Arne Edvard Sucksdorff (3 February 1917 – 4 May 2001) was a Swedish film director, considered one of cinema's greatest documentary filmmakers. He was particularly celebrated for his visually poetic and scenic nature documentaries. His works include ''Pojken i trädet'' ('' The Boy in the Tree'') and the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning ''Människor i Stad'' ('' Symphony of a City''). Perhaps Sucksdorff's most widely admired work was the internationally acclaimed '' Det Stora Äventyret (1953)'' (''The Great Adventure'') about a year in the outdoors told in semidocumentary fashion from the viewpoint of a farmboy. It is noted for its remarkable photography and authentic scenes of nature, and its appeal to children for its story of domesticated otters. Sucksdorff also appeared as an actor in this film, portraying the father, while his real-life son is an actor as well. The film won the International Prize at the

1954 Cannes Film Festival The 7th Cannes Film Festival was held from 25 March to 9 April 1954. With Jean Cocteau as President of the Jury, the Grand Prix went to the '' Gate of Hell'' by Teinosuke Kinugasa. The festival opened with '' Le Grand Jeu'' by Robert Siodmak. Th ...

and the Big Silver Medal (Documentaries and Culture Films) at the 4th Berlin International Film Festival. In the early 1960s, Sucksdorff moved to

Alghero Alghero (; ca, label= Alguerese, L'Alguer ; sc, S'Alighèra ; sdc, L'Aliera ) is a city of about 45,000 inhabitants in the Italian insular province of Sassari in northwestern Sardinia, next to the Mediterranean Sea. The city's name comes from ...

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

, and lived there about 2 years doing spear fishing and exploring the coast with a rubber inflatable Zodiak mark V, after moved to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

, where he taught cinema at the film school and continued making documentaries, as well as the documentary-style drama ''Mitt hem är Copacabana'' (''

My Home Is Copacabana ''My Home Is Copacabana'' ( sv, Mitt hem är Copacabana) is a 1965 Swedish drama film directed by Arne Sucksdorff. It was entered into the 1965 Cannes Film Festival and the 4th Moscow International Film Festival. Sucksdorff won the award for B ...

''), which is controversial due to Sucksdorff making up a back story as a street orphan for one of the main actors, a nine year old boy from

Ipanema Ipanema () is a neighbourhood located in the South Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between Leblon and Arpoador. The beach at Ipanema became known internationally with the popularity of the bossa nova jazz song, "The Girl from Ipa ...

, whose daughter told the real story in a 2019 book. The film was entered into the

1965 Cannes Film Festival The 18th Cannes Film Festival was held from 3 to 16 May 1965. Olivia de Havilland became the first woman president of the jury. The Grand Prix du Festival International du Film went to '' The Knack …and How to Get It'' by Richard Lester. The ...

and the

4th Moscow International Film Festival The 4th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 5 to 20 July 1965. The Grand Prix was shared between the Soviet film ''War and Peace'' directed by Sergei Bondarchuk and the Hungarian film ''Twenty Hours'' directed by Zoltán Fábri. J ...

. Sucksdorff also won the award for Best Director at the 2nd Guldbagge Awards. At the

29th Guldbagge Awards The 29th Guldbagge Awards ceremony, presented by the Swedish Film Institute, honored the best Swedish films of 1993, and took place on 31 October 1994. ''The Slingshot'' directed by Åke Sandgren was presented with the award for Best Film. Winn ...

he won the Creative Achievement award. In later life, he became an outspoken critic of

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...

and a fervent

environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...

. Sucksdorff's last film was the 1971 feature ''Cry of the Penguins'' (also titled '' Mr. Forbush and the Penguins''), starring

John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in t ...

and Hayley Mills. He died of pneumonia in May 2001 at his birthplace, Stockholm, Sweden.

Filmography

Director

*''Skuggor över snön'' (1945, Short) *'' Symphony of a City'' (1947, Short) *''Uppbrott'' (short; 1948) *''Indisk by'' (short; 1951) *'' The Great Adventure'' (1953) - Father *''Vinden och floden'' (1953, Short) *'' The Flute and the Arrow'' (1957) *''

'' (1965) *'' Mr. Forbush and the Penguins'' (1971) (with

Roy Boulting John Edward Boulting (21 December 1913 – 17 June 1985) and Roy Alfred Clarence Boulting (21 December 1913 – 5 November 2001), known collectively as the Boulting brothers, were English filmmakers and identical twins who became known for thei ...

and Alfred Viola)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sucksdorff, Arne 1917 births 2001 deaths Best Director Guldbagge Award winners Deaths from pneumonia in Sweden Artists from Stockholm Swedish film directors