[In Eng.] Roy Andersson: an unusual career history and a subtle art

As Roy Andersson’s new film About Endlessness is now showing at La Roche-sur-Yon International Film Festival, let’s discover this famous film director.

Born in 1943 in Göteborg, Sweden, Andersson studied cinema in Stockholm and directed his first film A Swedish Love Story in 1970. This romantic drama movie was a success and revealed him to the Swedish public at the young age of 27.

Yet, five years later, Andersson’s new project Giliap flopped. It led the director to work in advertising rather than making another film. Creating his own production company “Studio 24” in 1981, Andersson dedicated himself to the creation of atypical commercials that came to be appreciated by critics and professionals alike.

25 years after his second film, Andersson came back with a new feature film called Songs from the Second Floor. It was produced in four years with the money earned with his company and became a success worldwide. This film shows his singular style, a style very critical towards society and people in general. For many reasons, this film won the Jury Prize at Cannes Film Festival in 2000.

The film director prefers filming in studio than on location, putting forward a lot of scenes with different characters who evoke the main topic of his work: humanity. Andersson is very cynic and critical in his art, using fixed framing, black humour, absurdity and unusual situations.

In 2014, Andersson won the Golden Lion of Best Film for A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence at the Venice International Film Festival. Yet, in 40 years of career, Andersson only directed five feature films.

Today, his latest and sixth film is showing in La Roche-sur-Yon after its good reception in Venice. Andersson is taking us into his world, where reflection about human life is omnipresent. A movie commented by a female voice-over that describes what she sees. She talks about the worst parts of human beings, highlights the beauty of existence in order to create a contrast.

Andersson recently won Silver Lion for Best Director with About Endlessness last month. Do not miss the opportunity to discover his art on Saturday (Théâtre) and Sunday (Cyel) with his latest film !

Chloé Dazard