Future-proofing Financing Strategies for Feature Films and TV Series

Industry Insights - The EFM Podcast

Industry Insights – The EFM Podcast is presented by the European Film Market of the Berlinale. Hosted by industry analyst Johanna Koljonen, it delves deep into the rapidly evolving film industry.

In this episode, Linda Beath, Petri Kemppinen and Fredrik af Malmborg, three hand-picked international experts share their insights on strategies how to finance a feature film or TV Series in this fast changing financing landscape.

Linda Beath works with producers to find funding for projects ranging from features to documentaries to animated films to primetime television dramas. She trains producers and other industry practitioners and consults for public funders on policy issues. Linda Beath set up Ideal Filmworks in Canada 30 years ago to raise development and production financing. The company was later incorporated in Italy, adding business and strategic planning to its core business.

Fredrik af Malmborg is the CEO of Eccho Rights, a development, investment and distribution company with offices in Stockholm, London, Istanbul, Madrid and Seoul with 40 employees and strong annual growth. The mission is to support producers in developing top TV series and to help them retain and grow the value of IP. Eccho is since 2022 part of Night Train Media, a venture-backed by investor Serafin.

Petri Kemppinen has over 30 years of experience in the audio-visual sector, journalism, and publishing. CEO at Aurora Studios since August 2021, he has through his career worked internationally with financing, production, and development, in several roles within film and TV. Prior to Aurora Studios, Kemppinen worked as an independent consultant in his company P1 Kemppinen and between 2013 to 2019 as CEO of the pan-Nordic funding body Nordisk Film & TV Fond in Oslo. His past employers include The Finnish Film Foundation and YLE The Finnish Broadcasting Company.

Johanna Koljonen is a media analyst, broadcaster, and experience designer based in Sweden. She is co-founder of boutique consulting firm Participation Design Agency, and the author of the Göteborg Film Festival’s annual Nostradamus Report.

This podcast episode has been developed in collaboration with the Nostradamus Project of the Göteborg Film Festival.

The Berlinale’s European Film Market is the first international film market of the year, where the film industry starts its business. Industry Insights - The EFM Podcast puts a spotlight on highly topical and trendsetting industry issues, thereby creating a compass for the forthcoming film year. The year-round podcast is produced in cooperation with Goethe-Institut and co-funded by Creative Europe MEDIA.