PARTICIPANTS IN LOCAL SCRIPT TRAINING PROGRAMS THAT WERE HELD ONLINE
Cynthia Nielsen, 20, Denmark
Script: BUSINESS MAMA
Dennis Møller, 29, Greenland
Script: Bone Marrow
Agnes Koskinen, 23, Sweden
Script: Vad väntar vi på?
Aleksi Lindholm, 25, Finland
Script: The Theft
Veronica Veddy, 27, Denmark
Script: The Operation
Kjetil Heimdall, 25, Norway
Script: The Lost Boys
Brage Grindeland, 25, Norway
Script: The Lost Boys
Antti-Eemeli Lahtinen, 27, Finland
Script: Our Dinner with Guys
Noora Jalokinos, 28, Finland
Script: Trash
Henry Gylling, 28, Finland
Script: Sleep Long Summer
Mirjam Mikk, 29, Estonia
Script: Desertöör / The Deserter
Kertu Kändla, 18, Estonia
Script: Soolaterad sinetavatel huultel / Grains of salt on blue lips
Maria Kasesalu, 27, Estonia
Script: The Maid
Liva Dokimova, 21, Latvia
Script: Vēlīnās peonijas zied jūlijā / Late peonies bloom in July
Robin Valge, 21, Estonia
Script: Lumevaiba embuses
Kärt Kokkota, 22, Estonia
Script: “Arhivaar” / “The Archivist”
Rebecka Store, 27, Finland
Script: Kausalitet
Oliver Wik, 29, Finland
Script: Moi Mamma
Zacharias Hägerstrand, 28, Finland
Script: Tofubarn
Tim Jansson, 26, Finland
Script: Monolith of Inhumanity
Northern Script Workshops 2024
Year 2024 introduced four regional screenwriting tutoring and training programs for screenwriters. The programs were run online for approximately over one month period of time, offering one-on-one tutoring and mentoring for the young participants.
Altogether, this year in attendance we had 20 enthusiastic and talented 18-29-year-old screenwriters from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greenland, Latvia, Norway and Sweden in our program.
Our professional screenwriting coaches and tutors came from Denmark, Estonia and Finland. Not only the screenwriting training, we also offered tailored online masterclasses for all of our participants so that they could meet each other from different countries, network, share and learn about the screenwriting profession.
One of the short film scripts by our young writers was developed into a short film by 10 media students from OSAO Oulu vocational school. The short film will premiere at Oulu Children’s and Youth Film Festival late November 2024.
Masterclass program 2024
All participants in the local workshops were given opportunity to participate in several masterclasses and learn from more experienced peers. The masterclasses dealt with all issues relating screenwriting.
After each masterclass our young participants reflected on their own craft. You can read all about their insights in this article!
Online masterclass with screenwriter Anna Heinämaa
30 May 2024
Topic: Screenwriter’s journey and the importance of outer story
Anna Heinämaa discussed her own career and the importance of the outer story. She also shared her insights on story grammar and competence with finding one’s own script ear!
Anna Heinämaa is an award-winning screenwriter, playwright, and novelist. She created the original script for The Fencer (2015), which made the Oscar-shortlist for Best Foreign Language Film in 2015 and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award the same year. Her next film One Last Deal (2018) premiered in TIFF at the Contemporary World Cinema lineup. Both films were distributed worldwide and screened at numerous festivals. Heinämaa’s latest work, which she co-wrote with writer-actress Vera Kiiskinen, is a warm-hearted comedy The Second Act. The film premiered in February of 2023, starring Lena Olin and Rolf Lassgård.
Online masterclass with scriptwriter Andrias Høgenni
10 June 2024
Topic: Narrative potential
The intention of the online workshop was to uncover the narrative potential of a story’s given arena, so that the scriptwriter could get an overview of all possible options heading towards a second rewrite.
Andrias Høgenni grew up on the Faroe Islands, and moved to Denmark in 2009. He graduated from the alternative Danish film school Super16 in 2018, and his graduation film “No ill will” won the Canal+ award at Semaine de la Critique at Cannes 2019. He also studied at the fuenen film school 18Frames and at the University of Southern Denmark where he graduated with a bachelor in media studies in 2013.
