CEO Hanna Stjärne said the Swedish pubcaster is committed to investing SEK 300 million over the next three years and to safeguarding the breadth and diversity in Swedish film.

In a B2B blog published on Tuesday, Stjärne said SVT had promised in 2017 to maintain its commitment of SEK 100 million annual investment in local films, when the Film Agreement was replaced by the Swedish Film Policy. “Now we renew the promise,” claimed the CEO.

The investment from the public service, will continue to cover feature films, children's films, documentaries, cultural documentaries, short films, the development of new talents, and according to Stjärne, SVT will also take an active part in industry discussions regarding the future of Swedish film.

“In the increased competition for talent - directors, producers, screenwriters and actors - SVT wants to guarantee a long-term future that we believe is good for film Sweden. SVT wants to continue to be a guarantor of both breadth and variety in Swedish film,” she said.

Detailed in her vision on how to improve the state of the Swedish film sector, Stjärne said SVT is supporting the introduction of production incentives to attract more film shoots in Sweden, and working with partners at Yrkesnämnden för film & TV (the Industry Board for film & TV) to counter the shortage of skilled crew in production.

Regarding global streaming services, Stjärne said she welcomes the increased competition on the Swedish market while underscoring “the risks for Sweden's creative industries” if the streamers acquire all rights from the producers. “Owning your ideas and rights is fundamental to a sustainable local industry,” she said while suggesting for the Swedish government to consider whether financial contributions from the streamers into local content should be implemented.

According to Stjärne, more than 500 films were programmed on SVT in 2021 (including over 170 Swedish films), and 55 million Swedes tuned in to SVT’s film offer. Swedish films take in around 50% of the viewership both on SVT's linear programming and on SVT Play.

In terms of genres, the biggest hits on SVT Play in 2021 were Helena Bergström’s comedy Holy Mess, the animated film Bamse and the Witch’s Daughter and Mårten Klingberg’s My Father Marianne.

Stjärne also underlined the success of arthouse titles such as Ali Abbasi’s The Border and Henrik Schyffert‘s Run Uje Run. “It shows that the audience wants breadth [of content],” she said.