NORWAY : ON THE RIGHT TRACK TO EMBRACE FUTURE
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The new Institute replaces the former Norwegian Film Institute (previously responsible for the promotion and preservation of Norwegian films), the Norwegian Film Fund and the Norwegian Film Development Agency. The NFI has around 100 staff members. Its budget for operating costs is NOK 100 million and NOK 300m in film subsidies. Ivar Køhn, former feature film consultant for the Norwegian Film Fund is now head of the NFI Production and Development department. Jan Graff is the new head of administration; Mia Lindrup who was responsible for Film and Audience at the old Norwegian Film Institute, is now head of audience, and Mette Tharaldsen will join the Institute in May to head the information department. (...) At the press conference, Giske spoke of "the biggest organisational change ever in the history of Norwegian cinema". "The Institute will make it easier for filmmakers, the industry and the audience to have their voices heard. We have big and ambitious goals: to have Norwegian films conquer 25% of the theatrical market and 15% of the DVD market. What's nice is that we are on the right track. In 2007, seven of the 25 biggest selling films on DVD were Norwegian," he noted. Many commentators stressed the good timing to launch the NFI. "This is the right time because Norwegian films have shown better quality over the last couple of years and have been able to reach an audience both nationally and internationally," stressed Lene Løken, head of Film & Kino, the organisation overseeing the Norwegian exhibition and video sectors, which retained its independence. Henning Camre also said: The conditions have now been created to establish one coherent film policy. Norwegian cinema can now embark on a new era. Things look very encouraging today as films have improved in quality and domestic market share." Local producer Eric Vogel (Tordenfilm) said he hoped the new NFI would have a stronger focus on Norwegian interaction with foreign territories than in the past, through co-productions, incentives for foreign projects, and greater support for exports. "Hopefully the Institute will have enough time and resources to make the transition from the old to the new as smooth as possible, so the audiovisual industry, and ultimately our audiences, will benefit from it all," he concluded. For complete news text click here. To access to NFI's website click here. ---- Major Digital Cinema Talks in Oslo 04.04.2008
Digitization of cinemas is one of the key priorities for Film & Kino. Unlike in the other Nordic countries, D cinema conversion is not a medium term but short term plan which should become reality already next year. Indeed, the unique municipal cinema system allows for faster decision making, with Film & Kino playing a pivotal role in all negotiations between public and private organisations. And as explained by Jørgen Stensland, head of Consultants for Film & Kino, government support is essential to cover a portion of the costs of digital conversion, but also to defend and protect smaller cinemas.
"The first phase of the project involved technical trials," explained Stensland. "First we decided to establish digital paths, which meant taking a multiplex and installing digital technology in three or four screens only, before converting all screens. We now have one multiplex (Magnus Barfot in Bergen ) that has been totally converted to digital." Phase 2 of the project - involving an extra NOK 5m spend from Film & Kino - was agreed in 2007 and extended until October 2008. The number of cinemas taking part in the switch over to digital has been increased to 20 sites and 36 screens. "Phase two is looking into how smaller cinemas can be hooked on bigger cinemas in terms of organisation, technical aspects and digital knowledge," continued Stensland. "We also investigate alternative content programming such as opera or ballet and want to do trials with satellite screenings. Also, we are in discussions with US studios for them to share the costs of conversion to D cinema. We'd like to agree to a joint-venture so that Film & Kino will pay a share, US studios another share via the VPF (Virtual Print Free) model, and cinemas/municipalities another share. We believe we will have an agreement with US studios in due course this summer," said a confident Stensland. For complete news text click here.
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As from Tuesday April 1, Norway has its own centralised Film Institute like its Nordic neighbours. The new logo of the Norwegian Film Institute (NFI), the names of its Board and some of its key personnel were unveiled at a packed press conference last Monday at Oslo 's Film House where Norway 's Culture Minister Trond Giske and the NFI CEO Nina Refseth took centre stage. 
Film & Kino is hosting a two-day conference in Oslo between April 7-8 about Digital Cinema. "We are planning for a big digital rollout in 2009, so it is important for cinema managers to be updated on what's going on in D cinema, domestically and internationally," stressed Lene Løken, head of the Norwegian cinema association Film & Kino. 
Norway 's screen digitization started in 2006 with the launch of the two pilot projects NDA (Nordic Digital Alliance) and NORDIC covering 21 screens in 15 cinemas. NOK 3m were invested for the first phase of the project with funding coming from Film & Kino's Cinema Fund, managing levies on cinema tickets, videos and DVDs.