Some of the year’s most acclaimed films were represented Monday at a BFI London Film Festival industry panel on the realities of co-production. Producers behind Cannes winner Fjord, current award hopefuls Paper Tiger, Everybody Digs Bill Evans and The End of It and international Oscar winners Sentimental Value and I’m Still Here swapped lessons on making films across borders.
Moderated by film podcaster and programmer Wendy Mitchell, A Shared Vision: Perspectives on Co-production, held in association with The Hollywood Reporter, brought together Dyveke Bjørkly Graver, producer/partner at Eye Eye Pictures (Fjord), Alan Maher, co-managing director and producer at Cowtown Pictures (Bill Evans), Adrià Monés, founder and CEO at Fasten (The End of It), and Rodrigo Teixeira, founder and producer at RT Features (I’m Still Here, Paper Tiger).
Differences in paperwork were a topic discussed by Maher and others, with panelists pointing out that producers in the U.K. and Ireland tend to be used to having “more lawyers and more meetings” involved than is the case elsewhere in Europe.
Different work approaches across countries and regions also were part of the debate. “I think maybe the biggest cultural difference I’ve experienced on a film was with a Norwegian-Greek co-production,” Norway’s Bjørkly Graver shared. “We are just so different in how we are as people. Norwegians are very put together and not showing emotions — very low conflict level, low drama.”
Having a Greek co-producer she trusted helped her navigate the difference. “I was very happy I cooked this one up with one of my closest industry friends in Greece who guided me through it. The director was coming to me, saying, ‘They’re shouting at me. We’re arguing.’ And [my Greek producer friend] was like: ‘This is just normal conversation in Greece.’”
Teixeira pointed to the contrast with Hollywood. “Hollywood is different. It’s industrial,” he explained. “It’s meeting with 25 people, … 30 people talking to you. You don’t have any power.”
The Brazilian producer also shared how he feels about his repeated work with James Gray, most recently on Paper Tiger. “I know how to work with James,” Teixeira said. “When I work with James, my money always comes back. I always make money. James Gray films are a safe investment.”