Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema
14 Episodes
Driven by a desire to forge a socially conscious Swedish cinema—one that broke with the inward-looking psychodrama of Ingmar Bergman to give dynamic expression to the everyday experiences of working-class Swedes—writer Bo Widerberg turned to filmmaking in the early 1960s, realizing his ambition in politically committed yet poetic works that merge social-realist themes with a refined, often breathtakingly beautiful visual sensibility. Dramatizing the struggles of ordinary people fighting to chart their own destiny, these four acclaimed, popular, and pivotal films from Widerberg’s most prolific period live and breathe with a rare vitality—and helped launch a new Swedish cinema.
-
1:30:33Episode 1Elvira Madigan
Episode 1
Directed by Bo Widerberg • 1967 • Sweden
Starring Pia Degermark, Thommy Berggren, Lennart MalmerBased on a true nineteenth-century romantic tragedy, this rapturously beautiful period drama traces the doomed affair between a teenage tightrope walker (Pia Degermark, winner of the Cannes Best Actr...
-
1:36:20Episode 2The Baby Carriage
Episode 2
Directed by Bo Widerberg • 1963 • Sweden
Starring Inger Taube, Tommy Berggren, Lars PassgårdInfused with a jazzy, nouvelle vague–inspired energy, Bo Widerberg’s feature debut has the freshness of youth. Building on his film criticism’s call for a socially relevant Swedish cinema, the writer tur...
-
1:41:04Episode 3Raven’s End
Episode 3
Directed by Bo Widerberg • 1963 • Sweden
Starring Tommy Berggren, Keve Hjelm, Emy StormA period piece that forgoes nostalgia in favor of a stark examination of working-class struggle, Bo Widerberg’s second feature unfolds in 1936 in the director’s hometown of Malmö. It’s there, in the poor dist...
-
Ådalen 31
Episode 4
Directed by Bo Widerberg • 1969 • Sweden
Starring Peter Schildt, Kerstin Tidelius, Roland HedlundOne of Bo Widerberg’s most explicitly political works imbues the true story of a 1931 labor strike with a powerful contemporary resonance. In the industrial district of Ådalen, in the north of Swede...
-
30:07Episode 5The Boy and the Kite
Episode 5
Directed by Bo Widerberg • 1962 • Sweden
Made in 1962 in Malmö, Sweden, THE BOY AND THE KITE (Pojken och draken) is Bo Widerberg’s first short film. Based on Widerberg’s script, it was codirected and shot by filmmaker Jan Troell on a 16 mm Paillard camera.
-
21:04Episode 6Jörgen Persson on Bo Widerberg
Episode 6
In this interview, conducted in 2021, cinematographer Jörgen Persson discusses director Bo Widerberg and working with him on ELVIRA MADIGAN and ÅDALEN 31.
-
05:23Episode 7Bo Widerberg on “Filmrutan,” 1967
Episode 7
In September 1967, to coincide with the release of ELVIRA MADIGAN, Bo Widerberg was a guest on the Swedish television program “Filmrutan.” For the occasion, a roundtable composed of children quizzed the director about his film.
-
01:12Episode 8ELVIRA MADIGAN Behind the scenes
Episode 8
-
Bo Widerberg and Hjalmar Näsström on ÅDALEN 31
Episode 9
In this press conference, which aired on the television program “Aktuellt” in 1968, labor-union chairman Hjalmar Näsström remembers the demonstrations during the 1931 Ådalen riots, and Bo Widerberg discusses his desire to make a film about the tragic events.
-
18:33Episode 10Tommy Berggren on Bo Widerberg
Episode 10
In this interview, conducted in 2021, Tommy Berggren remembers his long friendship and creative collaboration with director Bo Widerberg.
-
07:11Episode 11Bo and Nina Widerberg on RAVEN’S END
Episode 11
In this 1963 interview for the Swedish television program “Filmkrönikan,” director Bo Widerberg and his daughter Nina discuss RAVEN’S END.
-
14:58Episode 12Ruben Östlund on Bo Widerberg
Episode 12
In this interview, conducted in 2023, filmmaker Ruben Östlund discusses his creative collaboration with one of director Bo Widerberg’s contemporaries, producer Kalle Boman, and the influence of Widerberg on Swedish cinema.
-
THE BOY AND THE KITE Introduction by Jan Troell
Episode 13
-
01:44Episode 14Bo Widerberg on THE BABY CARRIAGE
Episode 14
In this 1963 interview for the Swedish television program “Aktuellt,” director Bo Widerberg discusses the national film industry and his debut feature, THE BABY CARRIAGE.
