Supporting ‘Film Cultural Peripheries’? The dilemmas of regional film policy in Norway

Abstract

Public funding is crucial for the small Norwegian film industry. Based on an analysis of policy documents and interviews with regional film workers, this article discusses the implementation of regional film policy in Norway, and the tensions it has caused between center and periphery with respect to the allocation of funding. The creative industries discourse and the cluster concept are important for understanding this implementation; despite the new regional film policies the capital Oslo remains the undisputed hub of film production, and low production volume is still a challenge for the regions. Size, the article explains, is not only central when discussing Oslo as compared to the regions, but has also become a contentious issue within the regions. A key concern for the government, the article suggests, is how to create strong film milieus all over the country, which may entail the risk of spreading funding too thinly across the regions, resulting in a fragmented industry.

Keywords:

• regional film
• film policy
• film companies
• clusters
• creative industries
• center – periphery

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Here, ‘regional film production’ in Norway means film production outside the capital area Oslo and Akershus. A ‘film region’ is a geographical area that usually consists of two or three counties.

2. All translations are the author’s.

3. http://fuzz.no/?p = 613, accessed 09.03.15.

4. http://fuzz.no/?p = 613, accessed 26.02.15.

5. Interview, 22.09.14.