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

Film i Väst Analysis’ upcoming report, "The Answers: Future Audiovisual Policies – Revolution, Reforms or Just Let it Be," looks at the diverse markets across Europe and gives the answers (or rather: values) to the burning questions that everyone is asking in regards to the current collision between public film funding and challenging cultural and economic policies. Answers are not given easily, as each market operates differently. Different funding systems call for different actions, and the right balance between economic and cultural arguments must be found locally – it doesn’t have to be a battle between economy and art.

In this episode, Tomas Eskilsson, founder of Film i Väst and Head of Film i Väst Analysis, along with producer and mentor Joanna Szymańska, explore the current state of public film funding and the creative sectors in Europe, drawing from the findings of the report. The rise of right-wing policies is increasingly affecting film funding strategies, ultimately challenging the freedom of cultural expression. However, the future is not set in stone, but rather shaped by the actions that are taken today.

Tomas Eskilsson founded Film i Väst in 1992, and was the CEO until 2016. He now works as the Head of Strategy in Film i Väst and Head of Film i Väst Analysis. He is the author of the reports ‘Public Film Funding at a Crossroads’ (March 2022) and ‘Public Film Funding at a Crossroads II’ (to be published August 2023). He is right now working with the third a final report in the series: The Answers: Future Audiovisual Policies – Revolution, Reforms or Just Let it Be.

Joanna Szymańska is a film producer with over 15 years of experience in independent and international co-productions. She co-produced the award-winning film “Red Path” (dir. Lotfi Achour) which premiered at the Locarno Film Festival. Joanna is a mentor for emerging filmmakers and serves as the Head of Studies for the Erich Pommer Institut’s workshop on European co-production. She is currently pursuing a PhD at the Łódź Film School.

The host Johanna Koljonen is a media analyst, broadcaster, and experience designer. She is the author of the Göteborg Film Festival’s annual Nostradamus Report on the near future of the screen industries, which is in its 11th year. She lectures internationally on changes in the media sector, and on participation and narrative design. Her background is in public service broadcasting; in 2011, she received the Swedish Grand Journalism Award in the Innovator category.

Film i Väst is Scandinavia’s major regional film fund and one of the bigger regional film funds in Europe. Film i Väst has made co-production with all parts of the world. Film i Väst is mostly known for its long-time collaboration with some of the most interesting directors in Northern Europe and elsewhere: Ruben Östlund, Tarek Saleh, Susanne Bier, Thomas Vinterberg, Lars von Trier, Joachim Trier, Lone Scherfig, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Kaother Ben Hania are many more. During the last 30 years Film i Väst has co-financed and co-produced over 1000 feature films and a vast number of drama series.

The report will be released February 16, 2025. More info about the release can be found here.

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. This podcast episode has been developed in partnership with Film i Väst.