FANNY OVESEN is a Swedish screenwriter and director based in Oslo, Norway and working across Scandinavia.
Fanny is in post production for her first feature film “LAURA”, as a director and screenwriter, filmed in seven countries: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, and France. The film is a roadmovie, based on her own experiences in the European couch-surfing community. The film has already been awarded on several occasions - in 2018 Fanny won the Nordic Talents pitch in Copenhagen, awarded by Nordisk Film & TV Fond. That same year Fanny was awarded the Swedish Film Institute’s Wild Card, an initiative to support up-and-coming directorial debut features. And in 2019 Fanny won the Swedish Anna Prize, for the film's relevance to the UN Women’s Convention. The feature received EURIMAGE funding early in 2023, read more here.
Fanny's latest work is that of conceptual director of the SVT series "Allt som blir kvar", written by and based on the novel by Sandra Beijer. Screenwriting credits also include Maria Clauss. The series was produced by Baluba and was premiered in 2022, with a cast including Oscar Zia, Madeleine Ferraud and Erik Enge.
In 2020 Fanny directed episodes on the Norwegian TV series “Nach / Efter festen” for Rubicon/Discovery Norway, written and also directed by Ernst de Geer. It premiered in March 2021 on Discovery in Scandinavia, and has received top reviews in Norway.
Fanny graduated from the Norwegian Film School in 2018. Fanny finds herself gravitating towards the drama genre, but she always strives to find humour, irony and beauty in everyday life. In every project she wishes to find a certain urgency and she often explores themes such as norms, structural power and privilege. She has a deeply empathetic and subjective approach to building complex characters. Fanny is devoted to challenging stereotypes and letting all different types of faces, bodies and personalities shine on the screen.
Fanny has written and directed several short films. In 2017 she co-wrote and co-directed the short film “SMIL”, which was screened at several international festivals in Europe. Her graduation short film from the Norwegian Film School, “SHE-PACK”, is based on the experiences of the team members’ youth and femininity. It premiered internationally at the Berlinale in 2019 and the film has since won numerous awards, among them the Amanda Award (Norwegian Academy Award) for Best Short.
Laura - feature (screenwriter/director) - post production Allt som blir kvar / (“All that remains”) - series (conceptual director) - 2022 Om du vill - short (co-screenwriter/co-director with Robin Krey Andersson) - in development Nach / Efter festen - series (episodic director) - created, written, and also directed by Ernst de Geer - 2021 She-Pack - short (director) - 2018 Smil - short (co-screenwriter/co-director with Brwa Vahabpour) - 2017 Klangfärg - short (director) - 2014
AWARDS & NOMINATIONS
She-Pack Selection (in total 44 prizes and nominations)
London Short Film Festival - Official Selection - 2020
Prague Short Film Festival - Official Selection - 2020
BUFF The International Children and Young People’s Film Festival - Malmoe, Sweden - Official Selection - 2020
Kyoto International Student Film & Video Festival - 2nd prize, Best Student Film - 2020
The Norwegian International Film Festival - Amanda Award for Best Short (Norwegian Academy Award) - 2019
The Norwegian Short Film Festival - Best Norwegian Short, Best Script & The Film Critic’s Award - 2019
Berlinale Generation - Official Selection - 2019
Nordisk Panorama - New Nordic Voice Award - 2019
Aspen Shortsfest - Best Student Short - 2019
BlueCat Short Film Festival Los Angeles - Best Short - 2019
Denver Film Festival - Best International Student Film - 2019
Moscow International Film Festival - Official Selection - 2019
Amandus International Student Film Festival - Official Selection - 2019
Palm Springs Shortfest - Official Selection - 2019
Sarajevo Film Festival - Official Selection - 2019
São Paulo International Short Film Festival - Official Selection - 2019
Shorts México - Official Selection - 2019
CPH:PIX - Buster Film Festival - Official Selection - 2019
Helsinki International Film Festival - Official Selection - 2019
Uppsala International Short Film Festival - Official Selection - 2019
Gijón International Film Festival - Official Selection - 2019
Bergen International Film Festival - Official Selection - 2018
Smil Oslo Pix - Official Selection - 2018
Stockholm Feminist Film Festival - Official Selection - 2018
Leuven International Short Film Festival - Official Selection - 2017
The Norwegian Short Film Festival - Official Selection - 2017
Klangfärg Guldsvanen Short Film Competition - Audience Award and Best Technique Award - 2014
November Film Festival in Trollhättan - Official Selection - 2014
