This work explores the film histories and cultures of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, tracing the 20th-century development of each country's domestic film prodcuction and cinema audiences. The author discusses the place in cinema history of international figures such as Mauritz Stiller, Victor Sjostrom, Carl Dreyer and Ingmar Bergman, directors of films like "Vampyr", "Ordet", "Wild Strawberries", and "Cries and Whispers". The author looks at national film makers: August Blom, Bodil Ipsen, Lau Lauritzen and Nils Malmros; and also discusses contemporary film-makers like Gabriel Axel, the Kaurismaki brothers and Lars Von Trier. In discussing the film culture of each country, each section considers three specific questions: state control and support of film production; the cultural characteristics of Nordic film which both unify and define each country; and film production, content and form. In a final chapter, the authors assess the direction and future of the Nordic cinemas.

Nordic National Cinemas explores the film histories and cultures of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and Challenges prevailing notions of Nordic cinema. Taking issue with the identification of Nordic cinemas with such internationally famed directors as Bergman and Dreyer, the authors examine each country's domestic film production, social and political context and domestic audiences.
Nordic National Cinemas traces the development of the cinema in the Nordic countries, from its origins in the early years of this century and the golden years of film making in the 1920s and 1930s, through the film production and censorship during the war year, the new-realism in the 1950s and 1960s, the influence of American cinema and the commercial and critical success of films in recent years. The authors not only explore the work of figures such as the early Hollywood directors Mauritz Stiller and Victor Sjostrom and the internationally renowned Carl Dreyer and Ingmar Bergman, directors of such classics as Vampyr, Ordet, Wild Strawberries and Cries and Whispers, but also nationally important filmmakers such as August Blom, Bodil Ipsen, Lau Lauritzen and Nils Malmros and contemporary film makers as Gabriel Axel, director of Babette's Feast the Kaurismaki brothers, directors of The Match Factory Girl and The Leningrad Cowboys and the recently acclaimed Lars von Trier, director of Breaking the Waves.
The authors examine the phenomenon of Nordic cinema and, despite the similarities and collaborations between the countries, stress that Nordic cinema is the cinema of five particular traditions. Each chapter discusses the history and film culture of the individual country and considers three specific questions: state control and support of film production; the cultural characteristics of Nordic film which both unify and define peculiarities of each each country; film production, content and form. In a final chapter, the authors assess the direction and future of the Nordic cinemas.

A new volume in the "Twenty-Four Frames" series that focuses on twenty-four key films from Scandinavia - Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland. Each of these national cinemas is able to boast directors of worldwide renown. Such as Ingmar Bergman, Carl Theodor Dreyer, Victor SjAstrom and more contemporary film-makers such as Lukas Moodysson, Aki KaurismAki and the co-founders of the Dogme 95 movement - Lars von Trier, Thomas Vinterberg and Tomas Kragh-Jacobsen. This book looks at the impact that film-makers from this region have had on their national cinema and the world of film. This book explores in detail their styles, movements and influences.

In the aftermath of the MeToo movement, during an ongoing pandemic, and in the midst of repeated demands for a 50/50 split between men and women in above-the-line positions, this book analyzes and interrogates the politics of gender focusing on the Swedish film industry, often considered to be the most "gender equal" film industry worldwide. While this gender equality (with a considerable proportion of women behind the camera) is much due to policies carried out of the state funded Swedish Film Institute, women filmmakers in Sweden still struggle with the same problems as do women in other national film industries. These problems entail having smaller production and distribution budgets than men and working in an environment involving recurring scandals of gender discrimination and sexual harassment. This open access book looks behind the statistics and explores the often complex cultural, legal, and political conditions under which women have entered a male-dominated industry and discusses women's strategies and efforts to promote change while providing evidence on how women's presence has challenged the industry by provoking critical reactions and introducing new ways to portray women on screen. Using a wide range of different sources (e.g. archival material, laws, contracts, films, biographical materials, and interviews), the book tells the history of the rise of gender equality efforts undertaken by the Swedish Film Institute and investigates women's possibilities to manage the rights to their work. It offers compelling portraits of pioneering women who have worked in or in relation to the industry and looks at the experiences of women currently working in the film industry. The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by OErebro universitet.