Discoveries from Sweden World Cinema

A Swedish TV play about Joe Hill.

We'll get to meet some of our favorites from season 1 and, hopefully, get answers to some of the questions we've been wondering about for an entire year.

The struggle between the LO and SAF and history of the labor movement

A story of how a team of lumberjacks react when the forest company wants to introduce the chainsaw.

Thor Modéen (1898-1950) was one of our great Swedish film actors and comedians. Cicerone Ulf Larsson accompanies us through Modéen's life, with the help of interviews with friends, acquaintances and colleagues and with clips from feature films, magazine films and commercials.

The books about Alfie Atkins have come to life in a brand new film package.

In Du a woman visits a friend of her recently deceased father. They speak about the father’s scientific achievements, gravitational waves and spatial geometry. The film is an attempt, in the context of a play, to reformulate the film expression. To show in musical and abstract picture sequences different forms of order and disorder, the limit of thought and our place in the universe.

In a bed at night, a girl wants to tell her boyfriend that she loves him. But she wants him to say it first. She tries to get him to do it but he can’t, and suddenly their entire relationship is at stake.

Claudio Dragonetti is an Italian assassin, one of the best in the industry. He is hired by a local mafia boss in Gothenburg, Ivan. He needs Dragonettis services to get rid of the two competitors. The job is nothing special really. This is something that Claudio Dragonetti done many times before. But this time something goes wrong and he accidentally kills the wrong people. This is appreciated neither by the Mafia or the Swedish authorities and Dragonetti soon finds that he is driven from two directions. But Claudio Dragonetti has a trump card which none of his enemies know. He has signed a pact with Satan, a pact that makes him almost invulnerable, all he had to leave in return was his own immortal soul.

An examination of the music life in Stockholm and Gothenburg, what is the same and what is different?

This is the story of Olof Svensson who works as a streetcar conductor in Stockholm. In his free time he is a music composer.

A man, Jean, is critically injured in a freakish accident. He and Agneta, his partner, must cope with the impact of his injuries and determine a new path for their utterly changed lives.

A a walk on the paths of childhood with Sweden's greatest working-class writer Ivar Lo-Johansson. During a few sunny May days in 1986, Ivar Lo looks back on his life and his deeds.

In the Nort Sea a flounder is hiding in the seaweed. The flounder feeds on mussels and small shrimps. Many dangers lurk on the bottom of the sea but the flounder is clever. One day the flounder is caught in a net and pulled up on a trawler. It dies on the deck. The fish is now entering a new phase of its existence. The flounder travels on, though life has come to an end.

A woman in an abusive relationship is made to realize that she can no longer tolerate her fiance's ill treatment toward her.

The rise and fall of the "progg"-band "Verket".

Set in the world of the Swedish culture establishment, this is a psychotic thriller where morbid visions, depraved sexuality, and violence come together in perfect proportions.

In a magnificent concert special from beautiful Dalhalla, Benjamin Ingrosso, together with a large string orchestra, invites you to an unforgettable musical evening interspersed with personal stories. In addition, Benjamin cooks food for his musicians - an Italian pasta!

This documentary follows Pia, who is homeless. She is struggling with her drug addiction. During the day she (and many other homeless people) sells the newspaper Situation Sthlm.

A film about cafes, trucks and the end of the world.

A little man with a long thin nose is coming with his hot desires to a restaurant and orders ”Honey-Bunny”. The big waitress is not sure what he means but does everything she can to help.

Television adaptation of Strindberg's play about the midsummer romance between the noblewoman and the valet.

Frank Bing is a big artist in the USA and arrives home in his native Sweden with his secretary Ada. The portier at the hotel has great difficulties keeping the adoring fans away from Frank. Among them is Peggy Dalin who has been tasked by her father with getting Frank to sign with his record company using her great charm.

Inspired by Hjalmar Söderberg's work. Made in collaboration with Stockholm Filmfestival.

The relationship between Björn Mörk and his father the forest guard is very bad. The son is more interested in reading than learning the job.

Stage revue with Björn Skifs.

Directly from Borgeby Castle in Skåne, the fast-paced story Röde Orm is told by Frans G. Bengtsson. Among others, Sten Ljunggren, Angela Kovacs and Martin E-type Eriksson read the humorous story about the young Viking's travels out into the world.

Legendary Swedish song writer and ABBA's manager Stikkan Anderson tells the story of his life in his own words.

About Progg - progressive music in Sweden. "Everyone can play" was the slogan of the 70's music movement. But was everyone welcome to play? About capitalism, politics, equality between the sexes and hating ABBA.

An ex-couple meets up at a cafe 6 months after their break-up, in an attempt to be friends. But, with so many hidden emotions and expectations bubbling under the surface of their collected facades, it is just a matter of time before they are back where they left off.

A family in crisis during the holiday of Easter

The neurotic director Max Karlsson tries to do a film of Goethe's "Die Leiden des jungen Werthers". He finds all actors for his melodrama - except Lotte, the wonderful girl who is an object of two mens love. He auditions a number of girls. But when he finds the right one nothing goes the way he had figured.

Stellan Engman is Swedens most unpopular person. He is the meteorologist presenting the disappointing weather outlook in TV. One day he picks up a hitchhiker who claims she can predict the weather.

Pistolteatern in Stockholm, Sweden, was a leading experimental scene in the mid 1960s, comparable to the Living Theater in New York. In the years 1964-67. Pistolteatern produced theatre plays, exhibitions and happenings at a very high pace. The name, Pistolteatern, comes from two of creators, PI Lind and STaffan OLzon.

In 2010 Martha Nabwire and Niki Tsappos took part in the biggest international Street Dance Competition, Juste Debout in Paris. It was the first time ever two women became World Champions in Hip Hop. This film depicts their love of dance, each other and about friendship put to the test. About desires, yearning and finding the right path in life.

