16 executive summary theibcdaily
Nordic The storytellers
Morten Hesseldahl
Executive Director of Cultural Affairs, DR Region: Denmark
Interview by Dick Hobbs O
ne of the most remarkable television
developments of recent years is the way in
which Scandinavian broadcasters have made a real impact on the world stage through innovative, gritty drama. This is typified by The Killing, Borgen and The Bridge, produced in-house by DR, Denmark’s relatively small public service broadcaster (PSB). DR executive director of cultural affairs, Morten Hesseldahl, produced these three series, in a career which has taken him from studying philosophy through economics to writing novels before moving into television. All three series garnered awards from near and far. How does Hesseldahl explain the popularity of television drama in Danish? “There is a new word around, ‘glocalisation’,” he says. “Sometimes if you are focusing on local issues, they can have a global interest. So now we have ‘Nordic noir’,” he explained, linking Danish productions with writers like Stieg Larsson and Henning Mankell. “We are writing about our
culture and locations because we have to – we would never be able to make a police show set on the streets of Manhattan, for example – but what is local to us, other people find exotic,” Hesseldahl says, going on to concede that “we are astounded to see a series about Danish politics travel abroad so successfully.”
It is precisely because DR is a public service broadcaster that the dramas have the style and content that they do. “We are obliged to deliver content for those who pay our licence fees,” he explains. “In a way it is how you define yourself as a PSB. “So we are aiming at the
concerns of the Danish people. But, in a strange way, we attract viewers from elsewhere.” He feels that this local but well made content is a sustainable proposition for PSBs. “You are perhaps going to see mixed finance plans, with money from in-house and from other players, maybe from overseas, he says. But there is a bright future for this kind of content from PSBs.” Since PSBs have to develop their own local content, rather than rely on American imports, it is the traditional commercial players who are the ones really feeling the pressure, he suggests. “They are the ones who have to come up with really interesting solutions. There is pressure from Netflix, which brings new business models to series like House of Cards, and from the likes of HBO, which can deliver something much more upfront on subjects like sex and violence.
He hints: “Looking to
the future – which is a ridiculous thing to do – I think you will see more adventurous, more important content from us.”
noir
“What is local to us, other people find exotic”
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