CONGRATULATIONS JENIFER MALMQVIST

Our heartfelt congratulations to Jenifer Malmqvist, the director of our film Daughters,  who is this year's recipient of the prestigious Mai Zetterling Scholarship!

The scholarship was presented at the Gothenburg Film Festival's gala Dragon Awards on February 3th by Hjalmar Palmgren, vice chairman of the Artists' Committee's working group for theater and film.

Jenifer Malmqvist is a director who has made herself known for strong and touching films. She has a long track-record of directing award-winning short films that have been screened at festivals all around the world - three of her short films have been screened at Sundance Film Festival. “Daughters" - her first feature length documentary film - won a “Guldbagge” (Swedish Academy award) in 2023 for Best Editing and was nominated for Best Documentary film. Jenifer's short film On Suffocation won the “Guldbagge” for Best Short Film in 2014. Jenifer is now working on the development of new feature length projects.

Jenifer Malmqvist at the Gothenburg Film Festival's gala Dragon Awards

MOTIVATION TO THE MAI ZETTERLING-SCHOLARSHIP

"In her films, Jenifer Malmqvist portrays in a unique way the deep emotions and complexity surrounding difficult subjects such as forbidden love, grief and suicide. Her storytelling style is empathetic and allows us to empathize with the people portrayed in an honest and respectful way. The care for the visual language is unique, hand in hand with the content and the characters portrayed. Her working method paves the way for a visual language that is fantastic, everyday but cinematic and without pretensions. A solid craftsmanship in every box that becomes painful and beautiful.

The latest film "Daughters" is a work that not only touches, it creates awareness and opens up dialogue about important social issues. The film is created with exceptional persistence, and never by exploitation. "Respectful, dignified and visual are her hallmarks."

“I am touched that I have been considered for this scholarship. It must mean that the films I directed left an impression, and I can’t think of anything better, especially when it comes from colleagues. It feels like a warm, supportive hand on the shoulder, and a soft push forward.”

— Jenifer Malmqvist

ABOUT THE SCHOLARSHIP

The Mai Zetterling scholarship includes 200,000 SEK and is one of Sweden's largest scholarships for a short or documentary filmmaker. The scholarship is awarded to a film director with "high artistic quality who expands the boundaries of short or documentary film".

BREAKING SOCIAL SELECTED FOR IDFA 2023

Breaking Social is going to IDFA!

We are excited to announce that Breaking Social is selected for IDFA! The International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam (IDFA) is one of the world's largest documentary film festivals.

On November 12th at the Royal Theater Carré (13:30) we have a very special screening! After the film Rutger Bregman and director Fredrik Gertten will be in a talk moderated by Maaike Schoon.

Rutger Bregman, a character in the documentary, is a Dutch author and popular historian, advocating for universal basic income and the reconstruction of society’s building blocks.

Screenings at IDFA

Director Fredrik will also attend the screenings on Nov 9th and Nov 14th for Q&A sessions.

For further information and all updates check out our social media!

BREAKING SOCIAL WINS BIFED 2023 - Fethi Kayaalp Grand Award

We are incredibly honoured to win the BIFED 2023 Fethi Kayaalp Grand Award. 

The jury consisting of Ebru Thwaites, Wolfgang Kissel, Maria Molina Garcon, Berrin Avci, Victor Candeias and Nilay Erbalaban Gürbüz wrote this statement: 

All films address the question of capitalism's exploitation of nature and humans. This film also emphasizes the destruction of human values, the disappearance of the ‘common’ and the concept of 'good life' in society. Breaking Social is also impressive in terms of showing how the actors of the capitalist system justify the ecological crisis by often remaining within the limits of the legal structures which we take for granted. They also commit crimes by breaking laws. Another criteria of the jury was the film’s potential to show that the risks created locally are shared globally. The dramatic narrative of the film enables us to see tragedies in different parts of the world happen simultaneously. The story of the women’s movement in Chile invites us to think about the same problem in Turkey. Despite the power of actors who do not shy away from any evil for power and money, we can continue to see and hope that there is a community of people who show solidarity and resistance, with whom society can organize itself starting from the local level. This is an important message for the future. 

BREAKING SOCIAL GOES GLOBAL

We are beyond thrilled to share exciting news: Breaking Social has been selected for this year's IDFA (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)!