Online Masterclass with screenwriter Leana Jalukse
17 September 2024
Topic: How Not to Invent a Bicycle from Scratch for Screenwriters
Screenwriters learn a lot about our art and craft at the film school – other than how to actually get hired as a screenwriter. We do not have a career ladder – while cinematographers can start out as 3rd ACs, no screenwriter hires three assistants. Producers have several years’ worth of projects in the pipeline – and those who don’t are probably not the best to work with anyway. Leana shared some tips and tools on how to build your network and present your work and hopefully emerge as a full-time screenwriter on the other end of the tunnel.
Leana Jalukse (1979) is an Estonian screenwriter and script consultant. Her debut feature Mother (2016) premiered at Tribeca, won a string of awards, and became the national Oscar entry. After three successful features and two shorts, Leana is now completing a feature documentary and developing a slate of drama series as a writer-producer.
Online Masterclass with screenwriter Camilla Roos
1 November 2024
Topic: Storytelling for short film
Why short films? It’s a good way to learn how to tell stories visually in a short format. And it’s fun! To be compelling, short films need structure, interesting characters and a theme. Camilla’s masterclass focused on the craft of writing a good short script.
Camilla Roos is a Finnish Swede who freelances as a screenwriter, documentarist and script consultant. She has written scripts for several half-hour shortfilms and worked with several directors on various feature film projects. She has also been as a teacher at several film schools in Finland and Sweden. Now she works part-time as an editor for Filmvision Finland, a web magazine about film and television in Finland, and with developing own projects. Three of her documentary films can be seen on Finnish Yle Areena: The Scrap Dealer, My Barbie and I, and Child No. 182.
Onsite Masterclass with film director Kaisa Rastimo
22 November 2024
Kaisa will present her latest documentary film Nasrin’s Voice and discuss the process of making the film. She will also discuss her over three decades long career as a producer, director and screenwriter.
Kaisa’s films have won awards nationally and internationally. In 2003, she was awarded the Finland Prize for Film Art for her feature film Heinähattu ja Vilttitossu.
Northern Script Camp 2024 participants
Our camp participants were selected based on an anonymous jury selection and the selection criteria set by the Northern Script program for short films of 10 minutes or under. Based on the jury decisions, nine participants representing a variety of cultural backgrounds and several Nordic and Baltic languages were selected to participate in the Northern Script camp in Oulu during the 43rd annual Oulu International Children’s and Youth Film Festival, 18 – 23 November 2024.
Zacharias Hägerstrand, 28, Finland
Script: Tofubarn
Zacharias is a student living in Helsinki and a writer on the side. Movies and stories have been with him since he was a baby, and he has more or less grown up in a world of images and soundtracks. Zacharias likes to think of movies as the life-blood of our shared myths, and to contribute to such a thing is nothing short of wonderful. What a lovely world, where stories can exist!
Cynthia Nielsen, 20, Denmark
Script: BUSINESS MAMA
Cynthia is a young woman who is driven by a passion for creating meaningful stories. Cynthia wants to develop universes that reflect the diversity of minority lives and inspire them to dream big. Chyntias mix of creativity and experiences from different cultures and media, combined with her ethnic diversity, have given her a better cultural insight and a good perspective on children’s and youth culture. Cynthia looks forward to contributing with something unique.
Aleksi Lindholm, 25, Finland
Script: The Theft
Aleksi grew up in a small town, but films were a gateway for him to experience and see things he was unable to in his daily life. Aleksi was determined to get to a more international environment and pursue filmmaking. Aleksi combined the two by studying at European Film College in Denmark. Aleksi’s interest in film spans everything from shooting on film to editing, a script is the origin for everything else, though often Aleksi is already thinking about the other aspects too while writing.
Antti-Eemeli Lahtinen, 27, Finland
Script: Our Dinner with Guys
Antti-Eemeli have mostly worked on marketing but he has always been interested in storytelling. Antti-Eemeli noticed this competition by accident and decided to give it a shot. For Antti-Eemeli it has been a rewarding experience already and he would recommend it to others!
Henry Gylling, 28, Finland
Script: Sleep Long Summer
Henry has a background in linguistics and cultural studies, which professionally has led him to work in cultural education and a variety of language/migration related projects. Aside from early attempts at short films, collaborations on music videos for indie bands and minor writing efforts for University papers and theater work, 2023-2024 have marked the first years of what Henry considers proper artistic endeavours, which hopefully will culminate in the release of 3 separate cinematic projects of different lengths and ambition in early 2025.
