Film Production
MISO film heralds new Swedish production office with two new commissions
MUMBAI: Danish production company, Miso Film, is to expand its Scandinavian footprint by opening a new office in Sweden to produce both feature films and TV-series for the Scandinavian and international market. Headed up by Sandra Harms, Miso Film Sweden already has a TV commission and feature film in the works.
The company’s first TV-series is supported by Sweden’s TV4. Based on the novels of Norwegian thriller writer Anne Holt, VIK/STUBÖ will be a 8 x 45’ series, adapted for TV by three-times Emmy award-winning writers Peter Thorsboe and Mai Brostrom (Unit One, The Eagle, The Protectors). Shooting is expected to begin in Stockholm at the beginning of 2015.
Miso Film Sweden has also optioned the rights for the book 438 DAYS by Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye, centred around the time the two journalists spent in an Ethiopian prison. The book was nominated for an August last year and is already a bestseller with over 100,000 copies sold in less than six months. Development of the project has already begun with the screenplay written by Peter Birro (Monica Z, How Soon Is Now?).
Peter Bose, co-founder of Miso Film says: ”With a number of highly successful films and TV series in the Norwegian and Danish market, it was an obvious next step for us to move into Sweden. The move allows us to expand our footprint in Scandinavia and build on our experience of working in Sweden through titles like on BECK and WALLANDER.”
Jonas Allen, co-founder Miso Film added: ”It’s really important to us for Miso Film Sweden to become a strong independent company in its own right and not just a Swedish mailbox for our Danish company. That’s why we’re delighted to have someone of Sandra Harms’ calibre on board. Over time, we’ll be looking to expand the production team and the home-grown talent further.”
Sandra Harms joins the new company from Sonet Film/SF, with a string of feature films to her name, including Princess (Teresa Fabik), Bekas (Karzan Kader) and Us (Mani Maserrat). She adds: ”I’m delighted to be joining a company like Miso Film, which enjoys a reputation for quality at home and abroad. I’m very proud to be part of Peter and Jonas’ new venture and look forward to growing and developing the business in Sweden and maintaining the quality and calibre of the content that audiences come to expect of us.”
Founded in 2004 by Jonas Allen and Peter Bose, Miso Film has produced a number of successful TV-series including DICTE, THOSE WHO KILL, VEUM, which have been sold to over 40 international markets. This includes an American remake by Fox 21 & Imagine Television of THOSE WHO KILL, starring ChloëSevigny. Miso Film’s next major series, 1864, about the Schleswig War, will premiere in Autumn 2014 on DR in Denmark, followed by TV4 in Sweden.
In 2013, FremantleMedia acquired a majority stake in the company, providing Miso Film with a strong international base from which to distribute its content, while also giving FremantleMedia an important foothold in Scandinavian scripted drama.
Film Production
Priyanka Kaur Dhillon joins SVF Entertainment as lead for music distribution
A seasoned content dealmaker with 16 years in digital and satellite media joins the Bengali entertainment powerhouse as it pushes into the pan-India music market
Mumbai: Priyanka Kaur Dhillon has made her move. The content acquisitions and commercials veteran, most recently commercial manager at Sony Pictures Networks India, has joined SVF Entertainment as lead for music distribution, stepping into one of the more interesting briefs in regional entertainment right now.
SVF is no ordinary regional label. Over 30 years it has built a formidable legacy in Bengali cinema and music, driven by culturally resonant storytelling and a catalogue that consistently punches above its weight. Its recent success with Chiraiya underlines the point. But the Kolkata-based powerhouse now has its sights firmly set beyond Bengal, most visibly through Legacy, a rap reality series produced in collaboration with hip-hop label Kalamkaar that signals a deliberate push into the pan-India music ecosystem.
Dhillon brings precisely the kind of muscle SVF needs for that expansion. At Sony Pictures Networks India, she led film acquisition and commercials and handled music licensing across the entire satellite network. Before that, she spent nearly 15 years at Hungama, rising to assistant general manager and leading strategic content licensing for the platform’s digital entertainment business, with a particular focus on international markets. Her label relationships span the full roster: Sony Music, Universal Music, Warner Music, Believe International, Tunecore, The Orchard and a clutch of smaller aggregators. She has negotiated and closed deals with Hollywood studios, Bollywood production houses and regional content players alike, building pricing models and deal structures off data analysis rather than instinct.
Announcing the appointment, Dhillon said she was “thrilled to begin this journey with an iconic Bengali music label and content powerhouse,” adding that SVF’s “constant drive to push boundaries” was what drew her to the role.
SVF has spent three decades proving that regional does not mean limited. With a sharp commercial operator now steering its music distribution, its bid to go national just got a good deal more serious.
