The term “Swedish cinema” covers an extremely wide range. From medieval action epics about the Swedish knight templar Arn and his holy crusade to Jerusalem, via contemporary takes on young immigrants’ integration problems, to small, ambitious documentaries about odd souls in Sweden’s backyard.
Swedish horror and sci-fi movies have begun to take their first tottering steps, and the production of police and crime movies has virtually exploded in recent years—as a result of which we now export fictitious detective superintendents at the same rate as moose souvenirs and Dalecarlian wooden horses.
But all’s well that ends well—at least if one focuses on the positive aspects of Swedish cinema production and on the filmmakers who are fired by passion, by a need to tell a story and by a conviction that movies are larger than life. But as in many other countries, the Swedish film industry suffers recurring crises, mainly due to a lack of funds—as always.
Looking on the bright side, however, this shortage of money has meant that new filmmakers are constantly emerging who show that it’s possible to write large on the screen using small means. Sweden’s many emerging film talents are proof that Swedish cinema is alive and well. And that it didn’t all end with Ingmar Bergman.
Photo: Tony Nutley / Sweetwater production Ab, Ola Kjelbye, Per-Anders Jörgensen / Memfis Film, Studio 24, Per-Anders Jörgensen / Memfis Film, Magnus Reed / Atmo, Peter Målqvist, Knut Koivisto, Anders Ryderling / SF film
Links:
Swedish Film Institute: www.sfi.se
Ingmar Bergman Foundation: www.ingmarbergman.se
Göteborg International Film Festival: www.filmfestival.org
Stockholm International Film Festival: www.stockholmfilmfestival.se
Uppsala International Short Film Festival: www.shortfilmfestival.com
List of Swedish Films (Swedish Film Institute): www.swedishfilm.org
Swedish Gore Film Society: swegore.wordpress.com
Rocky (the cartoon dog): www.rocky-digital.com