Guldbagge Award for the 2019 Video Man

Guldbagge Award to Lena Nilsson for Best Supporting Role in Videoman
Production company World of Film is behind the production, with original screenwriting and direction by Kristian A Söderström and Producer Jim Lindmark. The film has gained a great deal of attention and Lena Nilsson received a Guldbagge Award for best female supporting role.

'Videoman' is a comedic drama in feature-length format about two people who are joined by an event and learn about each other by confronting one other's weaknesses and alienation. 

At the centre of events is Ennio, a VHS film collector with alcohol problems living in the past surrounded by thousands of video cassettes. He finds a valuable film in his collection – a rare release of Lucio Fulci's 'Zombie' – which can save him from eviction from his video store. When the film is stolen, a desperate hunt for the culprit ensues. During the hunt, he meets Simone, an alcoholic who is as downtrodden by broken dreams as Ennio. Soon, an odd romance between the couple develops while Ennio's existence bears an increasing resemblance to a raw Italian horror film!

The cast includes Stefan Sauk, Lena Nilsson, Morgan Alling, Amanda Ooms, Martin Wallström and Sven Wollter.

'In 1997 I got to know a video store owner who left a very strong impression on me. He helped me realise that a strong interest, a passion, a dream, can become a personal prison. This was the inspiration behind Videoman,' explains Kristian A Söderström, who wrote the script and directed the film.

'An initial draft was finished in 2000 and Sven Wollter was to play the starring role. For various reasons, the plans were scrapped and the script was shelved. In 2015, I pulled out the script again after having come into contact with Stefan Sauk, who seemed perfect for the role. I wrote a new draft and kept only two scenes from the old script. This became the basis for the film which is now living its own live in video players and computers.'

'With Stefan Stauf, photographer Andreas Wessberg and Producer Jim Lindmark behind the scenes, I decided to make the film with or without money. Then a snowball effect brought out people and financial support,' explains Kristian when explaining the film's development.

'But it was a long and difficult journey. Many times, it was uncertain if the money required to complete the film would come. The entire staff worked without reasonable pay and the production apparatus as a whole felt far from optimal. We simply didn't have enough money or people. The film ended up being good and I am extremely happy that we succeeded in carrying it out, but working with such small margins is something you only do once.' 

'Videoman' has its international première on 18 February and has already been well-received in the United Kingdom, in particular. The production company hopes to implement an English-Swedish collaborative production as a subsequent step.

'Videoman' is one of the productions that has received support from Lindholmen Science Park Project Financing