Boosted to a certain extent by archive footage of cheering audiences of yesteryear, the 2021 Guldbagge Awards ceremony, celebrating Sweden’s 2020 in film, was a downscaled, bare-bones affair. Only the winning nominee in each category was present in front of an empty arena at the Stockholm Ericsson Globe. Those stuck in Denmark, Norway or further afield had to make do with a Zoom greeting. “It looks so boring up here today – not a human being, just a bunch of cameras,” exclaimed an actress in her acceptance speech. But there was also some joy to be had.

Particularly pleased were the makers of the darkly witty indie drama Run Uje Run [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film], the winner of the Awards for Best Film, Best Screenplay and Best Actor – with both of the latter going to the film's namesake Uje Brandelius, whose real-life struggles with Parkinson’s disease form the basis of the story. The movie, which introduces the directorial talents of Henrik Schyffert, a durable and multi-gifted mainstay in Swedish pop culture (he was a member of the 1990s music group Whale, and wrote and acted in Four Shades of Brown), is currently selling out screenings in cinemas all over Sweden, which are limited to eight audience members. “It looks good. We expect to make a profit in… 60 years!” quipped Schyffert.

The other big winner was, as expected, Amanda Kernell’s grim divorce drama Charter [+lire aussi :
critique
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interview : Amanda Kernell
fiche film], with the Best Director Award for Kernell, the Best Leading Actress Award for Ane Dahl Torp and the Best Cinematography gong for Sophia Olsson, the only winner present. Charter is Sweden’s current Oscar entry, while Run Uje Run won the annual Swedish Film Critics’ Association prize, the Greta Award, last week.

Other hotly tipped nominees that ended up winning included Best Documentary for I Am Greta [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Nathan Grossman
fiche film] and Best Supporting Actress for Lena Endre, bagging her third Guldbagge for My Father Marianne [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Mårten Klingberg
fiche film]. Markus Castro’s Ghabe, a tale of Syrian refugees in Sweden, won the Best Supporting Actor Award for the performance by real-life Syrian refugee Ahmad Fadel – who got the role through a Facebook post and may well have been the happiest recipient of the evening. Another heartfelt Syrian address was made through the choice of Waad Al-Khateab and Edward Watts’ For Sama [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts
fiche film] for Best Foreign-language Film.

No Best Newcomer Award or Audience Award were given out this year.

Here is the full list of winners:

Best Film
Run Uje Run [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] - Henrik Schyffert (Sweden)

Best Director
Amanda Kernell - Charter [+lire aussi :
critique
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interview : Amanda Kernell
fiche film] (Sweden/Norway/Denmark)

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Ane Dahl Torp - Charter

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Uje Brandelius - Run Uje Run

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Lena Endre - My Father Marianne [+lire aussi :
critique
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interview : Mårten Klingberg
fiche film] (Sweden)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Ahmad Fadel - Ghabe (Sweden)

Best Screenplay
Uje Brandelius - Run Uje Run

Best Cinematography
Sophia Olsson - Charter

Best Editing
Fredrik Morheden - Breaking Surface [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Joachim Hedén
fiche film] (Sweden/Norway/Belgium)

Best Costumes
Kicki Ilander - Nelly Rapp - Monsteragent (Sweden)

Best Sound/Sound Design
Fredrik Lantz – The Other Side [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] (Sweden)

Best Make-up
Hanna Holm Löfgren, Eva von Bahr, Love Larson - Nelly Rapp - Monsteragent

Best Original Score
Ola Kvernberg - Only the Devil Lives Without Hope [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Magnus Gertten
fiche film] (Sweden/Norway)

Best Set Design
Linda Janson, Charlotte Alfredson - Se upp för Jönssonligan (Sweden)

Best Visual Effects
Jelmen Palsterman, Tony Kock - Breaking Surface

Best Foreign-language Film
For Sama [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts
fiche film] - Waad Al-Khateab, Edward Watts (UK/Syria/USA)

Best Documentary Film
I Am Greta [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Nathan Grossman
fiche film] – Nathan Grossman (Sweden/USA/Germany/UK)

Best Short Film
A Legacy of Horses - Annika Karlsson, Jessica Karlsson (Sweden)

Lifetime Achievement Award
Sten Ljunggren (actor)

The Gullspira (for achievements in children’s film)
Jon Nohrstedt (producer)