Iceland’s entertainment industry benefit from creative boost

Specialists in American drama and creativity David Zucker and Carol Flint are in Iceland helping to promote the American creative model in the Icelandic industry.

The event, which finishes on the 24th August, is being organised by media consulting company MediaXchange and its being backed by the Icelandic government. It will encourage the sharing of strategies and information across the entertainment sectors in order to further encourage the production of a drama series in Iceland.

David Zucher is the president of Scott Free Productions, responsible for the Company and NUMB3RS. Carol Flint was the executive producer for ER and West Wing. The pair will be sharing their expertise in the fields of creative writing, and professional development for writers, producers and executives. In addition to group sessions, the two will work individually with several professionals on their projects.

A number of local groups in Iceland will participate in the ‘Outside the Box’ event, including: Screen One, RUV, 365 Media, Channel 2, Saga Film and Pegasus.

CEO of MediaXchange, Katrina Wood said: “We very much welcome the support ‘Outside The Box’ is receiving, particularly from Skjarinn and networks and producers including RUV, Channel 2, Saga Film and Pegasus Panartic. Their contributions have made the event possible and through these concerted efforts, I believe we can look forward to an informative and inspirational three days which will invigorate the Icelandic creative community.”

Bjorn Sigurdsson, Head of Programming for Skjarinn said: “We are looking to build our own local drama production. This initiative offers an opportunity to construct a strong foundation to the creative and development processes through which we can have a robust infrastructure for our fledgling drama productions. With access to such established practitioners through MediaXchange’s ’Outside the Box’ event as David Zucker, Carol Flint and Laurie Hutzler, we can explore what to apply from the craft and technique which has made the US model successful around the world.”

MediaXchange was launched in 1991 and designs programs to provide resources to companies looking to grow in the international entertainment industry. They organise exchanges and international events to share expertise, experience and advice within the industry in order to cultivate new ideas and contacts.