Musician, performer, songwriter, music and film producer, actor, director, composer, activist, award-winner within film and music, educator, member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - Steven Van Zandt is an international innovative creative force.
 
Within film, Steven Van Zandt co-starred in all seven seasons of the Sopranos, the single most critically acclaimed TV Drama in history, playing principal character "Silvio Dante,” a character that he created. In Norway, he starred in, co-wrote, executive produced, music supervised, scored - and was a director for the award-winning series Lilyhammer - the first original programming ever for Netflix.

Steven Van Zandt will be interviewed in New York for this event by Per Ole Hagen.
 

Åslaug Sem-Jacobsen a member of the Norwegian Parliament, representing the Centre Party and Telemark.
 
First elected for the period 2017 - 2021, and re-elected for the current period, a member of the Standing Committee on Family and Cultural Affairs since 2017. Previously, from 2015-2017 she was the Deputy Mayor of Notodden, and member of Telemark County Council in the period 2015-2019.
 
A trained journalist, Åslaug Sem-Jacobsen worked for NRK in the periods 2005-2013 and 2014-2017 with areas of responsibility including project manager of the programs Lydverket, Trekant and SKAM.

Hilde Korsæth originally comes from Trøndelag in mid-Norway and has worked as a film photographer and filmmaker in northern Norway for more than 30 years.
 
As a photographer, journalist and producer, she has created major productions with stories from the far arctic north through her company Tundra Film and in collaboration with NRK.
 
Since 2020 Hilde Korsæth has chaired the Northern Norway Film Commission (NNFC).

Film Commissioner Solveig Sigmond Ræstad has a bachelor's degree in film science and media production from NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology), as well as a Bachelor of Law from the University of Bergen.
 
She worked as a screenwriter, producer and editor for more than ten years before becoming head of the Midgard Film Commission in 2019. Based in Trondheim, Midgard is a part of the Midtnorsk Filmsenter, covering film activities in Trøndelag County.

Ian Brodie is an award-winning film photographer and film tourism expert.
 
He has authored 22 books, and in 2005 received the New Zealand Order of Merit from Queen Elizabeth II for his efforts in tourism and literature, also being honored with "New Zealand Platinum Award" for The Lord of the Rings Location Guidebook.
 
In Norway, Ian Brodie has lectured on film tourism and worked with film and film-related projects including Birkerbeineren, The Heavy Water War and the Wild Telemark.

Fredrik Opheim has a bachelor's degree in marketing and management from the University of Agder.
 
As a “serial entrepreneur”, he was the general manager of the film production company Batfish from 2014 to 2020. From 2020, he founded Uveil in response to his experience and knowledge of time and resources necessary in finding the right film locations.
 
Uveil is a digital platform for film and photo locations that connects private and commercial landlords with film production companies.

Åse Kringstad is the leader of Virke Produsentforeningen, which organizes independent production companies within film, TV and computer games and other audiovisual works. Virke Produsentforeningen represents the producing audiovisual industry throughout Norway.

Åse Kringstad has a long career in film, games and media policy in both the public and private sectors and worked for almost 15 years in the Ministry of Culture, for seven different ministers of culture, before she took over as leader of the Virke Producers' Association in 2019.

She is chairman of the board. Gullruten, which this year is being carried out for the 25th time. Åse has a degree in media studies/cand.polit. at the University of Oslo.

Born in the USA, David John Smith is an author, producer, and organizer of various initiatives national and international. A Cold War intelligence officer in West Berlin, he subsequently worked with several Olympic organizing committees, and later, SONY.  

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After founding Norway Communicates in 2004, his collaboration with Steven Van Zandt began in 2011 and has thus far resulted in projects within education, music and film.

These have included Lillehammer Foundation for the Arts, the Wild Telemark (with Ian Brodie), producer of the documentary Bluestown Rising and now, the Notodden Film Conference.
 

Ivar Køhn has been the Director of Drama at NRK since 2013, and from May 2022 will begin as General Manager of Rubicon TV.

He has previously been department director at the Norwegian Film Institute; feature film and drama consultant at the Norwegian Film Fund; and head of manuscript development for drama at SVT (Sweden's Television Stock Company).

Writer and series creator of numerous successful drama series, he was one of the original founders of the production company Maipo. Ivar Køhn has a degree in production from the Drama Institute in Stockholm.

Producer Knut Inge Solbu is a graduate of the Norwegian Film School in Lillehammer. He has worked for many years in the film industry with commercials, music videos and major projects that include dramas and documentaries.
 
From 2012 to 2018, he led the cultural center Ælvespeilet in Porsgrunn, then returning to the film industry and the company Fenomen based in Grenland.
 
Fenomen has been responsible for successes such as the Amanda (Norwegian Oscar) winning Marcus and Martinus film and the TV series Rådebank, which has won seven awards on Gullruten (“Golden Screen” television awards).

Bård Anders is a successful “serial entrepreneur” with a rare mix of business, technological and creative expertise.

