Turning Heads at the EDN

Leena Pasanen is no stranger to politics. She began her career as a journalist for Finnish news agency STT and soon advanced to become a political commentator. The post proved only a stepping stone, and eventually led her to join YLE as the host of a current affairs magazine program. This marked the beginning of a long career at the Finnish public broadcaster, including a number of years as head of in-house documentaries at YLE TV1.

This exposure to the halls of diplomacy should prove invaluable for her next move. After 12 years in pubcasting, Pasanen will soon relocate to Copenhagen to take up her new position as director of the European Documentary Network (EDN). Pasanen, currently head of programs at digital channel YLE Teema, is taking the helm from current director Tue Steen Müller, who has held the post since the EDN was established in 1996.

Although her new position will be a change from her life as a CE, Pasanen draws parallels between the two in terms of development. "[The doc industry] is the world I love, and I can continue to work in it and support it," she says. "I have always wanted to support filmmakers." As a YLE CE, Pasanen has been actively involved in the edn, particularly as a tutor at workshops.

Pasanen was selected from a shortlist of four candidates who were culled from 10 applicants who responded to an advertisement placed in edn's magazine, dox. Ike Bertels, EDN chairman, says she and her colleagues were impressed with the quality of candidates the position attracted. "You always wonder how people perceive your group from the outside," says Bertels. "So we were extremely pleased such high-quality people were interested in the position." Each member of the shortlist attended a lengthy interview at EDN headquarters.

Given the nature of the organization, Bertels and the selection committee (comprised of EDN network manager Anita Reher and board member Heino Deckert, a producer/director) had initially hoped for someone with hands-on experience as a producer and director. However, they felt confident enough about Pasanen's overall suitability to overlook her lack of production experience. "She understands our business very well," says Bertels.

"The EDN needs both producers and commissioning editors," says Pasanen. "We are not against each other, we are working together. We all need to be aware of what is changing in terms of broadcasting and financing."

The EDN was initially forged under the auspices of the documentary section of the first EU media program (1991 - 1995), which funded an edn office in Copenhagen as part of its remit to develop the European av industry. When media changed its mandate and restructured in 1996 to become MEDIA II, direct funding for the doc office dried up. But Steen Müller, who was working for the Danish Film Institute at the time, had begun to form what he calls "a documentary family" across Europe, so the group struck out on its own with Steen Müller as director and some start-up money from the Danish Ministry of Culture. The organization's first initiatives focused on developing the doc communities in Southern Europe - Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece.