If we could scan and AI generate an image of the Scandinavian psyche during the winter months, it would likely resemble many of Carl Olsson's brutally humorous depictions. Told in 24 concise chapters, VINTERSAGA is a testament to the Scandinavian soul and to cinematic perfectionism and aesthetic brilliance. As a real-life version of Roy Andersson's tragic take on the Nordic soul, this film is both a sociological dissection and biting satire, echoing the seemingly unavoidable effect winter has on people and places. Each scene exists as its own self-contained universe, simultaneously serving as a piercing commentary on, and a thinly veiled love letter to, the absurdity of the human experience. Olsson has masterfully refined his trademark style of frozen, observational tableaux, extracted from the heart of the welfare state. In VINTERSAGA he unearths not only his unique voice but, crucially, a chilling cadence that leaves a haunting impression.
Vintersaga
Carl Olsson
Carl Olsson was educated at The National Film School of Denmark in Copenhagen (2009-2013). He has further received education at Dramatiska Institutet and Nordens Folkhögskola Biskops Arnö in Stockholm, Sweden. His graduation film BLESSED BE THIS PLACE (2013) was nominated for the Danish Academy Award, and Robert Award 2014, and has won several international awards and been screened at numerous festivals worldwide. His first feature documentary PATRIMONIUM premiered at the Gothenburg Film Festival in 2019 and was awarded for “Artistic Excellence” at the Moscow International Film Festival. His latest feature MEANWHILE ON EARTH premiered in 2020 at International Film Festival Rotterdam, and later competed for the main documentary awards at Gothenburg, Thessaloniki and Camerimage. MEANWHILE ON EARTH was nominated for Best Cinematography at the Swedish Film Award Guldbaggen.
