LGBT themed films gain in screen visibility in Sweden says SFI report

A study over a five-year period shows that LGBT-related films represented 6-7% of all films between 2015-2018, a level that climbed to 11% or one in five films released in 2019.

The research published on Thursday by the Swedish Film Institute, analyses both feature films and documentaries, and Swedish and foreign films released in Swedish cinemas between 2015-2019. Sara Karlsson, SFI analyst explains that films were identified as LGBT, based notably on qualitative assessments, related to themes, dialogues, or particular perspectives.

In 2015, 272 films were released in Swedish cinemas of which 16 (6%) had a LGBT theme. This compares to 16 out of 305 films released in 2016 (5%), 20 out of 288 in 2017 (7%), 18 out of 284 in 2018 (6%) and 31 out of 291 films in 2019 (11%).

Regarding genres and nationality across the five year-period, around 8% of feature films and 7% documentaries from Sweden were LGBT-related, against 7% and 4% for foreign films.

For Swedish feature films, 2019 saw the highest numbers of LGBT-themed titles on screens: 6 out of 29, or 21%.

The films were A Piece of My Heart by Edward af Sillén, I’ll Be Home for Christmas by Ella Lemhagen, And Then We Danced by Levan Akin, Swoon by Björn Stein and Måns Mårlind, Call Mom! by Lisa Aschan, Aniara by Pella Kågerman and Hugo Lilja, and Lindy the Return of Little Light by Ida Persson Lännerberg.

In 2015 and 2016, the share fell to 11 and 9% respectively, and in 2017-2018, no LGBT-related Swedish feature film was released.

Meanwhile LGBT-related Swedish documentaries were more evenly distribution over the period, according to Karlsson, with 10% of all films released in 2018, 9% in 2016, 8% in 2017, 6% in 2015 and 5% in 2019.

For the full analysis, CLICK HERE.

The topic of LGBT representation on screens, especially among young people, was discussed recently at Copenhagen’s MIX CPH, a session co-hosted by the Nordic Council. Read our report here.

The Nordic Council of Ministers published early November its own in-depth report ‘How to Improve the Lives of LGBTI People in the Nordic Region’ as part of the ministers for gender equalities’ objective to raise bar in the coming years. Read the report - CLICK HERE.