In recent years, the expansion of production incentives and evolving global filmmaking trends have intensified the complexities surrounding runaway production, particularly in and out of Scandinavia. This shift calls for a thorough examination of how production incentives are affecting Scandinavian screen industries as well as the broader history of runaway production. In my postdoctoral project, I explore both the contemporary and historical dynamics, focusing on how these changes impact on-screen content and off-screen factors within the Scandinavian screen industries.
“Should 1864 have been filmed in Denmark?”
This headline from a 2014 Danish newspaper article not only captures a public debate but underscores a recurring challenge that increasingly affects Danish screen production: the phenomenon of runaway production, a term deeply rooted in the historical outsourcing trends initiated in post-war Hollywood. The headlines refer to the filming of the series about the German–Danish war in 1864, which was partially shot in the Czech Republic instead of on Danish soil, where the story is historically and geographically set – and despite being made by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) and with significant public funding. Critics argued that keeping production in Denmark would have supported the local film industry, preserved jobs, and added authenticity and branding value. On the other side, supporters of the decision highlighted the Czech Republic’s suitability for the ambitious large-scale battle scenes and its more favourable production costs, not least due to so-called production incentives. This has continued with several recent large-scale productions partly made elsewhere, such as Margrethe: Queen of the North (Charlotte Sieling, 2021), The Marco Effect (Martin Zandvliet, 2021), or The Promised Land (Nikolaj Arcel, 2023).
However, the conversation doesn’t end with outsourcing. There’s also a significant discourse around productions that “run by” Denmark despite being narratively set in Denmark. A recent example is the forthcoming series Smilla’s Sense of Snow by German Constantin Film: Despite its narrative roots in Denmark and Greenland and being based on a Danish bestseller novel, the series is shot in two major European runaway locales of the Czech Republic and Iceland.
Complicating matters further, the Danish film industry faced a tumultuous 2022, marked by disputes between Create Denmark, the Danish Producers’ Association, and several streaming platforms over rights agreements. This stand-off led to a significant halt in productions, prompting many companies to more stable production environments such as Sweden. In 2024, this catalysed a broad coalition of industry associations to advocate for the introduction of a production incentive in Denmark with a proposal for a 25% tax rebate incentive – a move seen as critical to reviving the local film industry and aligning with practices in neighbouring Scandinavian countries.
Indeed, recent years have seen the spread of national production incentives across Europe, with Denmark as one of the last nations without such incentives. Notably, Norway rolled out its incentive in 2016, and Sweden followed in 2022, both attracting interest from Hollywood and other international producers. The primary rationale behind these incentive schemes is economic and labour-oriented: They aim to stimulate local employment and economic growth by drawing in large foreign projects. Yet, some voices in the industry express concerns that a narrow focus on financial incentives could erode the cultural distinctiveness of domestic cinemas, transforming it into a service industry for international productions rather than stimulating national cinematic expression.
Following recent changes, Scandinavia is an interesting case considering these developments, covering both departures and arrivals to, from, and across Scandinavia, the rich film histories, varied economic policies on production incentives, and the tension between preserving cultural distinctiveness and pursuing economic benefits. The region’s strong labour rights, advanced technology adoption, and growing pledge to environmental sustainability (often a mismatch with travelling productions) further add complexity to issues of runaway.
Additionally, screen history has rarely focused on the actual geographical sites of production, which are often challenging to study. This difficulty stems from issues such as closed productions and the scarcity of detailed data in databases regarding specific production locations. Consequently, pinpointing the precise filming locations becomes just one of many complex factors to analyse in the study of runaway productions.
In short, runaway production and Scandinavia is a complicated field rooted in contemporary changes around production incentives, developments of streaming platforms, and global competition, and on the other hand, underresearched historical developments that can provide new insights into where and why screen production has run.
This forms the framework for my two-year postdoc project set at Lund University. The subject is Scandinavian film culture with a focus on runaway with the aim to gather new knowledge on historical as well as contemporary aspects, not least the practical, (media) political, and aesthetic consequences. Theoretically, the project builds on previous research on and theorisation of runaway in combination with location studies. This interest extends from my newly defended PhD dissertation, which explored similar themes in international and local screen production in Greenland, highlighting how (geo)political and economic factors shape local film industries both historically and today.
With this project, the focus is broader but with a similar desire to take a place-centred approach and an ambition to map arrivals and departures to and from Denmark, initially, but ideally also Sweden and Norway. This can form the basis for case studies focusing on policies and place branding, Scandinavian competition, and public debates. Hopefully, this work will enrich the often-polarised debates surrounding production incentives. Additionally, it aims to contribute new insights into research on Scandinavian film production and history, laying a foundation for future studies.
Given the intricate nature of this issue and its global implications, this topic presents a rich opportunity for collaborative exploration. Therefore, I warmly welcome collaborations and dialogues to further our understanding of the issues mentioned in this article – and beyond.
Image: In The Promised Land (Nikolaj Arcel, 2023), Ludvig Kahlen (Mads Mikkelsen) confronts Frederik De Schinkel’s (Simon Bennebjerg) in front of his mansion. This was historically placed near Viborg, Denmark – which is also the setting of the story – but is shot at State Castle Libochovice in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic; one recent example of runaway production. Screenshot from trailer.