Bo Widerberg (8 June 1930 – 1 May 1997), was a Swedish film director, writer, editor and actor. He was born Bo Gunnar Widerberg in Malmö, Skåne län, Sweden. He died in Ängelholm, Skåne län, Sweden of stomach cancer.Widerberg was the director of films such as Raven's End (1963), Elvira Madigan (1967), Ådalen 31 (1969), Joe Hill (1971), Fimpen (1974), The Man on the Roof (1976), Victoria (1979), The Man from Majorca (1984), The Serpent's Way (1986) and All Things Fair (1995). The Serpent's Way was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival and in competition at the 15th Moscow International Film Festival.In 1966 at the 3rd Guldbagge Awards his film Heja Roland! won the award for Best Film.He won a Silver Bear prize at the 46th Berlin International Film Festival for All Things Fair and a Special Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Festival for Ådalen 31. Raven's End, Ådalen 31 and All Things Fair all received a nominations for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. For Ådalen 31 Widerberg won the Guldbagge Award for Best Director at the 6th Guldbagge Awards. For The Man on the Roof he won the award for Best Film at the 13th Guldbagge Awards.Bo Widerberg's vision of Swedish cinema parted radically with its contemporary form. He called for a greater political significance and more progressive story telling. The leading figure of Swedish cinema at the time, Ingmar Bergman, was not Widerberg's ideal at all, although he recognized his position: "Neither I nor my friends saw very much in him. We didn't find the issue of God's existence that damned important. But it's safe to say you'd be putting yourself in a bad position if you're trying to slit the throat of the father figure before your own debut." In his book, A Vision of Swedish Cinema, Widerberg concluded that Bergman's films almost exclusively dealt with issues between people directed upwards and seldom sideways. According to Widerberg, Bergman made vertical films when the need for horizontal ones was more dire. On the other hand, Widerberg wanted film to be a tool of the social sciences, a kind of sociological report.
Left school at 17, then deserted from the army after being conscripted, but was able to avoid prosecution. Had published a novel and short stories by the age of 22.
2
Favoured natural lighting in his films and considered black & white photography as too stark and stylised.
3
Rose to prominence in 1962 as a newspaper film critic, with the publication of his controversial book "Visions of Swedish Cinema", in which he criticised the monopolisation of his country's film industry by Ingmar Bergman and his adherents.
4
Suffered from bipolar disorder but only agreed treatment in his later years.
5
Often stated that Ådalen '31 (1969) and Ormens väg på hälleberget (1986) were the two films in his career he felt were the happiest ones.
6
In the 60s, as a young director, he questioned Ingmar Bergman's status in Sweden and in the world with unusual fire and soul, believing the stories and camera work were to constructed and Bergmans characters too stiff. On the other hand, Bergman was very impressed with Widerberg's films, but the two directors never met.
7
Not a friend of good planning, he sometimes rewrote parts of the script in the margins of a newspaper while sitting on the can in the morning, before going to the shoot. He flourished under chaos, with everything happening fast and in no particular order. This was extremely demanding for the crew, never really knowing what to except, but everybody agreed it was a great way to get the energy up for every day.
$5 Million