He is a pioneer in the use of 3D graphics in film, television and games. 

As a technical director at Warner Bros. he worked on some of the greatest film productions in history, such as the Matrix trilogy.

Bård Anders Kasin is also the winner of this year's Innovation Prize on Gullruten (the Norwegian “Emmy Awards”.

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He is now the co-founder and CEO of the groundbreaking hybrid gaming company PortalOne, Inc.
 

Rikard Amodei has built up the Amodeivisual AS film company in Kristiansand which now has grown to seven employees. Amodeivisual AS works with both commissioned film, advertising, fiction and documentary.
 
Rikard Amodei has extensive experience in camera, directing and general film production. Many of his creative works have have been history-based, forming  the roots his development as a director.
 
Rikard has directed numerous productions, ranging from commissioned films to web series and and other film works.

Ingrid Falkenberg Dokka is the head of the Sørnorsk Film Center. She has previously worked at Nordnorsk Film Center, the Norwegian Film Institute, the Short Film Festival and the Norwegian Film Club Association.
 
In the field of film and gaming, she is particularly interested in all aspects of development of film as an industry.
 
At the core is Ingrid Falkenberg Dokka’s desire to highlight the unique talents, original stories and provide the positive conditions for creative growth conditions.

Jørn Stenersen is director and producer at Bluestown Rising. He has worked in the TV and film industry for 20 years as a producer, cinematographer and director.
 
His portfolio includes numerous documentaries, international DVD releases and music videos as well as screenwriting and editing, both nationally and internationally.
 
Jørn Stenersen studied film and television at UNITEC in Auckland, New Zealand, as well as film sound studies at the Nordic Institute of Stage and Studio in Oslo, Norway.

Film and theater director educated at the Beijing Film Academy and Central Academy of Drama (1998-2000).

Amanda nominated for the documentary "Shiny Stars, Rusty Red" (2003) on artistic freedom of expression in China. Deputy head of the Norwegian Film Association 2005 - 2010. CEO FERA (Federation of European Film Directors) in Brussels 2009-2014.

Founder of and project manager for the independent Norwegian streaming service Nettkino in collaboration with Kulturmeglerne with grants from the Ministry of Culture and Creative Europe 2015-2020. Association leader Norwegian Film Association 2020 - present. 

Meghan Beaton is the head of the Norwegian Film Commission, acting as a link between the national and the international film and television industry.
 
As Film Commissioner, she works with national stakeholders and international partners to encourage and support international film productions in Norway.
 
As the leader of the newly independent national foundation, Meghan Beaton represents the commission on a full range of communication activities, combining her experience within strategic design and communication services with a decade in the film and creative sector, producing film, theatre performances and festivals.

Alec Thom is the executive producer of NRK Drama.

He has previously worked with drama and humor in several roles (producer, developer, editor and post-production manager) and has through series such as Emmy-winning LIKE ME and international sensation SKAM gained top expertise in drama aimed at young target groups.

He has also worked on more traditional dramas such as The Third Eye and MELK.

Kristian Mosvold is an educated Candidatus theologiæ and owner and producer at Substans Film AS, producing films and XR for the national and international market.
 
He is also partner in Agder XR – a center and network for XR in the Agder region.
 
In the spring of 2021, he became a research fellow in XR at the Johns Hopkins University in the United States.

Malene Oppheim is a film producer and co-owner of Amodeivisual AS.
 
With an entrepreneurial background specializing in HR administration, in recent years, she has produced documentaries, web series and short films, and currently is undertaking several exciting projects in various formats and phases.
 
Malene Oppheim is a mentor for several young film workers with a prime interest in industry development and creating a local and regional sustainable film industry in southern Norway.

Adrian A. Mitchell has a long track record from the film industry, ranging from production manager, location scout and manager, distribution and as producer.
 
He has also done startup in educational gaming, has run a brewery and owns a bar - reflecting on his fondness of social relations and the importance of connecting people.
 
Currently Adrian Mitchell is the head of the Oslo Film Commission, part of The Vice Mayor’s office in The City of Oslo.

Ingvild Syntropia is a Norwegian actress, voiceover artist and singer best known as Princess Leia in Star Wars Rogue One.

She had a role in Avengers: Age of Ultron and has starred in feature films in countries such as the United Kingdom, Brazil, the Netherlands and Germany.

Ingvild has master's degree in Media for Development and Social Change and a bachelor's degree in Intellectual History.

Passionate about sustainability and nature conservation, she is currently studying organic farming in addition to her creative pursuits.

Per Ole Hagen is a musicologist by education, Director of Music at NRK P1 from 1993, and subsequently Director of Music Rights at NRK.

He has taught in upper secondary and high schools, and since 2016 has been a senior lecturer at the University of Oslo.

Per Ole Hagen is a photographer for Getty Images and has held many exhibitions in Norway and abroad. In 2021, he and Arvid Skancke-Knutsen were awarded top honors for the year's music journalism for the book "Da musikken stilnet" (When the music stopped).