swedish films – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

THE SWEDISH CONNECTION – Review by Valerie Kalfrin

February 14, 2026February 15, 2026 Valerie Kalfrin Gösta Engzell, Henrik Dorsin, Jewish refugees, Marcus Olsson, netflix, Sissela Benn, swedish films, The Swedish Connection, Thérèse Ahlbeck, world war II

Evil thrives, as the saying goes, when good men do nothing. The Netflix drama The Swedish Connection, presenting a low-level bureaucrat as an unlikely hero, shows how inaction stems not from fear or hopelessness but a desire to land favorably wherever the wind blows. Based on true events, the film spotlights Gösta Engzell (Henrik Dorsin, Solisdan), head of the Swedish Foreign Ministry’s legal department, a timid man whose clever paperwork nevertheless helped save tens of thousands of Jews from the Nazi death camps of World War II.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK September 16, 2025: LIVE A LITTLE (LEVA LITE)

September 13, 2025September 16, 2025 Jennifer Merin Aviva Wrede, betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, Embla Ingelman-Sundberg, Fanny Ovesen, jennifer merin, leslie combemale, Live a Little, liz whittemore, loren king, motw, Movie of the Week, nell minow, Odin Romanus, Oscar Lesage, swedish films

Swedish writer-director Fanny Ovesen makes her feature debut with the thought-provoking drama Live a Little, which follows two young women on a long-anticipated backpacking adventure through Eastern Europe — a trip that starts out full of promise but is all too quickly tainted by doubt and fear after a night of partying leads to one of them waking up naked in a stranger’s bed, with no memory of what happened.

Interviews

Mika Gustafson chats PARADISE IS BURNING, casting non-actors and Swedish film school – Jennifer Merin interviews

August 28, 2024 Jennifer Merin female directors, Mika Gustafson, Paradise is Burning, swedish films

Paradise is Burning, selected as AWFJ’s Movie of the Week, is Swedish director Mika Gustafson’s debut narrative feature. In this exclusive interview, Gustafson speaks about striving to find the truth in the story of three adolescent sisters who’ve been left to fend for themselves in a social system that does not provide for them, why she cast first time actors to play the three girls and how she worked with them, her commitment to presenting truly complex female characters who are in gender neutral situations. the process of scriptwriting with a male collaborator, how her experience in film school has informed her style, and the current situation for women filmmakers in Sweden, a country that has lead the way in advocating for equal opportunity for women in film.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK August 23, 2024: PARADISE IS BURNING

August 18, 2024August 19, 2024 Jennifer Merin Alexander Öhrstrand, betsy bozdech, Bianca Delbravo, Cate Marquis, Dilvin Asaad, Ida Engvoll, jennifer merin, leslie combemale, loren king, Mika Gustafson, motw, nell minow, nikki fowler, Pam Grady, Paradise is Burning, room 8 films, Safira Mossberg, sandie angulo chen, sherin nicole, swedish films

With powerful performances from its young stars and a moving message about the need for connection in a chaotic, undependable world, Mika Gustafson’s engrossing, realistic drama Paradise Is Burning tells the story of three sisters hoping to get by on their own while flying under the radar of the Swedish social services system. But as life tries to force them to grow up too quickly, they also strive to find moments of joy.

Reviews

PARADISE IS BURNING – Review by Jennifer Merin

August 14, 2024August 17, 2024 Jennifer Merin Alexander Öhrstrand, Bianca Delbravo, Dilvin Asaad, Ida Engvoll, Mika Gustafson, Paradise is Burning, room 8 films, Safira Mossberg, swedish films

Swedish director/co-writer Mika Gustafson’s incendiary drama is about Laura, Steffi and Mira — three sisters ranging in age from seven to 16 — whose mother abandons them for long stretches of time. The film takes place during one of those stretches of time. Laura, Steffi and Mira are thoroughly believable and tremendously compelling characters. Performances by the three young actresses who portray the girls are flawless. Their story and arc elicit empathy. the film reminds us that even first world countries — like Sweden — that proudly credit themselves as and are considered to be economically privileged and socially conscious welfare democracies, have underprivileged citizens who struggle to keep from falling between the ever increasing cracks.

