Beta Nordic Studios Launches With Fisher King Joint Venture

Leo Barraclough

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Jan Mojto’s Munich-based production and distribution company Beta Film has taken a majority stake in Finnish production company Fisher King, and has launched Sweden-based Beta Nordic Studios, which will serve as an umbrella for Beta’s production activities in the Nordic region.

Beta Nordic Studios will focus on local scripted projects with an international appeal, which can be leveraged via Beta Film’s international distribution network.

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Beta Film’s executive VP Justus Riesenkampff and the newly appointed CEO Martin Håkansson, a former executive at Lagadère Sports and Nice Entertainment Group, will serve as directors of Beta Nordic Studios.

As well as Fisher King, Beta production operations in the Nordic region include Dramacorp, a joint venture with Swedish-French drama executive Patrick Nebout.

Fisher King was founded in 2013 by executive producer Matti Halonen and chief visual officer Miikko Oikkonen. Over the past six years, it has raised the quality and reputation of Finnish drama by securing international finance for local scripted series. Several of these projects have gone on to achieve international success, notably fantasy drama “Nymphs” and Nordic noir series “Bordertown.”

“Fisher King is a great fit because the co-founders and creators Matti Halonen and Miikko Oikkonen stand for some of the finest international drama series coming from Scandinavia,” Riesenkampff said.

Håkansson said: “Despite a period of intense consolidation, there are still opportunities in the Nordic market. Fisher King is a fine example; it has succeeded in creating ratings-busting drama for the domestic market, while developing and delivering ideas strong enough to take on the world.

“Crucially, however, this is not an M&A strip-and-sell mission — in fact, it is the very opposite. Our mission is to combine the Nordic genius for production with Beta Film’s production experience and distribution power to create a joint venture that will deliver great, BNS-branded entertainment for years to come.”

Halonen added: “As a forward-looking company, Beta Film understands the commercial and creative benefits of bringing together production companies that share the same values and vision — companies, in other words, like Dramacorp and Fisher King, which are both driven by the good old storytelling tradition. This new chapter in Fisher King’s own story will allow us to take that ambition higher, further and to more audiences around the world.”

Pictured: Beta Nordic Studios execs, from left, Matti Halonen (Fisher King), Martin Hakansson (BNS), Justus Riesenkampff (Beta Film).

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