Written by on Nov 28, 2013. Posted in On Location

Norway and Netherlands agree documentary filming co-production deal

Norway and the Netherlands have agreed a deal that will see the two countries co-produce a series of documentaries over the next two years. Six new productions will be made, split between minority Dutch and minority Norwegian shoots.

“This is an important step for the Norwegian documentary industry to further open up for co-production and for the visibility of Norwegian documentaries in the Netherlands, Europe and the world,” said Bjørn Arne Odden, Senior Advisor Production at the Norwegian Film Institute.

“We consider the Netherlands as being one of the leading countries worldwide in both producing and promoting documentary films and we therefore believe that this agreement will be beneficial for the industries in both countries.”

Doreen Boonekamp, CEO of Netherlands Film Fund, added: “This agreement is a logical step in the ongoing collaboration with our Scandinavian counterparts. We want to stimulate filmmakers from both countries to seek theatrical release of their films. The Netherlands Film Fund has recently modified its regulations to enable this. Their effort is required to reach maximum audiences theatrically, on TV and beyond.”

The Netherlands is reaching out to the international market in 2014. A new filming incentive will be launched comprising a EUR20 million annual fund that will probably be made available as a cash rebate and will be for both domestic and international productions. Norway lacks a formal filming incentive although the country’s regional film offices continue to lobby the government.

We want to stimulate filmmakers from both countries to seek theatrical release of their films.

Doreen Boonekamp, Netherlands Film Fund

History Channel’s historical TV drama Vikings ended up filming in Ireland, but top producer Barrie Osborne recently visited Norway to discuss the possibility of filming a major Viking feature that may star Leonardo DiCaprio. However, it’s thought that some form of filming incentive support will be needed to make Norway a viable location.

To read about The Location Guide's location scout in Norway click here.