Nordic Family Film Festival
Your Excellencies, consul generals and distinguished guests.
It's an honour to celebrate with you the opening of the Nordic Family Film Festival in Shanghai 2010 and witness the great passion and interest for the Nordic countries and Nordic films here in China.
The organizers of Shanghai International Film Festival deserve a great deal of gratitude for opening their doors to the Nordic Family film festival and making it part of this years program.
The Nordic Family has over 30 years experience of cooperating to promote and support Nordic Films.
The success of Nordic films is not only important for our culture and identity but also our economy.
The greatest assets of any country or region are its people, their creativity, skill and talent.
Within the economy the industries based on these assets are known collectively as the ‘Creative Industries' – a unique sector that is creating wealth through developing and exploiting intellectual property.
Nordic Music, Design, Literature, Visual and Performing arts have all enjoyed a strong international reputation. In films we bring all of this together.
In my native Iceland we realise the importance of our creative industries as a building block in resurrecting our economy following the financial collapse and the economic crisis.
One way of supporting our film industry has been to increase the reimbursement of the costs incurred in the production of films and television programmes in Iceland to 20%.
This rebate along with the light, diverse landscape and skills available has welcomed some high profile film productions to Iceland, including James Bond, Batman Begins, Tomb Raider and Flags of our Fathers.
Another somewhat more unexpected success story is the Nordic Computer gaming industry.
Also in this sector it has been the fortune of the Nordic countries to cooperate. Iceland´s most successful gaming companies such as CCP, the producer of Eve Online, acknowledge the importance of the Nordic Gaming imitative.
We are all looking for this extra that makes us special while at the same time exchanging ideas and being influenced by others.
Cultural exchanges between China and the Nordic countries is an important part of broadening our understanding of each others cultures. Cultural understanding is the basis of our harmonies and good cooperation.
I am pleased to see that cultural, political and commercial cooperation between the Nordic countries and China is flourishing at the magnificent Shanghai World EXPO. The impressive participation of the Nordic countries shows the importance the Nordic counties put on showing the Chinese public the best that they have to offer.
The Nordic Film industry has been blooming in recent years and I sincerely hope Chinese film enthusiast will enjoy the Nordic contribution and that the tradition of the Nordic Film festival in Shanghai will be carried on for many years to come.
In conclusion I would like to recognize the Nordic film institutes for their work in making this festival a reality and the contribution made to this event by the Nordic Council of Ministers, the Nordic EXPO participations and the Nordic Consuls General here in Shanghai.
I would also like to phrase the management here at the Nordic Lighthouse. I am quite impressed by this beautiful venue, this is the perfect place to exhibit the good cooperation between the Nordic countries."