Upcoming Global Screenings for Breaking Social

Coming up this month, Breaking Social will be screened in Canada. On October 10th and 11th, our Canadian audiences will have the opportunity to experience Breaking Social, followed by a Q&A session with Fredrik Gertten. Next, the film will make its way to DocsMx in Mexico City, marking another significant milestone in its global tour.
But that's only the beginning.
Fredrik Gertten is embarking on a five-day tour through Germany, including stops at the Human Rights Film Festival in Berlin, Münster, Hamburg, the Silbersalz Film Festival in Halle and Munich.

But the global journey doesn't end there!

Breaking Social has been selected to screen at prestigious international film festivals, including BIFED in Turkey, BIFF in Bergen, Free Zone in Serbia, and Suncine in Barcelona.

Breaking Social's message is resonating globally, and we can't wait to continue sharing it with audiences around the world.

Breaking Social in the Swedish Parliament

October 4th, was a remarkable day for Breaking Social - with not just one, but two incredible screenings in one day. Our special guest Chris Smalls, the courageous founder of the Amazon Labor Union and a prominent figure in the film, made the day even more special.

 The documentary was shown in the Swedish Parliament, thanks to the initiative of Ola Möller (S), a Member of Parliament. Following the screening, a thought-provoking discussion took place, focusing on Sweden's growing gaps, concentration of power, and inequality.  After the screening at the parliament, Breaking Social was shown at another sold-out screening at Bio Grand in Stockholm.

Panel in the parliament: Moderator from Arena Opinion – Aida Badeli, Social Democrat - Markus Kalifatides, Policy Director Oxfam - Hanna Nelson, Founder of Amazon Labor Union – Chris Smalls, Director - Fredrik Gertten, Social Democrats Youth League President – Lisa Nåbo and Acting Member of Parliament - Ola Möller.

Evening Cinema Event: Director - Fredrik Gertten, Policy Director Oxfam - Hanna Nelson, Freelancer Journalist Fanny Jönsson, Moderator from Arena Opinion Aida Badeli and Founder of Amazon Labor Union – Chris Smalls.

We would like to thank Chris Smalls, whose role in the documentary, due to his dedication to the labour rights movement in the US, added immense value to Breaking Social's message. His presence in Sweden underscored the global significance of the film's themes and the importance of international collaboration in addressing them.

A SOLD OUT SUCCESS

Breaking Social had its Swedish premiere on August 11th.

In the course of six weeks more than 7250 people have been to sold out screenings all over the country. Several Q&A sessions with our director Fredrik Gertten and panel discussions have sparked meaningful conversations across the nation. Leading panelists such as the Leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Youth Lisa Nåbo, the Political Editor of Aftonbladet Anders Lindberg, the Senior Strategist at Greenpeace Isadora Wronski and more have joined the conversation. 

Breaking Social was also shown at the European Parliament in Brussels in collaboration with the European Green Party and EFA group.
In partnership with Transparency International, the film was shown at the World Bank Group's International Corruption Hunters Alliance in the Ivory Coast. Coming up in October, the documentary will be screened at the Swedish Parliament. 

Amazing events have made the Swedish release even more memorable. On September 10th our event “Chile in our hearts” welcomed more than 450 guests, with musical guests Mikael Wiehe and Tania Naranjo.

If you want to organise a screening please contact:

• In Sweden

  eva.esseen.arndorff@triart.se

• Internationally

  hanna@wgfilm.com

BREAKING SOCIAL KICKSTARTER

The Kickstarter for BREAKING SOCIAL is officially live!

On March 14th we launched the Kickstarter Outreach Campaign for BREAKING SOCIAL. Our goal is to reach €25,000 by April 14th.

The money that gets donated will help BREAKING SOCIAL spread across the world. We want people to join this movement and start having conversations about the topics explored in the film.

The BREAKING SOCIAL campaign will include:

• Bringing the film out to both in-person and virtual screenings around the world, tied with panel conversations suitable to the communities watching the film.

• Translating the film into multiple languages, to make the film accessible to people around the world.

• Creating Calls to Action and further steps, so that after watching the film and joining the conversation, people are equipped with the tools and knowledge to help create change in their own communities.

• Being safe. Sometimes the big boys out there don't like independent documentaries. So from experience we know it's good to have an E&O insurance that will get us a lawyer in case they decide to attack us. Pledge to help us feel safer.

• From prior experience, when we poke people with a lot of money they have the tendency to sue small documentary producers. It's part of our impact!

For us a Kickstarter campaign is a way to create energy, get the message out with a film without a marketing budget. And every pledge makes a change - whether big or small. You can also help to create impact by being extra active spreading the message of the campaign. In fact, we even have a social media toolkit here to make that as easy as possible for you.

Support the Kickstarter! Click here to get to the campaign!