26/04/2005

In a press release published yesterday, the Norwegian Film Fund (NFF) announced that the UK had put an end to its bilateral co-production treaty with Norway signed in 1983. Although no official announcement has yet been made on the UK side, the UK Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) responsible for film said last February that they wanted to propose to Norway to end their bi-lateral agreement "at the next renewal date (24 May)". According to the NFF, the agreement has already been broken four times and only three UK/Norway co-productions have been made since 1983: Two small feature films: the action thriller The Dive (1989) and the Jamaican romantic comedy One Love (2003) as well as the critically applauded Aberdeen (2000) by Hans Peter Molland starring Stellan Skarsgård, Ian Hart and Charlotte Rampling. The film shot in Scotland was co-produced by Norsk Films and Freeway Films.

The NFF says that the decision taken by the British government puts into focus the fact that Norway has not ratified the European Convention on Co-production for Cinematographic works, although it does respects the spirit of the Convention. The Fund wants the Norwegian Ministry of Culture to tackle the issue as soon as possible.
The bilateral co-production agreement with the UK which entered into force on 24 May 1983 applies to theatrical films made by one or more UK producers in conjunction with one or more Norwegian producers. The minimum financial contribution of a co-producer is 20%, and the total production costs of a co-production film should not be less than £150,000 or NRK 1,500,000.
Norway has only one other bilateral co-production agreement with Canada.