Henry has been a fan of cinema since his late teens, having discovered Bergman and Fellini at a pivotal moment in his life, and Henry has found, in tandem with his growth, artists that guide and challeng his viewpoints whenever his in most need of it.
Mirjam Mikk, 29, Estonia
Script: Desertöör / The Deserter
Mirjam graduated from Baltic Film, Media and Arts School in 2020 specialising in film arts and screenwriting. Already during her studies, she started to work at the Estonian Film Institute’s
Marketing Department where she is currently coordinating the international festival distribution and promotion of shorts and animation films. This position allows her to continue to learn more
about the intricacies of the film world. She is drawn to coming of age stories that capture the universal through a singular lens.
Kertu Kändla, 18, Estonia
Script: Soolaterad sinetavatel huultel / Grains of salt on blue lips
Kertu lives in Viljandi, Estonia. Kertu’s second home is in Saaremaa. Kertu studies in the humanities and arts field (12th grade) at Viljandi Gymnasium. Kertu likes literature, theater and culture. Kertu writes poems, essays, short stories, articles and screenplays.
Kertu has published two collections of poems: “Pouring Out My Heart in Lines” (2021) and “Reflection of Dawn on My Heart’s Waters” (2023). Kertu also attends the school’s theater studio. In collaboration with others, Kertu has written a play “A Grain of Pepper in the Soup” and the screenplay “Intertwined Souls”. This summer Kertu wrote a screenplay “Salt Grains on Blue Lips”. Kertu finds inspiration in everyday life, nature, and the people around her.
Maria Kasesalu, 27, Estonia
Script: The Maid
Maria is a full-time student at the Baltic Film, Media & Arts School, specializing in audiovisual media within the creative module. Marias studies include scriptwriting, directing, producing, and editing, giving her a well-rounded foundation in filmmaking. Alongside her education, Maria has four years of professional experience in casting, working on international projects, including a German feature film for Amazon Prime and a Maison Margiela fragrance commercial.
Rebecka Store, 27, Finland
Script: Kausalitet
Rebecka is a media freelancer who has tried her hand at many different roles within the industry, but feels most at home writing scripts and working as a first assistant director on film shoots. With a bachelor’s degree from Arcada University of Applied Science’s Film and Media program, specializing in screenwriting and directing (2022), she dreams of working on international film productions. Rebecka is currently developing a six episode TV series script thanks to funding from Konstsamfundet. Since 2019, she
has also been a subtitler for Svenska Yle, translating films and TV series from English to Swedish.
Northern Script Camp 2024
Northern Script camp will have its grand ending of the year during the 43rd annual Oulu International Children’s and Youth Film Festival 18 – 23 November 2024.
Nine selected camp participants from three different partner countries will travel to Oulu for intense workshops on their own scripts. The camp will also offer industry networking and film festival programming for our young talents. There will be a masterclass offered by Kaisa Rastimo and a tailored pitch training to hone our participants’ presentation skills.
The official partners of Northern Script in Oulu are Oulu Children’s and Youth Film Festival and OSAO Educational Consortium for vocational media education. OSAO media students have also produced one short film from the scripts created in our regional workshops. The short film was written by Cynthia Nielsen and is titled “Business Mama”. The short film will premiere at the festival gala event of the Oulu Children’s and Youth film festival.
Our screenwriting coach and mentor in Oulu will be Mikko Myllylahti, a nationally and internationally awarded Finnish-filmmaker and author.
Mikko Myllylahti is a Finnish screenwriter, film director and author. He graduated from the Department of Film, Aalto University Helsinki in 2012. His first feature script was Juho Kuosmanen’s debut The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki, which won the main prize of Un Certain Regard section in Cannes 2016 and was also the Finnish entry for the Oscars. Mikko’s directorial debut The Woodcutter Story premiered in Cannes Critic’s Week Competition in 2022 and won the GAN Foundation Award for French distribution. His books of poetry have gained critical acclaim and in 2012 he was awarded the Kalevi Jäntti Literature Prize for his third collection Väylä. Currently he is working on his second feature film and writing several scripts for television.
Northern Script program 2024 was delivered together in collaboration with BUFF barn- och ungdoms film festival, Odense film verkstaed, Candy Bar OÜ, Finlandsvenskt filmcentrum, OSAO vocational school and Oulu children’s and youth film festival.
The program was funded by Nordic Culture Point’s VOLT-program.
