The only Finn to win an Academy Award as producer of Ingmar Bergman’s classic Fanny & Alexander has died yesterday, aged 86.

An influential figure in Finnish cultural life and politics for more than 50, years, the Swedish-speaking Finn Jörn Donner was a journalist, author, film producer, director and politician.

He started working as a film critic for Sweden’s newspaper Dagens Nyheter in 1961 then turned to directing.

His film To Love (1964) earned Harriet Andersson an award for Best Actress in Venice. Several of his films in the 1960s were banned due to nudity. In total he directed and/or produced more than 20 films.

His latest fiction film was Armi Alive! (2015) about Marimekko’s legendary founder Armi Ratia followed by two documentaries: Fuck Off-Images from Finland (2017) and The Memory of Ingmar Bergman (2018). 

Donner also served as CEO at the Swedish Film Institute between 1978-1982. 

As a novelist, he had a long and distinguished career and he was the recipient of the prestigious Finlandia Prize in 1985 for Father and Son. His 1000 page autobiography was published in 2013. 

In politics, he was an MP at the Finnish Parliament for 14 years between 1987-2014 and three years in Brussels, representing parties such as the Social Democrats and the Swedish People’s Party.

In the 1990s he was also Finland’s Consul General in Los Angeles.