Reviews

PARADISE IS BURNING – Review by Cate Marquis

August 14, 2024August 17, 2024 Cate Marquis Alexander Öhrstrand, Bianca Delbravo, Dilvin Asaad, Ida Engvoll, Mika Gustafson, Paradise is Burning, room 8 films, Safira Mossberg, swedish films

Swedish director/co-writer Mika Gustafson’s drama PARADISE IS BURNING, about three young sisters on their own in in Swedish working-class suburbia, shows that it is possible for children to fall between the cracks even in a country with a high-level of social services like Sweden. After the latest disappearance of their unreliable mother months ago, 16-year-old Laura (Bianca Delbravo) has taken on the role of parent to her sisters, 12-year-old Mir a (Dilvin Asaad) and 7-year-old Steffi (Safira Mossberg).

Festivals Reviews

HUNTERS ON A WHITE FIELD (Tribeca 2024) – Review by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

June 8, 2024June 10, 2024 Alexandra Heller-Nicholas Ardalan Esmaili, Hunters on a White Field, Jens Hultén, Magnus Krepper, sarah Gyllenstierna, swedish films, Tribeca 2024

Alex (Ardalan Esmaili) is excited. He’s just got his hunting license, and sets off with his boss Greger (Magnus Krepper) and Greger’s old friend Henrik (Jens Hultén) to Henrik’s densely wooded rural property for one last hunt before Henrik’s brother sells the land at the insistence of his new wife. Henrik – a proud woodsman – is clearly unhappy at this state of familial affairs, and so Alex finds himself on his first hunt in what even before they arrive is clearly an emotionally loaded trip. Alex learns quickly, but some rituals he does not learn quickly enough, with one distinct faux pas proving to be a significant turning point. When the animals that they are there to hunt suddenly vanish seemingly en masse, the three men – now with the taste of blood and motivated by the thrill of the chase – turn with seeming inevitably towards each other.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK April 14, 2023: HILMA

April 9, 2023April 13, 2023 Jennifer Merin betsy bozdech, biopics, Cate Marquis, hilma, hilma af klint, jennifer merin, Juno Films, Lasse Hallström, lena olin, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, motw, Movie of the Week, nell minow, nikki fowler, Pam Grady, sherin nicole, swedish films, tora hallstrom, truth-based

One of modern art’s most significant — and simultaneously least well-known — figures gets her moment in the spotlight in Lasse Hallström’s lovingly filmed biopic Hilma. The film tells the story of Hilma af Klint, a Swedish painter whose affinity for mysticism and the spiritual world led her to create large-scale abstract art that you’d swear was influenced by Kandinsky … if you didn’t know with certainty that af Klint’s work predated his.

Reviews

HILMA – Review by Jennifer Merin

April 3, 2023April 9, 2023 Jennifer Merin biopics, hilma, hilma af klint, Juno Films, lena olin, motw, Movie of the Week, swedish films, tora hallstrom, truth-based

Hilma is a sumptuous truth-based period drama that chronicles the life and work of Swedish artist Hilma aft Klint (1862 – 1944). Hilma was a brilliant and innovative artist whose abstract paintings preceded those of the better-known Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky (1866 – 1944), who has, until recently, been credited by art historians with the invention of abstract art.

Reviews

HILMA – Review by Nikki Fowler

April 3, 2023April 9, 2023 Nikki Fowler biopics, hilma, hilma af klint, lena olin, motw, Movie of the Week, swedish films, tora hallstrom, truth-based

Swedish writer and director Lasse Hallström’s new truth–based period drama, Hilma, shares a vibrant and mystical take on the extraordinary and secluded artist Hilma af Klint, exploring her dedication to spiritualism and painting. Hilma was a radical painter in early 1900s Sweden, making her the first abstract painter in Western art history. Hilma was ahead of her time as her paintings predate the likes of artists such as Kandinsky, Mondrian, and Malevich; however, as a woman, she was denied the same recognition, only to have her work finally unboxed in 1967. Kandinsky was, until recently, acknowledged as the inventor of abstract art. Hilma is a captivating must-watch.

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