Norway’s Gudni Hummelvoll, producer of “Billionaire Island,” “Headhunters,” and “Occupied,” and Estonian heavyweight producer Jevgeni Supin, creator of the international historical series “Von Fok,” will be the recipients of this year’s Honorary TV Beat Producer Award.
Judged by TV Beats Forum, the drama series of Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event, the industry arena of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, the award will be presented on November 18th at TV Beats Forum, followed by a hearth talk with Hummelvoll, Supin, Marike Musseler and others.
“The decision to present two awards this year reflects the event’s desire to draw attention to the vital role of producers in the audiovisual industry. Without their dedication, enthusiasm, dynamism, resourcefulness and sheer will, much of the content that viewers enjoy and are drawn to would not exist,” said Petri Kempinen and Rusa Toivonen, co-heads of TV Beats Forum in Tallinn.
“Working as a producer in a small country whose domestic market cannot fully sustain global ambition levels is even more difficult, but this year’s winners have overcome even this obstacle,” they added.
Humlevor, founder and CEO of Hummelfilm, has emerged as an industry leader in Norway’s much larger national production sector, as evidenced by the number of awards and selections at major European television festivals such as Seriesmania and Cannes Series.
Both producers are showing great ambition. “Occupied,” based on Jo Nesbitt’s novel about the Russian occupation of Norway, has been touted as Norway’s biggest television series to date and “boasts the greatest leap of creative imagination of any series to come out of Europe,” Variety said when it first aired. It also captured a 53.4% share on Norway’s TV2. Hummelvoll also showed how locally-based stories can make their way onto the global stage, with 2024’s Billionaire’s Island, hailed as a successor to Salmon, a fierce battle for control of Norway’s local salmon industry, a hit on Netflix and a critical hit.
Beyond Hummelvoll’s creative achievements, she is a tireless advocate of collaboration, diversity and mentorship within the European production community, serving as the first female president of the European Producers Club and championing her producer colleagues through a difficult few years due to COVID-19 and post-pandemic disruption.
Soupin, like Hummelwoll, engages in international co-production, which inevitably produces virtues. He has also shown ambition to achieve great success.
The producer of Estonia’s first Viaplay original, Who Shot Otto Mueller, announced to Variety last September that he has five high-end dramas to be produced by Film.UA Group, including My Dear Mother and Von Fock. Although the latter is a crime drama, it is set in the early 19th century and makes liberal use of Estonia’s historical heritage. It was also the first Estonian series to receive support from both Creative Europe’s media program and Eurimages’ series co-production pilot program. “My Dear Mother,” also created by Supin’s rapidly expanding Zorba Productions and produced in cooperation with Ukraine, is one of the most anticipated Estonian dramas.
Supin, who championed, promoted and supported his fellow producers, was the first chairman of what later became the Baltic TV Beat Forum. His award recognizes his dedication and efforts to make the voice of the Baltic Sea heard around the world.
