Norway ready to sign European co-production Convention
by Annika Pham
Nina Refseth, head of the Norwegian Film Institute (NFI), is in Cannes this week to meet with her European counterparts and to tell them that the ratification by the Norwegian government of the European Convention on Cinematographic Co-Production is “around the corner”.
“This means it could happen by August or, hopefully, before our elections on September 14,” specified Refseth. “Joining the European Co-production Convention will make a huge different for Norwegian producers. So far, it’s been a problem for them to find production partners in Europe outside the Nordic region. With the Convention in place, it will be much easier and it will make Norwegian producers more attractive for minority co-productions. Now we can move on.”
The Norwegian government made it clear it would soon commit to the Council of Europe’s Film Treaty by sending a letter of intent to the production company 4 ½ , who needed the document to proceed with Marius Holst’s upcoming €5m film Bastoy, co-produced with Swedish, Polish, and French partners.
The NFI’s focus this year in Cannes on Norwegian Producers was one way to tell the rest of Europe that Norway will soon be the 40th country to join the Convention club. Sweden and Denmark joined in 1994, Finland in 1995 and Iceland in 1997.
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