A graduate in Film and Cultural Management, Dyveke Bjørkly Graver joined the Norwegian production company Cinenord where she worked from 2009 to 2017 on such productions as The Little Grey Fergie children's film series and Aurora Gossé and Arne Lindtner Naess' Caspar and Emma Go Treasure Hunting [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film]. Dyveke then moved to Oslo Pictures where she has since co-produced Kathleen Hepburn and Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers' drama The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film], and is currently working on a slate that includes Joachim Trier and Jonas Matzow Gulbrandsen’s upcoming projects. She has been selected as one of the 2019 Producers on the Move by European Film Promotion.

European Film Promotion: Which is the film you are most proud of and why?
Dyveke Bjørkly Graver: I’m proud of all the projects I’ve worked on for different reasons. Some has turned out really great, and all have learned me a lot. I will say I’m proud to have been part of such a phenomenon as the family feature series Casper and Emma became in Norway. On the other hand, hearing the filmmakers speeches at the Berlinale premiere for The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open this year, made me very proud to have been part of that film.

What are the challenges and merits of producing in your country?
I think many of the merits are also challenges and vice versa. Norway is a small country with a small audience, but we’ve had funding schemes that has helped to balance this out. Now the business is booming, especially for drama series, and we see bigger competition for the funds and for talent and crew. All in all it’s a shift that demands changes, both on the political and funding side, and from us producers. We have in many ways been in a Nordic bubble where we have co-produced with our neighbouring countries. Now more and more has to look for funding outside the Nordic countries, and I’m curious to see how this will impact the business. I think we still have a way to go to be a place to go for co-production, if the film doesn’t require Norwegian locations. But I hope that the co-production scheme and tax incentive will develop in positive ways, and Sørfond is another way for Norwegian producers to attract new projects from outside of Europe. 

What are your expectations in Cannes as one of the Producers on the Move?
I expect to meet great people, some that might be future partners. I also hope that it will create some attention around my upcoming projects, and that the network is one I’ll turn to for guidance and inspiration for years to come. 

What are your next projects?
I’m working with a big development slate, with features, drama series and in different genres. The upcoming projects is Jonas Matzow Gulbrandsen’s second feature Ashes and Snow set at Spitsbergen, that we plan to shoot next year, and the first feature from Dara Van Dusen, A Prayer for the Dying. The film is based on the novel by Stewart O’Nan. Set just after the Civil War, the film follows an “American dream” turned nightmare when a small town in Wisconsin falls into the violence and chaos of a deadly epidemic and the one man trying to save his town, and soul, in the process. We’re currently financing and aim to shoot next summer.