Under the headline The Collaborative Imaginary, the conference brings filmmakers, artists, technologists and emerging talents together at The National Film School of Denmark to explore how new tools are reshaping creative collaboration – and what happens when the technologies themselves become part of the creative process.

Beyond the hype and headlines, PICTURE THIS looks at the people and practices imagining new ways of making film together.

Picture This Panorama: The Nordic Virtual Production & Screen Innovation Rendez Vous


Mikael Windelin is a seasoned producer and an established name in Danish and Nordic film and television. He ran the post-production facility and production company Minerva Film for 12 years, later became producer and director of development at Ghost VFX, and has helped bring Scandinavian VFX and virtual production to an international level.

PICTURE THIS: MIKAEL WINDELIN

Mikael Windelin's career spans more than 30 years, with a strong focus on combining creativity and technology. Since 2016 he has worked internationally as an independent VFX and virtual production producer on films and drama series such as Ali Abbasi's 'Border', Ole Bornedal's 'The Bombardment' and Tarik Saleh's 'Eagles of the Republic'. All three won best visual effects at the Swedish Guldbagge Awards or the Danish Robert Awards.

His recent work includes Roar Uthaug's 'Troll' and 'Troll 2' for Netflix, the latter the largest film production in the Nordic countries to date. It also includes Joshua Oppenheimer's 'The End', the Netflix series 'The Helicopter Heist' and 'Secrets We Keep', and some of the most challenging LED virtual production shoots in Scandinavia. Upcoming titles include Hans Petter Moland's 'Growth of the Soil' and Nathalie Álvarez Mesén's 'The Wolf Will Tear Your Immaculate Hands'.

Between film projects Mikael teaches visual effects, previz and virtual production at film schools and industry events across Europe, including the National Film School of Denmark and the Norwegian Film School. He brings new workflows to both emerging and experienced filmmakers. He is a board member of the Copenhagen Film Fund and an EAVE and EAVE+ graduate.

Mikael Windelin

VP & VFX Producer

Picture This is a one-day event dedicated to exploring the intersection of storytelling, technology, and visions for the future of filmmaking.

Picture This Conference

Martin regards AI not merely as a tool, but as a creative collaborator, a synthetic brain with the potential of a child’s, one that can be shaped and guided by human intent. This philosophy underpins his belief that AI can serve as an artistic partner in filmmaking, capable of expanding what is visually and emotionally possible.

A frequent speaker at industry events, Martin has delivered technical keynotes at the Cannes Film Festival and presented his ideas at DR, TV 2, and various production companies. His talks combine artistic insight with technological depth, exploring how AI and innovation are reshaping the future of cinematic storytelling.

Martin Madsen

Creative AI Pioneer and VFX Supervisor, CEO, Liquivis

PICTURE THIS: NATHALIE ÁLVAREZ MESÈN

Nathalie Álvarez Mesén is a Costa Rican-Swedish screenwriter and director. Her debut feature, CLARA SOLA, premiered in the Directors’ Fortnight at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival and received international acclaim, earning her Guldbagge Awards for Best Director and Best Screenplay. She also directed an episode of Showtime’s THREE WOMEN. An alumna of Berlinale Talents, TIFF Filmmaker Lab and the NYFF Artist Academy, Nathalie’s second feature, THE WOLF WILL TEAR YOUR IMMACULATE HANDS, is set to premiere in 2027.


Nathalie Álvarez Mesén

Screenwriter, director.

PICTURE THIS: MADS BRYDEGAARD BUUS

Building on more than a decade of experience in real-time visuals, Mads was the driving force behind one of the world’s first live-broadcast virtual productions and played a key role in launching and designing the Shortcut LED Stage, a major milestone in Northern Europe’s virtual production landscape. As a Virtual Production Supervisor, he has supervised virtual production workflows for multiple Netflix productions, feature films, and high-profile commercial projects.

Known for combining creative vision with technical problem-solving, Mads works across concept development, technical workflows, team collaboration, and production strategy. His work focuses on using virtual production not only as a tool for efficiency, but as a new creative language and workflow for filmmakers.

Today, together with the team at Nordisk Film, he works to elevate Danish fiction through hybrid approaches including AI, Gaussian splatting, 360° plate recordings, Unreal Engine, and advanced virtual production workflows.

Sessions

Picture This Panorama: The Nordic Virtual Production & Screen Innovation Rendez Vous

More sessions

Fireside Chat: Lights, Lens & the New Collaborative Production Mindset

Fireside Masterclass: Exploring Vision, Craft, and Technology in Bringing Magic to the Screen

Fireside Chat. Directing and New Technologies: Complement, Opposite, Partnership?

VP Without Borders: Building a Portable Production Pipeline

The Synthetic Collaborator: AI as a Creative Partner in VFX for Scandinavian Independent Film

What collaboration with AI means to the whole film crew? A Deep Dive to Entertainment Technology Center's "The Bends"

Guest of Honor 2026: Agnieszka Holland