business
Film production in Northern Norway
"We Aim to Build on What we Have Done: Creating Important Stories From Northern Norway"
CEO Tom Vidar Karlsen in the Northern Norwegian film production company Storyline Nor says the sale of The Riot abroad has been slower than expected, but looks forward to new important projects from the North with new owners on board.
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On June 10, bankruptcy proceedings were opened in the company Storyline Nor Drama AS.
This is the sister company of Storyline Nor, a Northern Norwegian film production company which produced The Riot (Sulis 1907), a historical drama film about the uprising among miners against the mine owners in the town of Sulitjelma, Nordland, at the beginning of the 20th century.
Managing Director Tom Vidar Karlsen in Storyline Nor explains to High North News that there is nothing dramatic behind the opening of the bankruptcy proceedings.
"We established the sister company in case something were to happen to the parent company, to secure the rights to our work in connection with the movies Sulis 1907 and The Battle of Narvik", says Karlsen.
"The company would have become significant if we had encountered problems during the production of these films," he explains.
New owners from Northern Norway
Karlsen further says that the opening of bankruptcy proceedings is connected, among other things, to new owners having entered the main company Storyline Nor.
"They are now in place," he confirms to HNN.
"These are people who want the best for the industry in the North" says Karlsen, who confirms that they are owners from Northern Norway.
Norwegian newspapers Avisa Nordland and Saltenposten have covered the financial situation of the Bodø-based production company, which has previously been close to bankruptcy.
Expected greater sales abroad
The background to the strained financial situation is, among other things, that foreign sales of Sulis 1907 performed more poorly than expected, Karlsen tells HNN.
The movie did however sell exceptionally well in Norway.
The film has so far been sold to ten countries, including Australia, Spain, several countries in the Baltics, Poland, as well as countries in South America.
"We had hoped for much more. So far, we have sold one eighth of what we had budgeted for, which has contributed to a more challenging situation."
Stories from Northern Norway
Although the situation is still demanding, Karlsen says things look more positive now.
"We are trying to work our way out of it, looking ahead and working on new projects and with the new owners."
"We want to build on what we have done by creating major, important stories from Northern Norway. That is the motivation: to get started on new projects," he continues.
Karlsen says that, among other things, they are supporters of the upcoming film Finnmark in flames (Finnmark i flammer).
"It is not only us who are facing a challenging situation these days though. This applies right across the board," he says in conclusion.
"We need a bit of action in the film industry," he emphasises.
