‘Atlantic Crossing’ trailer

We welcome you to a special virtual event featuring the team behind the new PBS Masterpiece series ‘Atlantic Crossing,’ along with renowned Norwegian Hollywood-director Joachim Rønning (‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man Tell No Tales,’ ‘Maleficent: Mistress of Evil,’ ‘Kon Tiki’).

We will discuss ‘Atlantic Crossing,’ the state of Norwegian film and TV production, and learn from the experiences of someone who has made the leap from Norway into the American film industry at the highest level.

Wednesday, April 14th at 12 Noon PST (21:00 in Norway)

Meet The Panelists

Silje Hopland Eik is an award-winning Norwegian film and TV series producer. Silje produced ‘Atlantic Crossing.’ She is also the CEO of Cinenord, an independent production company, with offices in Oslo, Stockholm and Copenhagen. Since it was founded in 2004, Cinenord has produced and co-produced 28 movies and 3 TV-series.

Linda May Kallestein is a Norwegian screenwriter, director and producer. She co-wrote ‘Atlantic Crossing’ with Alexander Eik.

Alexander Eik is an award-winning Norwegian film and TV series Director, TV series Creator, and Screenwriter. Eik is also a Partner at Cinenord, a leading film production company in Norway and Scandinavia. He is the creator, screenwriter, director and executive producer of ‘Atlantic Crossing.’

Educated in fine arts, Alexander Eik started making short films in 1996. Between 1998-2004 he directed TV-commercials. Since 2003 he has directed five feature films and two TV-series. Alexander Eik has broad experience as a Script Supervisor on numerous feature films and has also written five screenplays for feature films and TV-series (directed by others).

In 2001, Eik's short film "The Art Of Seeing" (aka "Første akt") won the Norwegian national film prize Amanda for Best Short 2001.

In 2003, his feature film debut "The woman of my life" (aka "Kvinnen I mitt liv") turned out to be a huge box office success. The DVD made an all-time-high sales record for Norwegian feature films (adult audience) and the film has since been annually screened on national television as a Christmas classic.

In 2006, Eik directed the comedy "Cold Feet" (aka "Kalde Føtter") co-produced by Nordisk Film and You Are Here. The film was selected for the prestigious Variety's Critics Choice at The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 2007.

The same year, Alexander Eik's music video "High On The Crime" for the acclaimed rock group Turbonegro became MTV Pick Of the Week and awarded at The MTV European Music Awards.

In 2007, Eik directed the crime mini-series "The Night Sister" (aka "Nattsøsteren"), for Nordisk Film. The series pre-sold to television channels in Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and Norwegian Public Broadcaster NRK.

In 2008, Eik directed two Nordic Noir feature films; "Buried Dogs" (aka "Begravde Hunder") and "The Woman In The Fridge" (aka "Kvinnen i kjøleskapet") about Norwegian crime hero Varg Veum, co-produced by Misofilm and SF Norge. Both films were pre-sold to Germany, Sweden, and Denmark, in addition to Norway.

In 2009, Eik directed the Nordic Noir mini-series "The Orchestra Grave" (aka Orkestergraven), for Nordisk Film, pre-sold to television channels in Germany, Sweden, and Denmark, in addition to the Norwegian public broadcaster NRK.

In 2010, Eik served as script editor for "Varg Veum II", spanning six feature-length films based on author Gunnar Staalesen's successful book franchise about Private Investigator Varg Veum.

In 2011, Eik directed his third film in the Varg Veum franchise, titled "In the Dark, All Wolves Are Grey" (aka "I mørket er alle ulver grå"), which was awarded the "DVD-release of the year" by the Norwegian Film Distributors' Association.

Between 2012 and 2016, Alexander Eik wrote screenplays for three films and a TV-series in the Norwegian franchise "Karsten & Petra" (aka "Casper & Emma"), one of the most successful and most-watched series ever on the Norwegian pubcaster NRK's streaming platform. The series is internationally widely distributed and has collected numerous awards on film festivals around the world.

Since 2016 Eik was involved in developing a new slate of TV drama series for Cinenord. The first release, which he executive produced, was the 10-episode crime thriller "Wisting," starring Carrie-Ann Moss ("the Matrix") and Sven Nordin ("Lillyhammer," "Valkyrien") in 2019. As first out of Norway, the show was acquired by BBC Four where it has seen impressive viewing numbers and reviews. Season two aims for release in 2021.

In 2020, Eik created, co-wrote, and directed the WWII drama series "Atlantic Crossing," starring Sofia Helin ("The Bridge") and Kyle MacLachlan ("Twin Peaks," "Desperate Housewives") as president Franklin D. Roosevelt. "Atlantic Crossing" was selected for competition at the Cannes International Series Festival (Canneseries) 2020 and is set for its Scandinavian release in October 2020.

Joachim Rønning is a film director and writer from Sandefjord, Norway - a small coastal town south of Oslo. He spent his teenage years making short films and shooting commercials for local businesses. In 1995 Rønning began directing professionally with his childhood friend, Espen Sandberg. Working under the name of Roenberg, their extensive and award-winning commercial work in Scandinavia led to major international commissions.

In December 2008 Rønning’s first feature film – MAX MANUS premiered. The WWII drama tells the true story of infamous Norwegian saboteur and war hero; Max Manus, and his battle to overcome his inner demons. MAX MANUS soared to become the highest grossing Norwegian movie of all time.

KON-TIKI became the director’s next epos. The true story about legendary explorer Thor Heyerdahl and his epic crossing of the Pacific on a balsa wood raft, KON-TIKI became historical when it in 2013, as the first Norwegian film ever, was nominated for both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award in the best foreign language category.

The success of KON-TIKI led to Rønning directing the latest installment in the PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN franchise starring Johnny Depp. Filmed on location in Australia, POTC: Dead Men Tell No Tales went on to earn 800 million dollars at the box office – making it one of the top 10 grossing movies of 2017.

Rønning's next movie MALEFICENT: Mistress of Evil starring Angelina Jolie and Michelle Pfeiffer for Disney, premiered in the fall of 2019 to become the third highest October release of all time and eventually grossing half a billion dollars worldwide.

Rønning lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Amanda Hearst.