AB Svensk Filmindustri

Svensk Industri film, short SF, is a Swedish film company that was formed on December 27, 1919.

History

The merger of Svenska Biografteatern and film Industri AB Scandia was 1919, the film company AB Svensk Industri film ( Aktiengesellschaft Swedish film industry), abbreviated to SF, its principal owner was the industrialist Ivar Kreuger. By combining SF had a share capital of 35,000 crowns and over 70 cinemas in Sweden. The first director was Charles Magnusson and the two internationally renowned directors Victor Sjöström and Mauritz Stiller were among his staff. Their films were exported around the world and the company had offices in Berlin, London, Paris, Amsterdam and New York.

In 1920 SF was able to inaugurate his new film studios in Solna, near Stockholm. This " Swedish Hollywood " film called Staden ( the film city ), was at that time one of the largest and most modern film studios in Europe. Here the 400 feature films were produced in 1920-1970. The first film was Victor Sjöström's silent film Körkarlen.

In the late 1920s came Svensk Industri film in an economic crisis, there was internal strife. Unemployment and depression meant that fewer and fewer people went to the movies. 1926 planned Kreuger even SF to the German Universum Film (UFA ) for sale. A tough reorganization, a new director and the talkies saved the company. The first self-produced sound film with optical sound had on August 11, 1930 premiere.

In the early 1940s came the young Ingmar Bergman as a screenwriter to SF. As a director he made during the coming decades, the company again internationally.

Newsreel

Early as 1914 produced Svenska Biografteatern ( the predecessor of SF) Weekly Journal films. The model was mainly the French Pathé newsreel. Under the name of this SF- journals Swedish newsreel showed regularly a current weekly review in the cinemas of the country until the TV took over this role.

SF today

In 1983 SF was purchased by the Swedish media group Bonnier. Today AB Svensk Industri film is one of the oldest existing film companies in the world. Internationally known were mainly the Bergman films of the 1950s and 1960s, and the film adaptations of Astrid Lindgren's books. The subsidiary SF Bio AB ( since 1998) operates in Sweden, 39 movie theaters with 226 cinema salons ( 2006 figures ). In Internet SF distributes films via video -on-demand in the Nordic countries.

Pictures

An SF- camera, film Staden

Astrid Lindgren, Ingmar Bergman behind her in the window