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The remarkable true story of Gustaf Håkansson, affectionately known as “Stålfarfar” or “Steel Grandpa,” is being brought to the big screen by Strive Stories, the Stockholm-based production company founded by best-selling author Jens Lapidus and award-winning producer Nicklas Wikström Nicastro.

Titled SteelGrandpa, the feature film will be shot in Sweden and helmed by celebrated director Mårten Klingberg (“Off Track”). The script, written by Gudrun Giddings (“The Secret World”) and Cameron Johann (“An American in Austin”), tells the inspiring and humorous tale of Håkansson, who at age 65, defied race officials who barred him from competing in the inaugural Sverigeloppet in 1951 because of his age. Undeterred, he rode the grueling 6-day national cycling tour anyway, without official entry, eventually outlasting many competitors and becoming a beloved folk hero across Sweden.

“This story is full of heart, just the kind of tale we want to champion,” said Nicastro, whose film “A Man Called Ove...

The Swedish Film Institute on Wednesday announced the nominations for the Guldbagge (Golden Bug) awards, Sweden’s top film prize, with politics taking center stage among the feature contenders.

Axel Petersén’s Shame on Dry Land, a neo-noir set in the world of online gamblers who fled Sweden for refuge in Malta, lead the pack with 9 Guldbagge nominations. But it was snubbed in the best film category. Per Fly’s cold war thriller Hammarskjöld, starring Mikael Persbrandt as the titular Swedish diplomat, and former Un Secretary-General, who died in a mysterious plane crash, received seven nominations, including best film, tying with Opponent, Milad Alami’s drama about a family who flee Iran for Northern Sweden.

Alongside Hammarskjöld and Opponent, best film nominees include Mika Gustafson’s social drama Paris Is Burning, the relationship drama 100 Seasons from director Giovanni Bucchieri, and The Gullspång Miracle, a documentary from director Maria Fredriksson about...

Swedish director-actor Mårten Klingberg (“Cockpit”) will find out if his latest dramedy is as big of an audience pleaser as early test screenings predict when he presents “My Father Marianne” as the closing night of the Göteborg Film Festival on Saturday, Feb. 1. Variety chatted to Klingberg before the film’s bow.

How did you get involved in “My Father Marianne,” which is inspired by the prize-winning memoir “My Father Ann-Christine: The Memory of a Secret,” by Ester Roxberg?

I was asked to read an early version of the script in 2017, and I then started collaborating with the producer Charlotta Denward and the writers Daniel Karlsson and Ida Kjellin. The writers continued writing based on the feedback they got from me and the producer. Towards the end of the process, I took over the script myself. It was a dramedy from the start, though I might have pulled it slightly more towards drama.

New films by Thomas Vinterberg, Charlotte Blom and Jonas Poher Rasmussen will be presented at the Goteborg Film Festival’s Nordic Film Market. In total, 16 films in post-production will be presented to industry participants in at the Nordic Film Market as part of the Work-in-Progress section. Half of the lineup is made up of first features.

Cia Edström, the head of the Nordic Film Market, said the industry showcase is seeing a big increase in participation this year. As many as 381 attendees from 25 countries so far have signed up for the event, including 37 sales agents, 67 festival programmers and 47 buyers. Edström noted the breadth and diversity of films and projects in this year’s program.

Vinterberg’s next film, “Another Round” is a modern drama starring Mads Mikkelsen. Represented in international markets by TrustNordisk, the film follows a group of high school teachers who embark on an experiment to be intoxicated...

50% of its programme will be comprised of films directed by women.

The world premiere of Maria Bäck’s Swedish drama Psychosis in Stockholm wil open the Goteborg Film Festival on January 24 as part of the festival’s Nordic Competition. Goteborg has promised that 50% of its programme will be comprised of films directed by women.

The film is inspired by an experience writer-director Bäck had when she was 15 and her mother developed a psychosis while they were on a trip to Stockholm. The filmmaker describes the project as a “surreal fiction drama”; Garagefilm produces what is Bäck’s second feature following I Remember When I Die.

Goteborg Film Festival, the biggest showcase of local and international movies in the Nordics, will kick off its 43rd edition with Maria Bäck’s “”Psychosis,” and will close with actor-turned-director Mårten Klingberg’s “My Father Mary Anne.”

Both timely Swedish dramas dealing with trauma post-sexual abuse, and the experience of a transgender priest, respectively, “Psychosis” and “My Father Mary Anne” will have their world premiere at Goteborg.

Stellan Skarsgård, who just won a Golden Globe for his performance in the hit HBO series “Tchernobyl,” will receive the prestigious Nordic Honorary Dragon Award and will be honored with a retrospective of some of the greatest films of his career. As part of the tribute, the estival will also host the Nordic premiere of “The Painted Bird” which was recently shortlisted for the international feature film category at the Oscars. During the festival, Skarsgård will also having a masterclass.

In addition to opening the festival,...