Boosted to a certain extent by archive footage of cheering audiences of yesteryear, the 2021 Guldbagge Awards ceremony, celebrating Sweden’s 2020 in film, was a downscaled, bare-bones affair. Only the winning nominee in each category was present in front of an empty arena at the Stockholm Ericsson Globe. Those stuck in Denmark, Norway or further afield had to make do with a Zoom greeting. “It looks so boring up here today – not a human being, just a bunch of cameras,” exclaimed an actress in her acceptance speech. But there was also some joy to be had.

Particularly pleased were the makers of the darkly witty indie drama Run Uje Run [+leggi anche:
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The other big winner was, as expected, Amanda Kernell’s grim divorce drama Charter [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Amanda Kernell
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Other hotly tipped nominees that ended up winning included Best Documentary for I Am Greta [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Nathan Grossman
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intervista: Mårten Klingberg
scheda film]. Markus Castro’s Ghabe, a tale of Syrian refugees in Sweden, won the Best Supporting Actor Award for the performance by real-life Syrian refugee Ahmad Fadel – who got the role through a Facebook post and may well have been the happiest recipient of the evening. Another heartfelt Syrian address was made through the choice of Waad Al-Khateab and Edward Watts’ For Sama [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts
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No Best Newcomer Award or Audience Award were given out this year.

Here is the full list of winners:

Best Film
Run Uje Run [+leggi anche:
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Best Director
Amanda Kernell - Charter [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Amanda Kernell
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Best Actress in a Leading Role
Ane Dahl Torp - Charter

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Uje Brandelius - Run Uje Run

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Lena Endre - My Father Marianne [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Mårten Klingberg
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Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Ahmad Fadel - Ghabe (Sweden)

Best Screenplay
Uje Brandelius - Run Uje Run

Best Cinematography
Sophia Olsson - Charter

Best Editing
Fredrik Morheden - Breaking Surface [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Joachim Hedén
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Best Costumes
Kicki Ilander - Nelly Rapp - Monsteragent (Sweden)

Best Sound/Sound Design
Fredrik Lantz – The Other Side [+leggi anche:
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Best Make-up
Hanna Holm Löfgren, Eva von Bahr, Love Larson - Nelly Rapp - Monsteragent

Best Original Score
Ola Kvernberg - Only the Devil Lives Without Hope [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Magnus Gertten
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Best Set Design
Linda Janson, Charlotte Alfredson - Se upp för Jönssonligan (Sweden)

Best Visual Effects
Jelmen Palsterman, Tony Kock - Breaking Surface

Best Foreign-language Film
For Sama [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts
scheda film] - Waad Al-Khateab, Edward Watts (UK/Syria/USA)

Best Documentary Film
I Am Greta [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Nathan Grossman
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Best Short Film
A Legacy of Horses - Annika Karlsson, Jessica Karlsson (Sweden)

Lifetime Achievement Award
Sten Ljunggren (actor)

The Gullspira (for achievements in children’s film)
Jon Nohrstedt (producer)