Honorary TV Beats Producer Awards
Norwegian Gudny Hummelvoll, producer of ‘Billionaire Island’, ‘Headhunters’ and ‘Occupied’, and heavyweight Estonian producer Jevgeni Supin, behind the international historical series ‘Von Fock’, will receive this year’s Honorary TV Beats Producer Awards.
The awards will be judged by the TV Beats Forum, the drama series of Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event, the industry arena of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, and will be presented on November 18 at the TV Beats Forum, followed by a fireside chat with Hummelvoll, Supin and Marike Muselaers.
“The decision to present two awards this year reflects the event’s desire to draw attention to the central role of the producer in the audiovisual industry – without their dedication, enthusiasm, dynamism, ingenuity and sheer willpower, much of the content that audiences enjoy and are attracted to would simply not exist,” said Petri Kemppinen and Roosa Toivonen, co-heads of the TV Beats Forum in Tallinn.
“Working as a producer in smaller countries where the home market cannot fully sustain a level of global ambition is even more challenging, but this year’s recipients have overcome even this obstacle,” she added.
Hummlevol, founder and CEO of Hummelfilm, has become a market leader in a national production sector, that of Norway, that punches well above its weight, as evidenced by the number of awards and selections it earns at major TV festivals in Europe, such as Series Mania and Canneseries.
Both producers show great ambition. “With one of the biggest original leaps in the imagination of any series to come out of Europe,” Variety said as the premiere, “Occupied,” based on a novel by Jo Nesbit that posited the Russian occupation of Norway, was billed as Norway’s biggest TV series to date. It also gained a 53.4% share of Norwegian TV2. Hummelvol has also shown how locally rooted stories can reach global stages. 2024’s ‘Billionaire Island’, hailed as Succession with Salmon, a cutthroat battle for control of a local salmon industry in Norway, was a Netflix and critical hit.
In addition to Hummelvol’s creative achievements, she has been a tireless advocate for collaboration, diversity and mentorship within the European production community and was the first female president of the European Producers Club, where she championed her fellow producers during the challenging years of COVID-19 and post-pandemic disruption.
Supin, like Hummelvoll, works on international co-production and turns necessity into a virtue. He has also shown great – and successful – ambition.
Producer of the first Estonian Viaplay original, ‘Who Shot Otto Mueller’, unveiled to Variety last September a series of five high-end dramas, including ‘My Dear Mother’, played by Film.UA Group, and ‘Von Fock’. The latter is a crime drama, but set in the early 19th century, which allowed for a liberal recourse to Estonia’s historical heritage. It was also the first Estonian series ever to receive support from both Creative Europe’s Media Program and Eurimages’ pilot program for series co-productions. Produced in Ukraine, “My Dear Mother” is also set up at Supin’s fast-growing Zolba Productions and is one of the most anticipated Estonian dramas.
Supin advocated, promoted and supported fellow producers and was the first head of what has become the Baltic TV Beats Forum. His award celebrates his commitment and efforts to make Baltic voices heard worldwide.
