The optimism of the era was expressed in the films commissioned to market new housing estates and to celebrate the ability of historical cities to adapt to the demands and ideals of contemporary living. Although these films embraced development, there were also examples of a more circumspect tone. These addressed the risk that important values were being lost in the modern and increasingly bureaucratic spirit of the time. Among the acclaimed and award-winning commercial films of the 1960s in this genre were 骋枚迟别产辞谤驳 鈥 Hj盲rtpunkt i Norden (Gothenburg: Heart of the Nordic Region, 1964), Som ringar p氓 vattnet (Like Rings on Water, 1965) and A Place to Live (1967). The first was directed by H氓kan Bergstr枚m, the latter two by Karsten Wedel. In a way that is typical for the genre, these films glorify the Swedish welfare state and its urban planning for local as well as national and international audiences.
Although the optimistic vision of the future dominated, an increasing number of sceptical voices could also be heard, and one of the early films that took on the record-breaking wave of new construction with a critical view was Myglaren (The Grifter, 1966). The film was a collaboration between screenplay writer Jan Myrdal, photographer and filmmaker Rune Hassner, and photographer Christer Str枚mholm, who played the lead role in the film despite having no prior experience. The Grifter is about a representative of the emerging class of welfare-state bureaucrats who benefit from the prevailing social system and the era鈥檚 strong focus on well-being. In terms of its form, the film challenged the conventions of the documentary genre and was the first feature film produced for Swedish Television. The Grifter attracted a great deal of attention when it aired on television, and it also sparked a toxic debate on the criteria for the funding of quality film in the country. To be considered for funding, in addition to being of a certain length in meters, a film had to have a premi猫re at a cinema. What makes The Grifter so interesting, apart from the subject matter and the issues of film industry politics, is that it exemplifies how key figures in photography and some areas of literature can come together to break new ground in terms of both the genres and distribution forms of lens-based media.
Programme
Film screening: Bio Valand
10:00鈥11:30 AM Myglaren (The Grifter, 1966).
11:45 AM鈥12:45 PM 骋枚迟别产辞谤驳 鈥 Hj盲rtpunkt i Norden (Gothenburg: Heart of the Nordic Region, 1964), Som ringar p氓 vattnet (Like Rings on Water, 1965) and A Place to Live (1967).
Exhibition, lectures and conversations: FG2
1:45 鈥2:00 PM Niclas 脰stlind: 鈥淢oment: An Introduction鈥.
2:00鈥2:30 PM Erik Florin Persson: 鈥淯rban Planning and the Welfare State: Swedish Commercial Film About 1965鈥.
2:30鈥3:15 PM Anders Dahlgren: 鈥淯rban Planning in the Record Years: Future Optimism and Planned Development鈥.
3.15鈥3.45 PM Intermission and Archival Interlude 1, Andreas Hagstr枚m: 鈥淭he Truly Physical Meeting With an Archive on the Way Being Burnt 鈥 Or How I Saved Rune Hassner鈥檚 Clip Archive.鈥
3:45鈥4:30 PM Per Vesterlund: 鈥淭he Case of Myglaren: At the Intersection of Film, Television and Politics in 1966鈥.
4:30鈥5:15 PM Annika Olsson: 鈥淭he Role of Documentary Film in the People鈥檚 Home Era: Jan Myrdal and Gun Kessle鈥檚 report books鈥.
5:15鈥6.00 PM Andreas Gedin: 鈥淐hrister Str枚mholm and Nazism鈥.
6.00鈥6.30 PM Intermission and Archival Interlude 2, Karl-Magnus Johansson: 鈥淐lip Archives as Systems of Knowledge during the Post War Era.鈥
6:30鈥7:15 PM Conversation with the Speakers. Moderator: Mats J枚nsson
