09/02/2026 - The directorial duo unpick their film about a Foreign Ministry bureaucrat in Stockholm, who paved the way for refugees to arrive in neutral Sweden during World War II

(© Netflix)

The Swedish Connection [+see also:
film review
interview: Thérèse Ahlbeck, Marcus Ols…
film profile], which premiered at the 49th Göteborg Film Festival, has just opened in cinemas and is released on Netflix on 19 February, is based on the true but fairly unknown story of a Foreign Ministry bureaucrat in Stockholm, Gösta Engzell, whose administration around migration rules during World War II paved the way for refugees to arrive in neutral Sweden. Brought to the screen by directorial duo Thérèse Ahlbeck and Marcus Olsson, the story is mainly cast with national comedic talents.

Cineuropa: Your protagonist, Gösta Engzell, is certainly an unknown soldier to most, also in Sweden. How did you come across him?
Marcus Olsson: In a magazine article around 2000. I immediately felt that this would be a movie one day, involving some big-name director and writer. Fifteen years later, after no one had done it, I thought maybe I’d do it myself. I asked Paul A Levine, one of the few who had interviewed Gösta, for his academic study “From Indifference to Activism; Swedish Diplomacy and the Holocaust”, whether he thought it would work on screen. “Most certainly,” he said. Then Thérèse and I started talking about doing it together, and we got in touch with Gösta’s son Göran, who provided loads of inspiration and food for thought. Göran and I also visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to look for the area where Gösta’s office had been. “You’re most welcome,” they exclaimed when I called – you could almost hear them stand to attention over the phone. At least there, Gösta Engzell is remembered and held in high esteem to this very day.

As for the script, how have you dealt with the characters in the film? Some are authentic historical persons, while some fictional characters may also pop up, one suspects.
Thérèse Ahlbeck: Most of the male characters are from the history books. The females, on the other hand, are not specifically based on real persons, but we’re pretty much 100% sure that they were there. It takes a village, you know.

Your cast gathers quite an array of Swedish talent, covering several generations. How was that process?
MO: We had some faces in our heads already when we were writing. Then, a little later, we started to ask them…

TA: It’s quite an orchestration, a way of working that’s most pleasurable. Also, we’ve worked with many of the actors before, and it may well be the case that we wrote some parts with some of them very much in mind.

Many of them are primarily working within comedy, including your leading actor, Henrik Dorsin. What made you choose temperaments like these for such a film?
TA: It’s an entirely conscious choice for at least two parallel reasons. For one, comedians often have the skill of terrific timing. Also, comedians often have a measure of darkness underneath their merriment, and when you want to convey something serious or grim through someone with funny bones, it can hit even harder. In our directing, we asked them to play it entirely naturalistically. The humour came from within. We’re very pleased with and proud of how it turned out.

One could draw parallels between The Swedish Connection and The Death of Stalin [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], which also employs comedians in the cast. Do you have any reflections on this comparison?
TA: I certainly know of it but haven’t seen it. Marcus has, and that dynamic is probably why you think of it when watching our film, which I can understand, as there are stylistic elements with a kinship. But I’d say that our film has more warmth and relatability. I also feel that some scenes have quite a realistic feel, especially when we see Gösta with his family.

Filmmakers who have depicted World War II stories have at times been contacted afterwards, both by “experts” (with and without quotation marks) and by some with a personal connection, either themselves or via relatives. What are your thoughts on becoming, so to speak, connections of your own in this way?
MO: It would be fantastic. I’d say that nine times out of ten, it’s of interest. Anyone who experienced the war will have a fascinating story to tell.

TA: We’ve discussed this. We feel that we have made fiction out of real events, and now this fiction will lead back to the real events. And that’s fantastic, yes.