Swedish Film Institute begins theatrical distribution
- The institute will handle digitally restored classics from Sweden’s film heritage – so far 54 titles from the 8,600 in the archives
Currently working to digitally restore Sweden’s film heritage, with 8,600 old titles in the archives, the Swedish Film Institute will now open a theatrical distribution operation to make sure the films reach an audience – in the cinema, through VoD, on DVD or television.
According to the institute, several local distributors are already making an effort to keep these films alive. As part of its attempt to make the Swedish film heritage accessible to the general public, it will now take charge of the titles without a distributor, so that they will also find their way to theatres.
Today, 54 older Swedish films have been restored, including Mauritz Stiller's silent comedy Erotikon (1920); Alf Sjöberg's Miss Julie (1951), which won the Grand Prix at Cannes; Jan Troell's feature debut, Here's Your Life (1966); Rolf Husberg's family classic The Children (Barnen från Frostmofjället/1945); and several of Suzanne Osten's features.
"It is fantastic to see that these films are getting a new life. Many of them have not been available to the public for a long time, and there is a lot of interest all over the country in seeing them," said Lova Hagerfors, project manager in the Film Heritage department at the institute.
To support the new initiative, the institute will launch a new website for the digital film heritage, including booking information, and new text and photo introductions to the ever-increasing number of restored titles and their context in Swedish film history.