Online course: Scandinavian Film and Television - University of Copenhagen

Online course: Scandinavian Film and Television

Dates: any time

Duration: 15 hours

Rating: 4.7 / 5.0 out of 471 ratings (see top rating courses here)

Participating countries: any country

Apply here: Application form

Organizer: University of Copenhagen at Coursera

Cost:

FREE
$49 with sharable certificate

This course is an introduction to many of the possibilities that exist to fund your film, market it, and create an audience for it. It will give you a sense of possible options and avenues to explore and it will start you on the process of making your film dreams a reality. The course covers the grant researching and writing process for fiction films and documentaries, strategies for developing impactful film websites, best social media practices for filmmakers, and how to approach crowdfunding and seeking investors. Through these experiences you will be prepared to seek funding for your film and to build your own audience through digital spaces.

Instructors

Alexandra Hidalgo

Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures

Programme

WEEK 1: Contemporary Scandinavian Film and TV Culture and Dreyer’s Classical Cinema

This module consists of two lessons. The first lesson offers an introduction to main trends in the contemporary Scandinavian film and television culture, focusing – among other things – on how the national film and television cultures relate to ideas of the welfare state. The module also addresses the international impact of film and television from Scandinavia. The second lesson deals with the early years of cinema in Scandinavia and the work of the Danish director Carl Th. Dreyer, from a silent film classic such as ‘The Passion of Joan of Arc’ to the sound film era.

1.1: Scandinavian cinema and the welfare state, by Professor Ib Bondebjerg
1.2: Scandinavian cinema: trends and international impact, by Professor Ib Bondebjerg
1.3: Scandinavian television culture, by Professor Ib Bondebjerg
2.1: The establishing of early cinema in Scandinavia, by Associate Professor Casper Tybjerg
2.2: The golden age of Swedish cinema and Dreyer, by Associate Professor Casper Tybjerg
2.3: Sound film and Dreyer’s career as filmmaker, by Associate Professor Casper Tybjerg
Contemporary Scandinavian Film and Television Culture: Main Trends
Carl Th. Dreyer and the Classical Scandinavian Cinema

WEEK 2: Ingmar Bergman and Lars von Trier

‘The Seventh Seal’, ‘Persona’ and ‘Cries and Whispers’ are just some of the famous films by the acclaimed Swedish director Ingmar Bergman. The third lesson focuses on issues of influences, themes and style in his films as well as on Bergman’s importance for the modern art cinema. The fourth lesson deals with the internationally renowned ideas and films by the Danish director Lars von Trier: ‘The Europa-trilogy’; The TV series ‘Riget’/’The Kingdom’; ‘Breaking the Waves’; ‘Dancer in the Dark’ and ‘Dogville’; The Dogma 95 Manifesto; ‘Antichrist’, ‘Melancholia’ and ‘Nymphomaniac’ …

3.1: Bergman and the modern art cinema, by Associate Professor Johannes Riis
3.2: Bergman’s film: Themes and style, by Associate Professor Johannes Riis1
3.3: Chamber films, Persona and the influence of Strindberg, by Associate Professor Johannes Riis1
4.1: Lars von Trier: The Early Years, by Associate Professor Peter Schepelern
4.2: Dogma 95, by Associate Professor Peter Schepelern
4.3: Lars von Trier: The Later Years, by Associate Professor Peter Schepelern
Ingmar Bergman: Between Classicism and Modernism
Lars von Trier and Dogma 95

WEEK 3: New Wave, Art Cinema and Social Drama

Many people have heard of the French new wave cinema, ‘la nouvelle vague’. The fifth lesson deals with the main tendencies of the Scandinavian new wave cinema and some of its ‘auteurs’. The sixth lesson focuses on different tendencies in the Scandinavian art film and social drama after 1990, ranging from award-winning heritage films to harsh stories from the contemporary Scandinavian welfare societies.

5.1: Birth of new wave cinema, by Associate Professor Birger Langkjær
5.2: Scandinavian new wave: Main tendencies, by Associate Professor Birger Langkjær
5.3: Scandinavian new wave auteurs, by Associate Professor Birger Langkjær
6.1: And the Winner is … Scandinavian heritage films, by Professor Ib Bondebjerg
6.2: Contemporary Scandinavian film success, by Professor Ib Bondebjerg
6.3: Modern Scandinavian art films, by Professor Ib Bondebjerg
Scandinavian New Wave Cinema
Scandinavian Art Film and Social Drama after 1990

WEEK 4: Documentary and Early TV Drama

Scandinavian cinema has a long history of strong documentary film making. The seventh lesson moves from the early documentary filmmakers to the contemporary – global and digital – scene for Scandinavian documentaries. Television drama is important for the Scandinavian public service broadcasters, but the notions of good television drama have changed remarkably from the early days of television up until today. In the eighth lesson we focus on the main tendencies in these developments from 1960 to 2000.

7.1: Discovering reality on film: The early documentary, by Professor Ib Bondebjerg
7.2: A new look at reality: The modern Scandinavian documentary, by Professor Ib Bondebjerg
7.3: Documentary in a global and digital world, by Professor Ib Bondebjerg
8.1: A medium for education: Early television drama, by Professor Ib Bondebjerg
8.2: The birth of modern television drama, by Professor Ib Bondebjerg
8.3: Stories by instalment: Television and serial narratives, by Professor Ib Bondebjerg

The Scandinavian Documentary
Scandinavian Television Drama 1960-2000

WEEK 5: Modern TV Drama and the Digital Revolution

With ‘Nordic Noir’ such as ‘Wallander’ and ‘Forbrydelsen/The Killing’ becoming a ‘brand’ in the 2010s, some ‘Scandi crime’ series were suddenly of interest to international as well as national audiences. The ninth lesson focuses on Scandinavian television drama after the millennium and addresses some of the changes in the production framework that helped the series move from the national to the international realm. The tenth and final lesson discusses how to understand the contemporary Scandinavian film and television culture in a global and digital era. What might the transnational future bring?

(Please be advised that these lectures were filmed in 2014. Much has happened since then. We have put links about more recent developments in the resources.)

9.1: Scandinavian television drama after the millennium, by Associate Professor Eva Novrup Redvall
9.2: Danish public service television drama in the 2000s, by Associate Professor Eva Novrup Redvall
9.3: Scandi-Crime and Nordic Noir, by Associate Professor Eva Novrup Redvall
10.1: The birth of a global online culture, by Professor Ib Bondebjerg
10.2: Is Nordic globally cool?, by Professor Ib Bondebjerg
10.3: Towards new horizons: Transnational futures, by Professor Ib Bondebjerg
Instructor profile: Casper Tybjerg
Instructor profile: Birger Langkjær
Instructor profile: Ib Bondebjerg
Instructor profile: Johannes Riis
Instructor profile: Peter Schepelern
Instructor profile: Eva Novrup Redvall
Scandinavian Television and DR Production Practices
Global and Local Digital Economy – Trends and Tendencies