Fifteen years after the birth of the company, its position is stronger than ever. The catalogue of local cult-films like “The way back – True Blue 2” featuring a young Zlatan Ibrahimovic, “Walking on Water” about the dreams surrounding the construction of the Öresunds Bridge connecting Denmark and Sweden year 2000. “The Socialist, The Architect and the Twisted Tower”, a local film that travelled the world, including DVD-release in Spain and US.
2009 the company became the most well-known production company in the country, partly through its co-production Burma VJ, nominated to an Oscar and released theatrically in Sweden with great reviews. But more important: Fredrik Gertten’s BANANAS!*, the most famous Swedish documentary for the last 30 years. BANANAS!* did great on cinema and on DVD, the lawsuit against the filmmaker, the producer and the company made every Swede aware about the film and the production company. The film was screened in the parliament and a majority of the MP: s signed a petition asking DOLE to withdraw the lawsuit. 2009 was the year when WG Film went from being well-known for quality within the business to a company that many Swedes have heard about.
Westman & Gertten AB was founded in 1994 by the experienced documentary filmmaker Lars Westman and journalist Fredrik Gertten. Lars Westman is one of the great Swedish filmmakers, his breakthrough came as early as 1970 with the film "Kamrat motståndaren är välorganiserad/Comrade, the opponent is well organized". Since then he has made many films that today are part of Swedish film history. In 2000 he received the Bo Widerberg award in recognition of a lifetime dedicated to film.
Fredrik Gertten has been a journalist since he was 20 years old. He has worked all over the world for radio, television and newspapers.
Westman & Gertten realised that Swedish documentary film needed stronger structures, and stronger producers. The goal was to create better conditions for the sort of documentary film that we love. The company has grown out of necessity, it is hard today for a documentary filmmaker to manage on his own if he wants to make films with high artistic and technical quality. Today we have two AVID-suites in a quiet, comfortable environment. Documentary film of high artistic quality needs a long editing process. We have created good conditions for that.
Our premises are located in central Malmö, near the train to Copenhagen. We mostly work with long, time-consuming film projects, often with a production-time of more than two years, sometimes even longer. We have had the time to develop the skill of managing large quantities of recorded material and turning it into strong documentary films.
We are well known for making films about the local community in a universal perspective. We will continue to do that. But we will also make more international films.
WG Film is considered one of the best and most successful companies in the genre of author driven documentary films in Sweden and Internationally. We are also one of the first companies to successfully work internationally both in regards to financing and distribution. With several MEDIA applications accepted, the first one in 2003, and a total of three successful MEDIA Slate funding applications and six MEDIA TV distribution applications, WG Film today serves as an inspiring example to other producers and companies in Sweden and around Europe.
WG Film and Fredrik Gertten also took initiative to the documentary film club Doc Lounge that started up in Malmö in 2006. Documentary films are screened in a club atmosphere with DJ: s, live music and debates. There’s a bar in the room and we regard Doc Lounge as an important tool to hype the genre of documentaries. We have now opened Doc Lounge in 8 cities around Scandinavia. Later 2010 we will see more towns joining the network.
BANANAS!* was the first film to be released over the whole net, with 2500 people watching the film. This supported the cinema release in a very strong way.
Read more: www.doclounge.se
WG film is a well-known company in the world of documentary television on the European and international market. The company is known for its quality and professional deliveries. Fredrik Gertten served as a board member of European Documentary Network, EDN, since 2004 to 2008, and he attends most markets and workshops around Europe through out the documentary year.
Producer Margarete Jangård attended the EAVE workshop in 2005. Her network of European producers and broadcasters adds great value to the WG Films international network. Margarete represents WG Film in mayor European and international markets.
Today it's so much easier to get access to European and international decision makers. If we have a good project it will for sure have a fair chance to be produced with a decent budget, sold and distributed on the European film market.
With BANANAS!* we are moving forward. The film now get’s theatrical premiere in several countries. Already signed: Dogwoof (UK), Projektor (Germany), Oscilloscope (USA), Mongrel Media (Canada), Stadtkino (Austria) and Against Gravity (Poland). Our sales agent Autlook films in Vienna hopes to soon announce distribution in even more countries.
The success of BANANAS!* and Burma VJ have opened up a new world for us. A success with in the world of TV documentaries is often very hard to transfer into the theatrical field. We have now new partners and friends to learn from. It’s an exciting journey. This will also mean that we suddenly also have revenues coming from the finished films. This is new to us.
It’s not only about business. It’s crucial to have a strong network in Europe and in the world, friends to share experiences and understanding of the rapidly changing world of documentaries. With our friends in Europe we can rapidly identify and contact the co-producer that best fits each project. We have strong relations in Spain (Parallel 40), in France (Les Films du Tambour de Soie), in Denmark (Magic Hour films), in Norway (Medieoperatörerne and Mediamente film), in Germany (Majade Filmproduktion GmbH and Gebrüder Beetz production). We have also good personal relations with producers in several new member states through our active participation in EDN and EAVE.
WG Film has always tried to reach out beyond Europe. Several films sold to NHK in Japan and also to South Korea. USA and Canada are important territories. We started to travel to Hot Docs in Toronto already in 2003. This year our production I bought a rainforest will have its world premiere in competition at Hot Docs (April 29 – May 9 2010).
BANANAS!* and Final Image received both development and production support from Sundance Documentary Fund. This is prestigious and very important for the films and for the company.
BANANAS!* was one of eight films that got selected by ITVS International Call 2008. 270 projects from 72 countries applied. They payed 150 000 USD for the American TV rights.
We now have a much better knowledge of how the North American market works and we personally know the key players. This network is something we believe other European producers look for and that makes WG Film an interesting partner. We get several proposals every week from European producers and filmmakers all around Europe and also Asia. Our next strong project might be a European co-production reaching the world through the WG Film international network.
In Spain 2006 and 2007 we have had two films screened in "Documental del mes" with great
success. The Socialist, the Architect and the Twisted Tower and Thin Ice. The Socialist, the Architect and the Twisted Tower is now released in a book/DVD in Spain in co-operation with Parallel 40 and Documental del Mes.
During the last years, our films have had great success on the international festival scene. BANANAS!*, Burma VJ, I bought a rainforest, An Ordinary Family, The Socialist the Architect and the Twisted Tower, Belfast Girls, Thin Ice , Milkbar, Final Image got selected to many festivals, including IDFA, Berlinale and HotDocs, Toronto. We see the festivals as a market for documentaries and we are charging 300 Euros per screening and film, which also gives us extra revenues.
One of our goals is a workplace in balance. At the moment female co-workers are in a majority at WG Film. Margarete Jangård is leading the company together with Fredrik Gertten and four of our seven current documentary projects have women as the lead characters and women as the most important co-workers.