Coming home one night, a girl discovers a strange growth inside her mouth and struggles to ask for help as it grows at an alarming rate.

A dramatic depiction of honor, family feuds and thousand-year-old traditions. In Albania, the tradition of avenging an injustice according to the motto "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" still lives on. This has led to people being trapped in their homes for fear of being murdered due to a family feud.

A comedy mystery involving the composer and cartoonist Hubert Yrhage, the journalist Gary Lundberg, anticartoon campaigner Lena Lett, the mysterious Jens Myskovich and music publisher Darling Karlsson. Yrhage receives his manuscripts from an 11 year-old whose inspiration comes from the mysterious events at a boarding house where several of the characters stay.

A family drama about Emma who, to her horror, has to spend summer with her father's girlfriend's son. Nature-loving Emma and city-kid Daniel seem to have nothing in common, but on a fishing trip gone bad, they find themselves all alone with just one another, forced to help each other to be able to find their way back home.

Miralda is in a worried and anxious state after having been in a heated fight with her sister who is at the moment undergoing surgery. Never having been able to apologize for the fight, she goes about her day trying to handle her concerns.

Gabriel is gay and his family doesn't accept him. Johannes suffers from ADHD and also feels lonely. Their desire to be accepted and the search for inner freedom and security leads them to different paths and places. The thoughts of Gabriel fly high over the city with questions about loneliness and fate.

The author Per Anders Fogelström walks around in Vita Bergen, the south part of Stockholm and tells us about Anna Charlotta's life at the turn of the century. She is taken care of at the Shelter in the old ore farm outside of Vita Bergen.

A film about defying and stretching the generally accepted standards of good motherhood.

Mia tries to break up with Tim, but isn't honest about her feelings. Instead she lets a sock puppet do the talking. But at night, the reason why she's afraid of being blunt is made apparent when Tim's true face, the way only she sees him, is revealed.

A young woman deals with a self-centered, abusive boyfriend.

The old count Kristian Örnklo has four children spread around the world since his career as a diplomat, children he has never met. His doctor convinces him that he should gather his children at his countryside estate. The doctor's son, John, is sent out to bring them back. They all meet at the estate, Kerstin from Sweden, Dagmar from Denmark, Olav from Norway and Enrico from Spain. They all have a wonderful summer, and John and Kerstin fall in love with each other.

In a magnificent villa a 25-year-old son of Count lives with his family. He falls in love with an elementary school teacher. So does even his father the Count.

A girl sneaks in to her boyfriend and tries to invisibly retrieve her wallet, but the door is open and there is a tense silence inside.

A portrait of a meddahatt orchestra of Algeria--women musicians who come together to play strictly for other women, during celebrations of engagements, weddings, and circumcisions. Surprisingly, since men and women are usually not allowed to mix socially, this orchestra also includes two men, an openly gay couple. Includes interviews and performances of the orchestra.

A settlement between two brothers. A decision must be made and an everyday family tragedy develops into existential struggle.

Georg (age 70) and Lydia (age 30) are in two completely different stages in life when they meet.

Jacob has been struggling hard for several years, which has paid off. During a dramatic day, when Jacob's entire life is turned upside down, he is forced to decide whether that price is worth paying.

"I wonder if I left the cooker on?" For K this turns into a morning dominated by thoughts of fire. Her strategies to avoid catastrophe become increasingly absurd. But when eventually she feels safe, fire finds another way into her life...

Magdalena is struggling to cope with a major crisis in her life: some time ago her daughter Sara committed suicide. Magdalena finds herself consumed by a grief she cannot overcome. Although the event has shattered her world, she nonetheless manages to ‘function’ smoothly on a daily basis – whether this involves trying to sell Sara’s dog Truls, picking up her second daughter’s son from his piano lesson, eating with the family of an evening, attending a session with a spiritualist or going to a bar. These are all things she would have done anyway, and a strict routine helps prevent her pain from rising to the surface. Only when Sara’s former boyfriend visits does she begin to see a path through all her denial, speechlessness and feelings of guilt.

"The Scam" - A truck driver and his job colleagues figures out how to make the smart move, on their many trips to Finland: Tinkering with cargo pallets that can be sold illegal.

The Whalers (original title: Valfangare) is a filmed record of the final whaling expedition in the Arctic before the outbreak of WW2. Only partly a documentary, the film is able to accommodate a dramatic throughline, concerning the redemption of wastrelly millionaire's son Allan Blom (Allan Bohlin). Pressed into service on the expedition, Allan shows he's a true son of Scandanavia through his courageous actions on the high seas, and even wins the hand of heroine Sonja (Tutta Rolf) in the bargain. While the whaling scenes are both exciting and exhillarating, the sequence in which a whale carcass is stripped and gutted may not appeal to everyone in the audience. Originally filmed in 1939 in Swedish and Norwegian, The Whalers was helpfully fitted out with English subtitles for its 1942 American run.

A docudrama based on stills from the film "The Sacrifice" (Offret) by Andrei Tarkovsky. Sven Nykvist and Andrei Tarkovsky meet in a final conversation where they jointly find relief before the implacable, captured in the only substantial composed, their timeless images.

The film oscillates between depicting the everyday life of workers in 1917 and 1982, where the common denominator is that they in both families have difficulty making ends meet financially.

Ilse Siedel lives her life in a wheelchair. Through her window she follows what is happening outside. In her imagination she deals with how to conquer some love for herself.

After a suicide attempt, Anna is institutionalized in one of Swedens newest facilities. With total isolation, strict schedule, and the only social interaction is with a psychologist via a screen, Anna is in a desperate need to get out. One morning she meets Angelica by accident in the dining room. They soon learn that this institution might be more sinister than they could ever imagine.