The Northern Script competition received a record 31 texts
Northern Script was organised for the third time in 2019. The program was launched with an open call for script competition in May 2019. The theme for 2019 was Ideal distance, inviting young writers to reflect on the meaning of distance. Each author was free to choose the approach to the theme and there were no genre restrictions.
The competition was organised in cooperation with Oulu International Children’s and Youth Film festival, the Tromsø International Film and the Nordic Youth Film Festival in Tromsø. NUFF and BUFF Children’s and Youth Film Festival in Malmö. Marketing cooperation also included Stockholm Film Festival Junior as a partner.
A record 31 entries were submitted to the competition. Five scripts were sent from Sweden, two from Norway and the rest from Finland. For the first time, the competition language was English only, which increased the number of manuscripts submitted. One of the participating scripts was disqualified because the author was over aged.
Maija Puska, a media education expert and journalist, was the pre-selection jury for the competition and she read all 30 texts and gave a short feedback for each one.
The finalists were selected from Finland (Sami Koutaniemi and Sami Ikonen), from Norway (Julie Woie and Marianne Lauritsen) and from Sweden (Marcus Byström and Mattias Staaf). After selection, the finalists had a month to improve their scripts after receiving the jury feedback.
The final event was held in Oulu on 21–23 November 2019 as part of the Oulu International Children’s and Youth Film Festival. In Oulu, the finalists participated in a scriptwriting workshop led by screenwriter Katri Myllyniemi. The festival provided the participants with guest passes and invited them to a traditional dinner at Pehkolanlampi and a closing night dinner.
The jury of the competition consists of director-screenwriter Reetta Aalto and 2017 Northern Script winner and screenwriting student Mikko Peltotupa. The jury chose Marianne Lauritsen’s script Roskilde as the competition winner. The winner was awarded a cash prize from Mediametka and a 10-day NUFF film workshop in Tromsø in June 2020. All participants also received a bouquet of roses and certificates of honour.
Finalists
Norway
Marianne Lauritsen – Roskilde
Julie Kristine Woie – Albertine
Sweden
Mattias Staaf – The only distance between us is time
Marcus Bytsröm – The beach fight
Finland
Saku Koutaniemi – The end of a road
Sami Ikonen – How we see you
Northern Script 2019 jury
Mikko Peltotupa
Mikko Peltotupa is the winner of the first Northern Script competition in 2017 and member of the pre-selection panel 2018. After his win he have studied screenwriting in Aalto University in Helsinki. He have also worked as a copywriter and journalist. He’s also been working with a short animated film about a sleepingtoy teddybear that suffers from insomnia.
Reetta Aalto
Reetta Aalto (born 1976) is a Helsinki-based filmmaker, who writes and directs both fiction and documentary films. She is one of the seven director-writers of the episodic film Force of Habit (2019) and known also for her documentary film Grey Violet – Odd One Out (2017), which premiered at Hot Docs International Film Festival and the awarded internet hit animation Pussy for Beginners (2015). As a director her selected filmography includes the Prix Europa nominee tv-miniseries Paradise (2010) and the short films Fingerling (2018), The Inspection (2015) and
Girls’ Night (2008). Currently she is developing a feature length comedy and writing her debut novel, which will be published in spring 2020.
Meet Maija Puska – our pre-selection jury member
Maija Puska is a free journalist and a specialist in media education. She has studied scriptwriting and creative writing in Finland and has been writing films and commercials. As a writer Maija is mostly interested in the themes of youth and media culture. She loves cats.
This year Northern Script made new record with 30 participants. Maija will read through all the scripts that were sent into the competition. All the participants will receive short feedback about their scripts and the best six writers will receive a longer feedback and a possibility to improve their scripts. The best six writers will be invited to Oulu into a scriptwriting workshop at the end of November.
Workshop instructor
Katri Myllyniemi
Screenwriter, director and dramaturg
Katri (n. 1979) is a Finnish screenwriter and director originally from the small town of Ylöjärvi. During year 2019 she was finishing her screenwriting and directing master studies at Aalto University. Both fiction and fact are close to her heart and the best stories can be found in between. She dreams living in countryside with her family.