Always a frontrunner, “Black Crab” scribe Pelle Rådström has won Göteborg’s Nordic Series Script Award for his screenplay of “Pressure Point,” a tense, involved and compelling three-part miniseries on the build up to murders which shook Sweden to its core.
The winner was announced at an awards ceremony on Jan. 28 during the Göteborg Film Festival’s TV Drama Vision. Rådström’s Award comes with a cash prize of €17,000 ($), funded by the Nordisk Film & TV Fond.
The prize comes as relations between Sweden’s film-TV sector and its government have built to open hostility, with Göteborg Fest honorary president Ruben Östlund calling Sweden’s “culture policy” embarrassingly uneducated, after culture minister Parisa Liljestrand’s speech at Göteborg’s opening ceremony on Friday.
In such a context, the prize is also an endorsement of public broadcaster SVT’s support for a mini-series made with acute, nuanced intelligence which offers at one and the same time edge-of-the-seat entertainment.
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Written by Rådström, working from an outline by Wilhem Berhman (“Caliphate,” “Before We Die”) and Niklas Rockström (“Caliphate,” “Wallander”), “Pressure Point” recreates recreation of rehearsals for the play, “7:3,” created by renowned playwright Lars Norén and producer Isa Stenberg, in which two real-life neo-Nazi inmates expounded on stage their heartfelt neo-Nazi convictions.
For Norén, this was an opportunity for a “unique story,” and suggest what lead to their neo-Nazism: Alienation, childhood hurt. For Stenberg and some prison authorities the play opened up the chance for rehabilitation; for one of the prisoners, the opportunity to plan a bank robbery, whose getup lead to the murder of two police officer, an act which shook Swedish society to the core.
The screenplay, as Rådström explained to Variety in an illuminating interview, sympathises with Norén and Stenberg, but begs to differ from both. It also differs from conventional drama. “Reality is incredibly illogical and multi-faceted, and people are so inconsistent and full of contradictions. Film dramaturgy, on the other hand, strives for a kind of purity and clarity. The characters should have one thing that drives them, one main goal,” Rådström said. “A lot of screenwriters go astray there by letting the dramaturgy rather than reality take the lead.” “Pressure Point” went the other way.
“Pressure Point” is produced by Martina Stöhr at Art & Bob, directed by double Berlin Crystal Bear winner Sanna Lenken and distributed by REinvent International Sales.
“In a time when authentic, brave storytelling is rare, ‘Pressure Point’ stands out as a series that resonates with the intelligence of its audience,” said Nordic Series Script Award jury, comprised of actor-screenwriter Henriette Steenstrup, producer Joanna Szymańska and creative director Linus Fremin.
“Instead of simplifying complex human experiences, it delves deeply into themes of freedom of expression, criminal justice, and rehabilitation, presenting characters in a profoundly human way. Inspired by a real-life tragedy, it masterfully explores the consequences of good intentions going awry, challenging us to reflect on the fragility of democracy.”
Petter Onstad Løkke and Synnøve Hørsdal
Photo: Jenny Duan
A second plaudit was presented as part of TV Drama Vision’s Nordic Series Awards on Tuesday: The Creative Courage Award, celebrating the producer and commissioner of a series that boldly pushes creative boundaries and embraces innovation.
It went to Norwegian series “Dates in Real Life,” produced by Petter Onstad Løkke and Synnøve Hørsdal from Maipo Film and commissioned by Marianne Furevold-Boland and Alec Thom from Nowegian public broadcaster NRK.
Written by Jakob Rørvik, “Dates in Real Life” turns on Gen Z Ida who is dumped by her virtual world lover and sets out to find a physical partner. It was awarded best series in the International Panorama of last year’s Series Mania.
“It is funny, ironic, and touching. The first-ever Creative Courage series award goes to a brave producer-commissioner collaboration that has brought something wonderfully fresh to our Nordic industry,” said Liselott Forsman, CEO of Nordisk Film & TV Fond and Cia Edström, Head of TV Drama Vision, who selected the winner.
“This inspiring series renews the romantic comedy genre, combines animation with live-action and offers an insightful take on dating in a world where a virtual life might feel safer than a real one,” they added.