The development of
film and
cinema in
Sweden starts almost immediately after the
Brothers Lumiere invent their "
cinematograph" in 1895.
In 1896 the first public movie screening in
Sweden takes place in
Malmö, and during the
Stockholm Fair in 1897 regular showings in "Lumières Kinematograf i Gamla Stockholm" have great success. In the following years a great number of film companies are formed and cinemas are built all over the country.
In 1909
Charles Magnusson becomes the director of Svenska Biografteatern AB, the to-be most important film production company, and subsequently moves it from
Kristianstad to Stockholm. Three movie directors are hired:
Georg af Klercker,
Mauritz Stiller and
Victor Sjöström - these three would largely be responsible for the first flowering of Swedish film between around 1917 and 1924. Domestic film production gets into gears. In 1911, Sweden is the first country to introduce film
censorship.
Swedens first classic,
Ingeborg Holm by Victor Sjöström, is produced in 1913 - the best of Sweden's
silent movies is said to be his
Phantom Chariot from 1920.
In 1915 the movie department of
Hasselblads Fotografiska AB in
Gothenburg starts moviemaking as well. Georg af Klercker joins the efforts after he leaves Svenska Bio.
During wartime filmmaking in
Europe is difficult and the importance of American productions increases. American companies like
Paramount try to make first inroads into the Swedish market, but for the time being without success. In 1918 Hasselbladfilm and several other companies merge into Filmindustri AB Skandia and move the operations to Stockholm. The mergers continue in 1919 when the new company joins with Svenska Biografteatern AB to form
Svensk Filmindustri AB. In the same year attendances break all records with 8 million tickets sold, but in the aftermath the industry faces mounting difficulties.
In 1923 the first Swedish directors and actors travel to
Hollywood, the nascent center of the worlds movie industry, for example Victor Sjöström, Mauritz Stiller, Greta Garbo and
Hjalmar Bergman. Much qualified personal is poached by American and German studios, which hurts domestic productions.
At the end of the 1920's the first sound films are produced. The
investments necessary to outfit the
cinemas with the new
technology lead to a
consolidation in the market. Silent movies are quickly ousted and Swedish produced Swedish language movies experience a major upturn.
But at the beginning of the 1930's the general economic
depression favors the production of cheap "beer films". In the changing political climate the use of films as a means of
propaganda increases.
During wartime conditions are once again difficult. Filmmakers have to be very conscious politically - mostly they avoid anything resembling a
political statement and turn to shallow
entertainment films.
After the war,
Frenzy by
Alf Sjöberg (actually from 1944) gets much
recognition, for example winning the international prize at the first
Cannes Film Festival in 1946.
Foreign Port (1948) by
Hampe Faustman is very influential, and
Hasse Ekman is a very busy
director.
In 1951 state support for film production is introduced - after the producers had gone "on strike", not doing any more movies, because the entertainment tax on cinemas had been doubled in 1948 to be as high as 40 percent. However, as
TV conquers the homes during the 1950's, the number of cinemagoers per year drops from an all time high of 8 million in 1956 to just 4 million in 1963 (today it's not even 2 million). The
film industry falls into a crisis.
Although the first color film had been shown as early as 1935 (Becky Sharp), it is not until the 1950's that the new technology makes its
breakthrough.
Ingmar Bergman wins many international awards with works like
The Seventh Seal (1957),
So close to Life (1958),
The Virgin Spring (1960),
Through a Glass Darkly (1961) and many more. He subsequently becomes the most well known and respected Swedish director.
In 1963 the
Swedish Film Institute under the direction of Harry Schein is founded to support the production of valuable Swedish movies. In the following years a new generation of Swedish filmmakers made themselves a name, including
Bo Widerberg,
Jan Troell,
Lasse Hallström and
Bille August.
In 1979 the
Gothenburg Film Festival is instituted and in 1990 the
Stockholm Film Festival takes place for the first time. Swedish movies (and Hollywood movies by Swedish directors) continue to reap success all over the world.
A recent Swedish film to win international recognition was
Lucas Moodysson's
Fucking Åmål (that's a city, not what you think!). Others are for example
Jalla Jalla,
Kopps,
Spun or
Småla Sussie.
Source:
Kortfattad svensk filmhistoria - http://www.fsfl.home.se/backspegel/kronologi.html
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