AI can complement creative and co-pro spirit: Steve Matthews’ Göteborg Takeaways

No comments

Banijay’s newly appointed global scripted creative lead sees opportunity after travails of last year

Banijay Entertainment’s head of scripted, creative, unpacks what happened at the 48^th edition of the long-running creative event, drawing attention to the burgeoning TV element of the historic Film Festival

Steve is friends with the machine

For the fourth time, I went on stage for my ritual humiliation that is Steve Against the Machine – a test of human creativity versus AI-generated storytelling. I am happy to report that this time, I got it right. The current score stands that I won twice, lost once, and drew once.

It’s been fascinating to see how the conversation around AI and writing has evolved. When we first did this event at Gothenburg a year ago, there was a lot of anxiety about what AI might mean for scriptwriters. Would it replace them? Can it really write quality scripts? Over the course of these sessions, at Sarajevo, and Tallin, and now back in Gothenburg, my fears have been allayed and I get the sense that’s mirrored by many others in the script-writing world.

AI isn’t writing scripts. It’s a tool, a brainstorming assistant, a way to analyse structure and demolish ideas so a writer can rebuild them even stronger. It doesn’t write. It doesn’t have a human heart or a human soul. So, Steve and the machine are friends at last (although I’m pretty happy I beat it in the end!)

AI isn’t writing scripts. It’s a tool, a brainstorming assistant, a way to analyse structure and demolish ideas so a writer can rebuild them even stronger

There is a load of great stuff out there

One of the exciting things about Gothenburg is the spotlight on development projects and series coming to fruition. I thought the quality of material – from established and emerging talent pitching ideas, through to what we saw of recently completed shows – was really impressive. A standout project was La Palma, it looks spectacular – honestly wish we had that one. There’s so much quality storytelling from Norway; our label Rubicon presented its new medical drama, Still Breathing.

A Life's Worth

A Life’s Worth

It was also great to see more material from YellowBird/Jarowskij’s upcoming project A Life’s Worth. Presented on stage by brilliant producer Maida Krak, it’s a courageous and superbly realised story about Swedish peacekeepers in the Bosnian conflicts of the 1990s.

Even though times have been tough, European drama continues to thrive, delivering amazing, ground-breaking stories – and Gothenburg is proof of tha

Local and global

I really like Gothenburg and the TV Drama Vision strand. It’s exceptionally well-organised, it’s nice and small and intimate, all the Nordic execs are there – you can see anyone in the bar. But this year it felt more international.

The day before Göteborg TV Drama Vision, my co-head of scripted Johannes Jensen and I hosted a conference for Banijay Entertainment’s Northern European scripted community for a valuable exchange of ideas (our first gig in our new jobs). It was fantastic to see that we had participants not only from Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland but also UK, Poland and Netherlands. It seems more and more obvious that we must all work together – and we are.

Co-pros rule

That international make-up of the festival reflects directly where we stand as an industry. It has always been the case that collaboration should be at the heart of what we do, and that has never been truer.

We all know the impacts of the market contractions and economic and political uncertainty that have presented producers with something of a perfect storm in the last few years. It seems obvious to me that collaborative and entrepreneurial approaches – financial and creative – are going to be essential for us to keep thriving.

I am fascinated by how we can work together to tell stories that cross borders. We all know co-productions are not easy but can result in brilliant projects and long-lasting relationships.

TV Drama Vision is an ideal place for this kind of industry gathering because it encourages people to connect in a meaningful way. I thought that this year, more than ever, there was a real sense of openness to new ways of working, willingness to adapt, and focusing on building a sustainable industry through smart strategic partnerships.