Göteborg International Film Festival

History

Göran Bjelkendahl and Gunnar Carlsson spawned the idea for a film festival in Göteborg in 1978, both involved in the Göteborg film club Filmstudion. They wanted to show non-mainstream films to people other than those with a special interest. Inspired by a festival visit to London, Göran Bjelkendahl suggested that Göteborg should have a festival of its own. An organization was formed and the first festival took place in 1979. At the time, the festival had three movie theatres at its disposal. 17 films were screened for about 3 000 visitors.

Since then, the festival has grown with each year. 1988 was an important year in the history of the festival. On one hand, the decision was made to create a somewhat broader program. On the other hand, the Swedish Film Institute (SFI) decided to set the annual film award gala in Göteborg. In this year, the number of visitors doubled from 30 000 to 60 000.

Another important year was 1995. That was when the festival began cooperating with SFI making Göteborg International Film Festival the national film scene. In 2002, the festival celebrated its 25th anniversary. With 755 screenings, it was the biggest festival ever. The award gala was also arranged in Göteborg's Opera house, lending additional glow to the jubilee.

The 30th festival was celebrated in 2007. At this festival a new international competition was introduced - The Ingmar Bergman International Debut Award. Winner of the first award was the British filmmaker Andrea Arnold who was awarded for her film Red Road.