31/03/2003 - A conversation with the Head of the SFI, and a driving force in consolidating collaboration between the Nordic film industries: "Swedish cinema must carry more weight in Europe"

Since her appointment three years ago as Head of the Swedish Film Institute since 2000, Norwegian Åse Kleveland has managed, despite a number of difficulties, to bring this hallowed institution to new professional heights and made it into a driving force to promote more and better collaboration between the film industries of the North. But Kleveland is looking to the future where numerous projects and challenges await her. The priorities for this Norwegian include strengthening and consolidating the position that Swedish cinema occupies in the EU.
As Head of the Swedish Film Institute since 2000, what achievements are you most proud of? And what major changes have you witnessed in the Swedish film sector over these last three years?
“Our most important achievement was that we revitalised the organisation and strengthened its position both within the industry itself and in how it is perceived by the public. We also contributed to giving Swedish cinema as a whole much greater visibility. Today, the Swedish Film Institute is a driving force in Nordic film co-operation and has, by means of a series of initiatives, become an active partner in European film policy co-operation. This includes the European Digital Cinema Forum, set up in Stockholm in 2001, of whose Steering Committee I am Chairman. The collaboration with Ingmar Bergman led to the creation of the Ingmar Bergman Foundation that is currently developing a series of projects with wide international scope.
The most important change, as I see it, has been the steady growth in cinema admissions that is now in its fourth year. Swedish films accounted for almost 25 per cent of the domestic market share in 2001 (although 2002 saw a decrease both in the number of Swedish releases and their share of the domestic market).
A new generation of filmmakers has given Swedish cinema a well-needed injection of vitamins, as have the regional film production centres in Northern and Western Sweden, and Scandinavian co-productions.”

The system of audience-related support measures defined by the 2000 Film Agreement put the Swedish film industry in serious trouble last year. Will the emergency package offered by the government last autumn be sufficient to support the production sector until the signing of the new Agreement in 2004?
“The ‘emergency package’ was very important to break the deadlock so that we could start looking at the future. Swedish cinema is hugely under-financed and we’re currently putting forward proposals for new financing measures that would be part of the upcoming Film Agreement. There is no sign that the number of Swedish films released in 2004 will be higher than in 2003. This means that our production level for 2003 will be around 6-8 films lower than a good average.”

What key points will you ask the government to consider before they draft the 2004 Film Agreement?
“Film financing in Sweden should increase by the same amount as in our neighbouring countries. There are two alternative ways to achieve this: either a major increase in state subsidies or further development within the basic framework of the Film Agreement, which means that wherever films are shown – whatever the technology- revenues should be channelled towards the production of new films.”

What needs to be done to sustain the growing success of Swedish films at home and abroad?
“First of all we should produce more quality films in a variety of genres. Then we must reinforce our efforts in the development of film projects, which would mean a wider investment in our production activities. And – by no means least – create a stronger and more focused marketing strategy for our films internationally.”

Where do you think the SFI’s challenges in the near future will come from, both domestically and internationally, and in particular, within Europe?
“The biggest challenge for the SFI is to get Swedish and European authorities to understand that cinema in smaller countries like ours must be considered on a par with other traditional art forms, even if films also have commercial considerations. With new EU regulations under discussion and the GATT negotiations underway, we mustn’t end up with a situation in which our own governments in Brussels end up undermining European cinema through their anti-competition regulations.
The other challenge will be to make people understand that the moving image is perhaps the most important language today, hence the need to develop film education for children and youngsters at school. As a Norwegian, I can say that Sweden is world champion in films for and with children, even if much more can be done. The SFI now has to take an active role in this commitment to film education within the school curriculum, something that is already happening in many European countries. Ingmar Bergman, like Martin Scorsese, has become an instigator in film archive preservation. We are breaking new ground in that field. Now is the time to work on the distribution of those films we have saved, something that DVD technology, for instance, can make a unique contribution to.”