Directed by Pernille Fischer Christensen • Drama • With Alba August • 2018 • 123 minutes
Teenaged Astrid Lindgren (Alba August), who later went on to write the Pippi Longstocking series, leads a carefree life with her family in the forests and fields of rural Sweden. Restless and eager to break free from the confines of her conservative upbringing, she accepts an internship at a local newspaper where she attracts the attention of its married editor, Blomberg (Henrik Rafaelsen). After Astrid becomes pregnant, she leaves her childhood home and goes to Copenhagen to secretly give birth to a son, Lasse, whom she reluctantly leaves in the care of a foster mother, Marie (Trine Dyrholm). Astrid goes into self-imposed exile in Stockholm, refusing Blomberg’s offer of marriage and saving up her paltry salary for visits to see Lasse. When Marie falls ill, Astrid uses her imagination and flair for storytelling to reconnect with her son. In spite of her struggles, Astrid emerges with a newfound courage that will later form the foundation of a vast and beloved body of work.
Up Next in Nordic Tales
-
a-ha: The Movie
Directed by Thomas Robsahm • Documentary • With Morten Harket, Pål Waaktaar, Magne Furuholmen • 2021 • 108 minutes
Follows the band a-ha on tour, telling the full story of how three young men followed their impossible dream of becoming Norwegian pop stars. When Take On Me reached number 1 on Bil...
-
The Dialogue Police
Directed by Susanna Edwards • Documentary • 2025 • 90 minutes
Anti-vaccine demonstrators. Extinction rebellion activists blocking a downtown intersection. Opposing factions yelling at each other outside a Stockholm courthouse. An anti-Muslim neo-fascist agitator.
In Sweden, all these people hav...
-
Ella's Riot - Rahčan
Directed by Anne Marthe Blindheim • Documentary • 2023 • 72 minutes
Sami singer Ella is torn between her strong ties to her hometown in Finnmark and her new life in Oslo with her boyfriend and a successful career with her band ISÁK. But when a mining company threatens Sami land and water, she de...
1 Comment