The Genius of the System? On the effects of public support, regional film funds and film policy on Swedish cinema

The present paper will place recent Swedish cinema against the background of the evolving public film policy and support – transnational, national and regional – during the last five decades although with a focus on the last few decades.. The purpose is an attempt to map how certain kinds of films, filmmakers and even locations appear to have been somewhat systematically endorsed or made possible by the system. Simultaneously, other forms of films and stories and film-maker types have perhaps, in a similar way, been dissuaded. In short, the paper will attempt to chart some of the ways in which the various public aids have played an important part in rendering what can be called the contemporary national cinema.