Cinema of Sweden

Swedish cinema is known as producing many critically acclaimed movies, and during the 20th century was the most prominent of Scandinavia. This is largely due to the popularity and prominence of the directors Ingmar Bergman, Victor Sjöström, and more recently Lasse Hallström and Lukas Moodysson.

Swedes have been fairly prominent in the film area through the years, several successful Swedish Hollywood actors can be mentioned: Ingrid Bergman, Greta Garbo, Max von Sydow, Dolph Lundgren, Lena Olin, Britt Ekland, Maud Adams, Stellan Skarsgård, Peter Stormare, Izabella Scorupco, Pernilla August, Ann-Margret, Anita Ekberg, Alexander Skarsgård, Harriet Andersson, Bibi Andersson, Ingrid Thulin, Malin Åkerman and Gunnar Björnstrand. Amongst several directors who have made internationally successful films can be mentioned: Ingmar Bergman, Lukas Moodysson and Lasse Hallström.

Swedish film industry

The Swedish Film Institute was founded in 1963 to support and develop the Swedish film industry. It supports Swedish filmmakings and allocates grants for production, distribution and public showing of Swedish films in Sweden. It also promotes Swedish cinema internationally. Furthermore, the Institute organises the annual Guldbagge awards.

Through the Swedish Film Agreement, between the Swedish state and the film and media industry, the Government of Sweden, the TV companies which are party to the agreement, and Sweden's cinema owners jointly fund the Film Institute and thus, indirectly, Swedish filmmaking. The current agreement runs from 1 January 2006, until 31 December 2010.

At a rate of, currently, 20 films a year the Swedish film industry is on par with other comparable North European countries.

In Trollhättan Municipality there is a film production facility known as Trollywood; movies shot there include Show Me Love, Dancer in the Dark and Dogville. The movie studio Film i Väst centered here produces about half of Sweden's full-length films.

In 2006 the short film An Autumn Twilight (Dowdall, 2007) was the first international film (UK) to take an official award from the Swedish Arts and Culture Fund (SACF). This showing that Swedish cinema is creating its own standards within the international film world.