With the “Nordic NEST”, MOIN Film Fund, the German Federal Film Board (FFA) and the five Nordic film institutes are breaking new ground in script development. In the coming months, producers and screenwriters from Germany and the Nordic countries will come together to collaborate on new ideas for feature films and high-end TV drama series. The best projects will receive script development funding of up to €80,000.
Who is behind the programme?
Nordic NEST is a joint initiative of MOIN Film Fund Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein and the Five Nordics – the alliance of the Danish Film Institute, Finnish Film Foundation, Icelandic Film Centre, Norwegian Film Institute, and Swedish Film Institute. From the German side, the German Federal Film Board (FFA) is on board as a partner. The kick-off meeting in Hamburg will be organized in cooperation with the German Producers Alliance.
What is it all about?
The heart of Nordic NEST is the five-day NEST Space on the Baltic Sea coast of Schleswig-Holstein: In January 2026, ten experienced screenwriters – half from Germany and half from the Nordic countries – will gather there to develop new projects. NEST Space is curated by Le Groupe Ouest, one of Europe’s most innovative initiatives for script development.
The NEST program, developed by MOIN Film Fund, has already proven successful in Germany and will now be launched internationally for the first time. With Nordic NEST, a new path is being forged in the field of international co-development – creating a strong foundation for future co-productions between Germany and the Nordic countries. Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein provide the ideal starting point.
The Nordic NEST at a glance
Fall 2025: Kick-off at Filmfest Hamburg Industry Days
60 producers (30 from Germany and 30 from the Nordic countries) will come together for the first time at a networking event in Hamburg including a masterclass and co-creative session with Le Groupe Ouest. The call for applications will be published tomorrow and is aimed at producers who have at least one completed and released international fiction co-production to their name. Here you can find the application form.
January 2026: Nordic NEST Space + Göteborg Film Festival
In early January 2026, five German and five Nordic screenwriters will take part in the Nordic NEST Space on the Baltic Sea coast of Schleswig-Holstein. Each screenwriter needs to have at least two commercially released feature films or series episodes in their portfolio – at least one must be an international co-production.
Afterwards, they will meet with 20 selected producers at the Göteborg Film Festival 2026. For each project that brings together a German and a Nordic production company during the matchmaking event, MOIN Film Fund will automatically award development funding of up to €20,000 for a treatment.
Following phase: Script funding for three projects
After the treatment phase, three projects will be selected to receive additional script development funding of up to €60,000 each.
Fall 2026: Work in progress at Filmfest Hamburg
The circle will close at Filmfest Hamburg 2026, where the ten developed projects will be presented to the international market.
Questions?
