Women in Swedish Film: gender, film and representation

This is a interdisciplinary project financed by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond. I am working on this project with my colleagues (Maria Jansson, political sciences, Ingrid Stigsdotter and Louise Wallenberg, Film and Fashion Studies). The project looks into the issue of women representation in Swedish film, the role women have played in film history, their role and participation in film productions, the way they have claimed and managed their intellectual property rights and the way they have in fact influenced the content and style of Swedish films.

Focussing on significant moments in film history, the project aims to investigate the gendered character of the system of representation in Swedish film, while asking ‘How does the presence of women filmmakers impact the representation of women on the screen?’; and ‘In which conditions and on what terms do women’s films gain access to the public sphere?’

The project analyzes instances where women in film culture have acted for change and identify political, social, legal, economic and cultural conditions that have circumscribed women’s work. The main contribution of the project is its multi-disciplinary approach which enables a discussion of links between women filmmakers, their working conditions, the films produced and how they enter the public sphere.

By combining the disciplines of Film, Politics and Law, the project enables the development of a theoretical framework that connects relevant debates around cultural and political representation.