Nº60 Roy Andersson

Roy Andersson is a film director and writer from Sweden known for Songs from the Second Floor, A Love Swedish Story and A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence. Since graduating from the Swedish Film Institute in the late 60’s, Andersson has spent much of his life writing and directing commercials, short films as well as feature films. Currently, he is considered one of the most important European film directors with 4 films submitted for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. 

Andersson’s film career began with his first feature film A Swedish Love Story released just a year after graduating school. The film turned out to be a major success for him and was later awarded four different prizes at the 20th Berlin International Film Festival. It was shortly after this success however that Andersson fell into a depression, with the intense pressures and expectations set upon him he waited 5 years to release Giliap. However, the film failed in many ways and led Andersson to a 25 year break from directing film. It was during this time that he found a passion for commercial work.  

Later, he established Studio 24, an independent film company and studio in Stockholm. After additional releases of both successful and unsuccessful short films, Andersson began filming what is now known as his most popular piece, Songs from the Second Floor. It took him 4 years to film but soon after its release it became an international success. The film has been awarded the Jury Prize in Cannes and 5 different Guldbagge Awards. Since then many of his other films have been nominated for a variety of awards including the Stig Dagerman Prize, the Lenin Award, and the Lifetime Achievement Award.