The Nominees for the Nordisk Film & TV Fond Prize 2024 Revealed

Dec. 15, 2023

The Nordisk Film & TV Fond funded award for outstanding writing of a Nordic drama series will be presented during TV Drama Vision, Goteborg Film Festival’s conference event and series market. For the eighth consecutive year, five drama series from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden are nominated for the prize, awarded to the main writer(s).

The winner(s) will be announced at an award ceremony on the evening of January 30, 2024 during TV Drama Vision.

The 2023 Nordisk Film & TV Fond Prize winner was writer Kenneth Karlstad for the Norwegian drama Kids in Crime.

Estonia

Finland, 8x45’ 
Nominated writer: Miikko Oikkonen 
Broadcasters: MTV, TV4 
Produced by: Fisher King 
Producer: Tarja Ahava 
Directors: Måns Månsson, Juuso Syrjä   
International sales: Beta Film 
Premiere: October 12, 2023 

Estonia tells the story of the tragic disaster of the car ferry MS Estonia in the autumn of 1994 and the subsequent investigation. The fictional series is based on real events and explores through the personal stories of the victims, survivors, loved ones, and investigators how it is possible that 852 people lost their lives and no one can be held accountable.

Descendants (Heima er best)

Iceland, 6x45’ 
Nominated writer: Tinna Hrafnsdóttir 
Co-writers: Guðný Guðjónsdóttir, Tinna Hrafnsdóttir, Kidda Rokk 
Broadcaster: Síminn 
Produced by: Freyja Filmwork, Polarama, Projects 
Co-producer: Lunanime 
Producers: Guðný Guðjónsdóttir, Tinna Hrafnsdóttir, Kidda Rokk 
Director: Tinna Hrafnsdóttir 
Nordic sales: Tengsl ehf. 
Benelux sales: Lumiere 
Sales rest of the world: Red Arrow International 
Premiere: November 2, 2023

After the banking crisis, tourism emerged as a profitable opportunity. Challenges arise when three siblings inherit a thriving whale-watching company and the summerhouse built by their parents. Navigating collective decisions regarding a shared legacy becomes intricate, and as they resort to manipulation in defining their entitlements, old wounds open, leading to dire consequences.

Painkiller

Sweden, 6x30’ 
Nominated writers: Johan Lundborg and Gabriela Pichler 
Broadcaster: SVT 
Produced by: Garagefilm International AB 
Producer: Anna-Maria Kantarius 
Director: Gabriela Pichler 
Nordic & international sales: REinvent 
Premiere: January 26, 2024 (SVT Play), January 29, 2024 (SVT) 

Dijana is a proud Balkan mom and retired cleaner. Her daughter Andrea is officially a successful artist, but unofficially still living with her mom. The desire for self-realization has never touched a single cell in Dijana's body. She loves her daughter boundlessly but despises her "job.” When healthcare fails to help Dijana with her chronic pain, Andrea decides to treat her mom herself – and Dijana becomes the involuntary protagonist in her daughter's new art project.

Power Play (Makta)

Norway, 12x55’ 
Nominated writer: Johan Fasting 
Co-writers: Silje Storstein, Kristin Grue 
Broadcaster: NRK 
Produced by: Motlys, Novemberfilm 
Producers: Camilla Brusdal, Vilje Kathrine Hagen 
Director: Yngvild Sve Flikke 
Nordic sales: NRK 
International sales: REinvent 
Premiere: October 29, 2023 

The year is 1974. The setting is 2023. Power Play is a never before seen drama about a crucial turning point in political history based on truth, lies and bad memory. When the Labour Party is torn apart by a disastrous feud between the Chairman and the Prime Minister, the young idealist Gro Harlem Brundtland is unwillingly pulled into the tactics and scheming of modern politics. As the government implodes around her, Gro learns to play her own games of power, climbing the ranks until she is left the last woman standing in the ruins of Labour’s celebrated social democracy.

Prisoner (Huset)

Denmark, 6x59’ 
Nominated writer: Kim Fupz Aakeson 
Broadcaster: DR  
Produced by: DR Drama 
Producer: Rikke Tørholm Kofoed 
Directors: Frederik Louis Hviid, Michael Noer 
Nordic & international sales: DR Sales 
Premiere: September 1, 2023 

Prisoner depicts the life and work of four prison officers - Sammi, Henrik, Miriam, and Gert. The story starts when they are forced to thoroughly investigate to save their jobs. The prison will close unless they correct the bad press, hierarchy, and drug trade. The investigation turns into a battle for survival - not only for the prison but for everyone inside and outside the walls.