Helsinki Script - creating, selling drama series in the age of AI
Helsinki Script is back! Photo of earlier event by Mikko Lyytikäinen
The beloved Helsinki Script returns after a few years’ break! The event is a meeting forum of new ideas and ways of writing and producing in the age of AI and global fiction markets.
June 8th, Helsinki Script summons internationally acclaimed actors, writers, directors, producers, and commissioners to the Savoy Theatre in Helsinki to share fresh perspectives on drama series. Event is open for all interested in drama series.
Building drama with top names from industry
An essential part of the Helsinki Script concept is building bridges between sessions as themes tend to grow from one session to another. Drama series expert Tatjana Samopjan is a popular lecturer all over Europe, and the leading force of the AI group.
Helsinki Script opens with her insightful and entertaining analysis on how to reach the unique writing depth that is crucial in the age of AI. At the end of the day, right after the AI panel, the celebrated British theatrical director, and successful playwright and series creator David Farr (The Night Manager, Hanna) enters the stage. He will share his own professional journeys but also deliver insights to the industry’s future in AI times together with UK colleagues, actor-writer Sally Phillips (Smack the Pony, Veep) and Executive Producer Dominic Schreiber.
Read a story about the event on Nordisk Film & TV Fond website
AI is bringing changes to audiovisual industry
- We decided already in February to bring our AI expert group’s vital debates to Helsinki Script, says co-founding group member and event host Liselott Forsman, whose daily work is in Oslo as the CEO of the Nordic Film & TV Fond.
- The AI-group consists of European commissioners, creative producers, editors, industry experts, heads of festivals and other chief officers, who all share their unique perspectives. From the stage in Helsinki, the panel’s AI conclusions will travel to five other European festivals and industry events in 2023 - 2024, she continues.
In the program, under the moderation of Samopjan the AI panel will debate the impact of AI from the perspectives of content, ethics, copyright, and professional working methods. Among those joining her on stage are German Robert Franke (Vice President Drama, ZDF Studios), Norwegian Leif Holst Jensen (Dean, Lilyhammer Film University) and Ukrainian Kateryna Vyshnevska (Head of Development, FILM.UA). The focus is on writing, but Vyshnevska will also show how pro-war Russian actors are removed from popular Ukrainian series with the help of AI.
Swiss CEO Sami Arpa has sold AI tools to more than 500 companies and funds around the world. Today AI is used in, among other things, the development, commissioning, and market analyses of projects. In short videos made in May in Cannes for Helsinki Script, Arpa predicts that European financing models will change because of AI and all scriptwriters will need AI to keep up with the fast pace that the future brings. Video
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