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1-50 of 189
- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Victor Sjöström was born on September 20, 1879, and is the undisputed father of Swedish film, ranking as one of the masters of world cinema. His influence lives on in the work of Ingmar Bergman and all those directors, both Swedish and international, influenced by his work and the works of directors whom he himself influenced.
As a boy Sjöström was close to his mother, who died during childbirth when he was seven years old. Biographers see this truncated relationship as being essential to the evolution of his dramatic trope of strong-willed, independent women in his films. He was masterful at eliciting sensitive performances from actresses, such as that of Lillian Gish in his American classic The Wind (1928).
The teenaged Sjöström loved the theater, but after his education he turned to business, becoming a donut salesman. Fortunately for the future of Swedish cinema, he was a flop as a salesman, and turned to the theater, becoming an actor and then director. The Swedish film company Svenska Bio hired him and fellow stage director Mauritz Stiller to helm pictures, and from 1912-15 he directed 31 films. Only three of them survive (it is estimated that approximately 150,000 films, or 80% of the total silent-era production, has been lost). He directed Ingeborg Holm (1913), considered the first classic of Swedish cinema.
Despite the exigencies of working in an industrial art form, most Svenska Bio films of this period are embarrassments in an artistic sense--turgid melodramas, absurd romances and shaggy dog-style comedies--and there is no reason to think that the director didn't helm his share of such fare. Even taking that into account, Sjöström managed to develop a personal style. The reason he became internationally famous (and wooed by Hollywood) was the richness of his films, which were full of psychological subtleties and natural symbolism that was integrated into the works as a whole. He dealt with such major themes as guilt, redemption and the rapidly evolving place of women in society.
His 1920 film The Phantom Carriage (1921) (a.k.a. "Thy Soul Shall Bear Witness") was an internationally acclaimed masterpiece, and Goldwyn Pictures hired him to direct Name the Man! (1924) (Goldwayn was folded into Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1924, where he worked until shortly after the advent of sound). Sjöström's name was changed to "Victor Seastrom" (a phonetic pronunciation in a country with limited word fonts), and he became a major American director, a pro-to David Lean, who was renowned for balancing artistic expression with a concern for what would play at the box office. His first MGM film was the Lon Chaney melodrama He Who Gets Slapped (1924). It was not only a critical success but a huge hit, getting the new studio off onto a sound footing.
He was highly respected by MGM chief Louis B. Mayer and by production head Irving Thalberg, who shared Sjöström's concerns with art that did not exclude profit. Sjöström became one of the most highly paid directors in Hollywood, reaching his peak at the end of the silent era (when the silent film reached its maturation as an art form) with two collaborations with Lillian Gish: The Scarlet Letter (1926) and "The Wind" (1926), his last masterpiece.
He departed Hollywood for Sweden after A Lady to Love (1930), returning one last time to helm Under the Red Robe (1937) for 20th Century-Fox, and although he made two movies in Sweden in the intervening years, his career as a director basically ended with the sound era. He returned to his first avocation, acting in Swedish films, in the 1930s, '40s and '50s. In his later years he was a mentor to Ingmar Bergman and gave a remarkable performance in Bergman's masterpiece "Wild Strawberries" (1957), for which he won the National Board of Review's Best Actor Award. In his professional life he was a workaholic, and in his private life was reticent about his films and his fame and remained intensely devoted to his wife Edith Erastoff and his family.
Victor Sjöström died on January 3, 1960, at the age of 80.- Actor
- Additional Crew
Henrik Norlén was born on 2 September 1970 in Karlstad, Värmlands län, Sweden. He is an actor, known for Midsommar (2019), Johan Falk: GSI - Gruppen för särskilda insatser (2009) and Den döende detektiven (2018).- Christina 'Kiki' Tholstrup was born on 6 September 1940 in Karlstad, Värmlands län, Sweden. She is an actress, known for This Morning (1988), Vivement dimanche (1998) and Prins Henrik (2004). She was previously married to Roger Moore, Ole Tholstrup and Hans Christian Knudsen.
