Editor

Five Nordic drama series are nominated for the NOK 200,000 (€20,000) Nordic TV Drama Screenplay Award, presented at Göteborg Film Festival´s TV Drama Vision.

For the sixth consecutive year, the award for outstanding writing of a Nordic drama series, funded by Nordisk Film & TV Fond, will be presented during Göteborg Film Festival. Five series from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden have been nominated for the prize, awarded to the main writer(s) behind the series.

The winner will be announced at an award ceremony on February 2, 2022 at TV Drama Vision, Göteborg Film Festival's conference event and series market.

Liselott Forsman, CEO at Nordisk Film & TV Fond says: "Good scripts form the basis of our strong Nordic drama series. Writing talents should be cherished every day and celebrated through script honours and awards. The Fund wishes to thank Göteborg Film Festival / TV Drama Vision for our continued good collaboration around the yearly script award and for the selection of strong Nordic drama series. This year's five finalists skilfully communicate significant themes in an inspiring way, through both comedy and social issue drama genres and also through combinations of the two."

Cia Edström, Head of TV Drama Vision at Göteborg Film Festival says: "We are very proud to host the Nordisk Film & TV fond Prize for the sixth time. We were both charmed and impressed by the diverse stories and the creative talent of this years selection."

Last year´s winner of the Nordisk Film & TV Fond Prize was Maja Jul Larsen, writer of the Danish TV drama Cry Wolf (Ulven kommer).

The 45th Göteborg Film Festival runs from January 28 until February 6, 2022 as a hybrid event.

TV Drama Vision runs from February 2 – 3, 2022 and is back on-site in Gothenburg but with selected content also available online. Read more and get an accreditation here.

Countrymen Jordbrukerne Norway, 2021, 8x45' Nominated writers: Izer Aliu, Anne Bjørnstad Broadcasters: NRK, ARTE France  Produced by: Rubicon Producers: Mikael Diseth, Fridrik H. Mar  Directors: Izer Aliu, Aurora Gossé, Brwa Vahabpour Premiere: October 2021 Sales: Banijay Rights Countrymen follows a group of young men from inner city Oslo, who move to a farm in picturesque Telemark. While pretending to be driven by a shared interest for agriculture, their real intention is something entirely different. One thing leads to another, and against their will the guys from Oslo end up as founders of Norway's first halal cheese making business. Countrymen is a story about community and belonging, and about finding meaning in your life where you least expect it.   ‌ Transport Transport Finland, 2022, 8x45' Nominated writer: Auli Mantila Broadcaster: Yle Produced by: Tekele Productions Producers: Miia Haavisto, Tia Talli Director: Auli Mantila Premiere: March 25, 2022 Sales: Reinvent A journalist wants to trace a microchip found in baby food. Her inquiries lead her to the illicit horse trade in Europe. A bank manager makes a mistake. When she fails to cover it up, she falls prey to something bigger. A border control veterinarian goes missing. An insurance investigator wants to know what happened. Transport is a story about ordinary people who all have their skin in the game.

The Shift Det største Denmark, 2022, 8x40' Nominated writer: Lone Scherfig Broadcaster: TV 2 Produced by: Creative Alliance Producer: Malene Blenkov Directors: Lone Scherfig, Ole Christian Madsen, Søren Balle Premiere: May 2022 Sales: Beta Film (World Sales), TV 2 Denmark (Nordic territories) The Shift, an emotional, contemporary workplace drama, transpires in a maternity ward: a special, almost secret arena, where a vast majority of us still at some point spends the most crucial hours of our lives. Throughout a busy and stressful workday, they experience their biggest conflicts and most heartfelt joys, while striving to meet sky-high professional and personal standards.   ‌ Vi i villa Vi i villa Sweden, 2022, 6x30' Nominated writer: Tove Eriksen Hillblom Co-writers: Henrik Schyffert, Maria Nygren Broadcaster: Discovery + / Kanal 5 Produced by: FLX Producer: Lejla Besic Directors: Henrik Schyffert, John Nordling Premiere: Spring 2022 Sales: TBD Couple dinners with endless talk of pointless home renovations. Playing padel tennis. Quality time and shared family calendar. Anders' dreams are long gone and he's sick of trying to fit into an existence he loathes. The charade of middle-class adulthood could well have continued, however, until Anders finds out his daughter is being ostracized at school and has had enough. Desperate in his yearning for change he starts harassing his neighbours.

Blackport Verbúðin Iceland, 2021, 8x50' Nominated writers: Gísli Örn Gardarsson, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson, Mikael Torfason Broadcasters: RÚV, ARTE France Produced by: Vesturport Producers: Nana Alfredsdóttir, Gísli Örn Gardarsson, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson, Nina Dögg Filippusdóttir Directors: Gísli Örn Gardarsson, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson, María Reyndal Premiere: December 26, 2021 Sales: About Premium Content Russia has oil. Africa has gold. Iceland has fish. Set in the 1980's in a small Icelandic fishing village, the story follows a married couple, Harpa and Grimur, as they build a small fishing empire along with their childhood friends. Due to the introduction of a new fishing quota system in the country, where the fishing grounds are privatized, the struggle for power results in a feud of jealousy, greed and betrayal. A collective venture, that mirrors true events as they played out and dramatically changed the political landscape in Iceland, creating the countries first billionaires.   ‌