissions. Before that, we had another Danish film in 2019, [Hella Joof’s] Happy Ending [+see also:
trailer
film profile], racking up about 8,000 admissions.

Are key festivals and markets still important?
Yes, they’re vital! The most important is usually Cannes; then we are hoping for a revival of Berlin under the new management after many dismal years. Venice is good, and we are also very fond of Thessaloniki and Busan. A new kid on the block is Bishkek, which has the potential to become very interesting for Central Asian films. In addition, we are participating in a lot of national screenings and markets, like Ventana Sur, Málaga, Italian Screenings and German Films Previews, plus many more events.

How do you think the role of distributors is developing within a European context?
When it comes to arthouse films, I believe local distributors are absolutely essential if you want your movie to travel and be seen theatrically. Without these, films will be restricted to festivals and online distribution. You need the local expertise to put features in cinemas, and as long as that is the goal, you cannot get by without the locally based distributors in each country. They’ve got the knowledge, the contacts and the passion!