- Writer
- Director
- Editor
Ulf Malmros was born on 16 March 1965 in Molkom, Värmlands län, Sweden. He is a writer and director, known for A Summer Tale (2000), Tjenare kungen (2005) and Bröllopsfotografen (2009).- Actress
- Writer
Marie Robertson was born on 14 April 1977 in Sunne, Värmlands län, Sweden. She is an actress and writer, known for Äkta människor (2012), Rallybrudar (2008) and Rederiet (1992).- Actress
- Music Department
- Composer
She grew up with four brothers. Her brother Gustav Hedberg later also became an actor. Her father had studied organ building and music in Leipzig. Through the influence of her German nanny and her German piano teacher, she was familiar with German language and culture from an early age. From 1911 she received lessons in violin and piano and in 1913, at the age of 6, she performed at a Chopin competition. She attended high school until 1922, where she perfected her German. In 1926 Leander married the actor Nils Leander, with whom she had two children and from whom she separated again in 1932. Her second marriage was from 1932 to the journalist Vidar Forsell, who separated from her in 1948. In 1929 she made her debut as a chanson singer at a Swedish traveling theater without any singing or acting training. Her career accelerated rapidly and just a few months later Leander appeared in the revue "The Cheerful Stockholm" and her first film role in "Dante's Mysteries".
She signed a contract with the Swedish record company "Odeon" and recorded 80 songs for them by 1936. She celebrated her first successes with titles like "I don't know why I do it". From 1929 to 1935, Zarah Leander took part in numerous revues with Karl Gerhard and made three feature films in Sweden. She then played in Franz Lehár's "The Merry Widow" and had a role in the film "The False Millionaire". She moved to Vienna in 1935, where she played in the operetta "Axel at Heaven's Door" and got a leading role in the Austrian crime film "Premiere". Due to the success, Leander signed a contract with "Universum Film AG". Ufa's goal was to build Zarah Leander as a global star in competition with Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo. Between 1937 and 1942 Leander made ten Ufa films, including "A lavish Ball Night" and "The Heart of a Queen".
Leander was stylized as a "femme fatale" and became one of the most popular and expensive stars in Ufa. In her films, mostly melodramas, she often embodied a beautiful, passionate and self-confident woman. The actress became the most famous melodramatist in German film under National Socialist rule. Without any political ambitions of her own, she also took part in propaganda films such as "Heimat" (1938). Zarah Leander also released the songs from her films on records. Titles such as "Can love be a sin" or "I know, a miracle will happen one day" were recorded in several languages and achieved success around the world. In 1943, Leander ended her contract with Ufa, left Germany and went back to her home country of Sweden, where she retired to her Lönö estate. After the Second World War, Zarah Leander was banned from performing in Germany and Austria until 1948 because of her career under the National Socialists.
Leander continued to sing in Sweden and then again in Germany. In the 1950s she also played film roles in Germany again, including in "Gabriela" and "The Blue Moth", with which she was unable to build on her earlier successes. Zarah Leander married the bandmaster Arne Hülphers for the third time in 1956. Two years later she made her big stage comeback with the leading role in "Madame scandaleuse" in Vienna, Munich, Berlin and Hamburg. She toured the world with her concerts in the 1960s, took on musical roles in Vienna and Berlin and published her autobiography in 1972 under the title "It was so wonderful. My life". She undertook a final tour of the USA in 1973. In 1978, the actress suffered a stroke during a performance in Stockholm, which put an end to her stage career.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Lennart Hjulström was born on 18 July 1938 in Karlstad, Värmlands län, Sweden. He was an actor and director, known for Berget på månens baksida (1983), The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (2009) and Evil (2003). He was married to Gunilla Nyroos. He died on 3 July 2022 in Bromma, Stockholm, Sweden.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Grown up and living at Värmlands Näs in Säffle with his parents Eva Sjöman and Bo Sjöman.
He's made his own movies since he was a child. Later he went to Munkfors Teatergymnasium and Belkinge Läns Folkhögskola to study theatre and has appeared in short films and big screens since then.
He start to write a Screenplay and made his first short film in 2006, which he also directed and produced.
In summer 2009 he will make his first film På djupet starring: Rickard Ihre, Emilie Holm, Jens Nyqvist, Tim Nilsson, Magnus Sundberg, Annika Olsson, Robert P. Olsson and Michael Mansson.- Actor
- Art Department
Fredrik Alfredsson was born on 1 July 1992 in Karlstad, Värmlands län, Sweden. He is an actor, known for Ronja the Robber's Daughter (2024), Agent Hamilton (2020) and Re:agera (2023).- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Johan Östling was born on 27 September 1973 in Karlstad, Värmlands län, Sweden. He is an actor, known for Slim Susie (2003), Natan (2003) and Tjenare kungen (2005).- Cinematographer
- Writer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Crille Forsberg was born on 21 May 1966 in Hammarö, Värmland, Sweden. Crille is a cinematographer and writer, known for Om Gud vill (2006), David Bowie: Lazarus (2016) and Chock (1997).- Cecilia Bergqvist was born on 17 May 1973 in Ekshärad, Värmlands län, Sweden. She is an actress, known for Hitters (2002), Engine Trouble (2002) and Pretty Cool (2002).
- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Monica Zetterlund was born on 20 September 1937 in Hagfors, Värmlands län, Sweden. She was an actress and writer, known for The Apple War (1971), The New Land (1972) and The Emigrants (1971). She was married to Magnus Roger, Sture Åkerberg, Göran Pettersson and Torbjörn Zetterlund. She died on 12 May 2005 in Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden.- Anna-Lotta Larsson was born on 5 April 1954 in Karlstad, Värmlands län, Sweden. She is an actress, known for Stall-Erik och Snapphanarna, Göta kanal eller Vem drog ur proppen? (1981) and Karaokekungen (2009).
- Actress
- Location Management
- Soundtrack
Malin Morgan was born on 2 December 1970 in Kristinehamn, Värmlands län, Sweden. She is an actress, known for Slim Susie (2003), Livvagterne (2009) and Tjenare kungen (2005).- Björn A. Ling was born on 5 August 1974 in Karlstad, Värmlands län, Sweden. He is an actor, known for Slim Susie (2003), Bröllopsfotografen (2009) and The Sandhamn Murders (2010).
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Lagerlöf made her debut in 1891 with The Gösta Berling saga, a story about her own region, Värmland and her home, the country manor Mårbacka. With her novel she starts the wave of romantic nationalist literature in Sweden of the 1890s. Her novel Jerusalem (1901-02) is about religious emigrants from Sweden to Palestine. She is the author of Sweden's most read novel, The Adventures of Nils Holgerssons (1906), a story about a boy traveling across Sweden on the back of a goose. Her stories often evolve around folklore and supernatural events. One of the peaks in her career was her novel The Emperor of Portugal (1914). In 1907 she got a honorary degree at the University of Uppsala, in 1909 she got the Nobel Prize and 1914 she became a member of the Swedish Academy. Her home Mårbacka is now a museum visited by thousands of tourists every year.- Inger Wegge was born on 16 July 1936 in Silbodal, Värmlands län, Sweden. She was an actress, known for The Tormentors (1971), The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. (1966) and Hogan's Heroes (1965). She died on 30 October 2007 in Katrineholm, Södermanlands län, Sweden.
- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Mimi Pollak was born on 9 April 1903 in Karlstad, Värmlands län, Sweden. She was an actress and director, known for Autumn Sonata (1978), Malin går hem (1953) and Amatörfilmen (1922). She was married to Nils Lundell. She died on 11 August 1999 in Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden.- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Christina Olofson was born on 13 June 1948 in Kristinehamn, Värmlands län, Sweden. She is a director and producer, known for Sanning eller konsekvens (1997), I rollerna tre (1996) and Jacob smitaren (1983).- Annalena Lund was born on 24 September 1934 in Karlstad, Värmlands län, Sweden. She is an actress, known for 48 Hours to Live (1959), Free, White and 21 (1963) and The Tab Hunter Show (1960).
- Writer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Lars Lerin was born on 2 April 1954 in Munkfors, Värmlands län, Sweden. He is a writer, known for Vänligen Lars Lerin (2016), Lerins lärlingar (2018) and På den yttersta dagen ska älgarna se in i tomma hus (2001). He has been married to Manoel Marques since 2009. They have one child.- Jan Modin was born on 23 August 1951 in Kristinehamn, Värmlands län, Sweden. He is an actor, known for Sjätte dagen (1999), Inkognito (2013) and Dom outtryckta. He is married to Angela Kovacs. They have two children.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Lena Dahlman was born on 14 September 1938 in Hagfors, Värmlands län, Sweden. She was an actress, known for Slim Susie (2003), Åsa-Nisse och tjocka släkten (1963) and Härifrån till Kim (1993). She died on 23 May 2016 in Tyresö, Stockholms län, Sweden.- Li Brådhe was born on 4 February 1953 in Alster, Värmlands län, Sweden. She is an actress, known for The Invisible (2002), Lära för livet (1977) and Hempas bar (1977).