Sweden’s Göteborg Movie Pageant launches its forty eighth version this Friday, and for the primary time in a decade, it can accomplish that with a brand new Inventive Director.
Pia Lundberg, previously Counsellor for Cultural Affairs on the Embassy of Sweden in London, changed Jonas Holmberg as Inventive Director final March. Holmberg stepped down for a job on the Kalmar Artwork Museum in jap Sweden. Earlier than her stint in London, Lundberg was Head of Worldwide on the Swedish Movie Institute from 2007 to 2018. Initially a journalist, she started her profession as a author and editor for numerous Swedish and worldwide media shops specializing in movie and tradition. She served because the editor-in-chief of the Swedish movie journal Cinema for 4 years.
Lundberg’s first version opens with the debut screening of Norweigan filmmaker Eirik Svensson’s newest function Secure Home (Før mørket). Different highlights embrace visits from Thomas Vinterberg and Julie Delpy. The competition will even maintain a uncommon retrospective of works by Swedish filmmaker Mai Zetterling. The competition will display screen her movies Loving {Couples} (1964), Night time Video games (1966), and The Women (1968).
Under, Lundberg digs into programming her first version as Göteborg head, competitors with Sundance and Rotterdam, and what she described because the “monetary disaster” that’s forcing “bold” Swedish filmmakers to make their work elsewhere.
Göteborg runs from January 24 to Feburary 2.
DEADLINE: Pia, how did your appointment come about?
PIA LUNDBERG: I heard Jonas was on the point of go away the competition. On the time, I used to be dwelling in London. I returned to Sweden and was inspired to use for the place. So I did. I went by way of the recruitment course of and it was rigorous.
DEADLINE: What’s your movie background? You’re in all probability greatest recognized internationally for main cultural efforts on the Swedish embassy in London.
LUNDBERG: I began as a journalist. Among the best jobs I ever had was editor-in-chief of a movie journal printed by the Stockholm Worldwide Movie Pageant, a competitor of Goteborg.
DEADLINE: I’ve heard lots about that Stockholm Movie Pageant journal. A number of producers, together with Jakob Abrahamsson and Patrik Andersson at Mylla Movies, instructed me they began their careers there.
LUNDBERG: Sure, I employed them. I used to be their editor. They have been a few of my greatest writers. The competition director at Stockholm on the time would all the time touch upon how I discovered nice movie professionals like Jakob and Patrick. And shortly sufficient, she stole them for her programming division. That occurred a couple of occasions. I used to be then the Swedish correspondent for Display screen Worldwide and the Nordic correspondent for Selection. I used to be then recruited to function head of worldwide on the Swedish Movie Institute. I did that for 10 years earlier than transferring to London.
DEADLINE: How have you ever discovered your first yr as Inventive Director?
LUNDBERG: It’s been a pleasure and a number of enjoyable. However every little thing is new. I’ve felt a lot like an early newbie with every little thing. There’s a beautiful crew working right here and one of many best issues about this competition is that folks hold coming again they usually keep for a very long time, which is an efficient signal for a competition.
DEADLINE: And programming-wise. How was that have? What number of movies did you see?
LUNDBERG: The crew noticed roughly 3000 movies, which we whittled right down to 270 movies. It’s a giant programme, however you simply fall for some movies and all the time attempt to get the very best ones. It’s all the time a contest, in fact, with different festivals. One downside we had this yr, which I used to be fairly involved about, was Sundance. We’ve historically taken place the week after Sundance and parallel to Rotterdam. This yr Sundance determined to push their competition every week forward. So we’re now parallel to Sundance and Rotterdam will likely be after us, which created much more competitors. However we’ve been working carefully with Sundance. Nordic filmmakers normally go from Sundance to Gothenburg. Doing that in the identical week this yr has for apparent causes proved not possible for some. However we’ve managed with a few movies.
DEADLINE: Are there any titles you’re nonetheless burning about since you couldn’t lock them?
LUNDBERG: There’s all the time competitors. Some movies you don’t get as a result of they get an awesome slot in Berlin. However for Swedish and Nordic movies, Göteborg can also be recognized to be a great launch platform, which is nice for us. I used to be unhappy about Alicia Vikander’s The Evaluation. We work carefully together with her on a movie lab she launched with the competition. I noticed The Evaluation in Toronto and was very a lot hoping to get it since Alicia is from Gothenburg. It could have been a great movie to display screen right here. However that had its premiere on the Stockholm Movie Pageant.
DEADLINE: I did this identical pre-festival interview with Jonas over the previous couple of years. He usually stated his job as Inventive Director was to develop the competition. What do you need to do together with your tenure?
LUNDBERG: Jonas did an incredible job in his 10 years on the competition. I’ve tried to not change the issues which have been working. I feel it’s vital that the competition clings to its Nordic focus as a result of that’s what brings within the worldwide crowd. Additionally, we now have a really vibrant and robust business part, which attracts a number of worldwide professionals. I feel festivals are vital occasions in at this time’s society. It’s about extra than simply reaching out to audiences. Movies and festivals may help folks to assume in a different way and be extra open to new views. We dwell in very worrying occasions. That’s partly why we selected ‘Disobedience’ as our focus for this yr’s competition.
DEADLINE: Göteborg has grow to be well-known for its competition ‘stunts’. Will these stunts proceed underneath your tenure? None have been introduced up to now.
LUNDBERG: I like these stunts. Now we have been engaged on stunts and a few issues will likely be occurring throughout the competition.
DEADLINE: Are you able to inform us something extra? Maybe the place we must be paying consideration.
LUNDBERG: You need to take note of our opening ceremony and what is perhaps stated or launched there.
DEADLINE: After some years away, what’s your evaluation of the present business? Globally and regionally. What are the developments in Sweden?
LUNDBERG: The pattern in Sweden has been much less and fewer cash for filmmaking for a couple of years. It’s grow to be an actual downside. Sweden beforehand had a powerful movie coverage, but it surely’s deteriorated previously decade. The Swedish Movie Institute has far too little cash at hand out to filmmakers. Inflation and the recession have additionally exacerbated issues. There’s a actual monetary disaster within the Swedish movie business. The Swedish authorities has appointed a specialist floor to look into this. I’m truly concerned. I used to be appointed earlier than I joined the competition, so I’ve been working lots on concepts for a brand new Swedish movie coverage with hopefully some extra money.
During the last 6 months, I’ve been very impressed with the Danish and Norwegian tasks. Manufacturing in these international locations is blooming proper now. Sweden is just not in a really wholesome place, which is unhappy. Now we have so many extraordinarily proficient filmmakers and we threat dropping them — as an illustration, Magnus von Horn, the filmmaker who made The Lady with the Needle. Magnus is definitely from Gothenberg. He was educated on the nationwide movie faculty in Poland. So he has one leg in Poland and one other in Sweden. His second movie was a Polish-Swedish co-production. Nevertheless, The Lady with the Needle, was a majority Danish manufacturing, with Sweden as a co-producer. I’d like to see filmmakers like Magnus being well-financed in Sweden and making their movies right here. However we’re presently in a scenario the place it’s too exhausting for bold Swedish filmmakers to maintain making movies right here. Ali Abbasi is one other one. It’s an actual battle.
