Trapped: A Case Study of International Co-Production

Abstract

This chapter presents a study of the development and production of recent television crime drama Trapped (Ófærð) (2015), an international co-production, set in Iceland and conceived by Icelandic production company RVK. Key collaborators in the project include a Franco-German producer, a French script editor and a British writer, working with an Icelandic showrunner and Icelandic directors and actors. It investigates how ‘aesthetics, creative practices, possibilities and limitations, enablers and disablers, rules and logistical boundaries’ all contribute to the realisation of a screen work. Based on interviews with producers, writers and directors, the chapter provides an in-depth account of the development and production process. It describes the process of concept development and financing—investigating the necessary elements that needed to be in place for this to happen. In particular, it focuses on: (a) how this process depended on established relationships as well as the forging of new ones between the key players, and (b) how the original premise was developed into something that was considered to have international appeal (reference will be made here to the particular genre of crime drama and to the role of ‘Nordic Noir’ in providing a touchstone for international co-productions in this genre). The chapter goes on to examine the process involved in developing and producing a drama set in one national culture with the involvement of key professionals originating from and living in other national cultures. It investigates who was involved and how they worked together, citing particular examples of how cultural specificity and cultural interchange played into this process. Finally, the chapter situates the case study within the wider context of international co-production and reflects on the artistic and commercial rationale for international co-production in television drama (a growing trend).