26/10/2006

The Swedish Film Institute has appointed director/scriptwriter Lisa Ohlin the new Film Commissioner. As of January 1, she will replace Marianne Ahrne, who has occupied the position since 2003.

"During my 23 years in the film industry I've worked in virtually every position in the film industry,” said Ohlin, “from making coffee to directing. I've studied at film school, worked in various assistant roles, written scripts and edited films – for others as well. As I see it, the Swedish Film Institute and Swedish film in general have an exciting future ahead with major opportunities, and I'm looking forward to the challenge of playing my part in it," she said. Ohlin was born in New York and has lived both in the US and in Sweden. She studied anthropology and art at George Washington University and film at the New York University Graduate Film School, from which she received an MA in 1993. Her feature debut Waiting For the Tenor (1998) received seven Swedish Guldbagge award nominations and picked up one for Best Actor (Krister Henriksson). Last year, her comedy Sex, Hope and Love was awarded the Innovation Award at the Montreal Film Festival and gave Henriksson another chance to win a Guldbagge award.

"We are delighted that Lisa has accepted the position of feature film commissioner. She has a sound grasp of both the artistic and commercial aspects of filmmaking," said Cissi Elwin, CEO of the Swedish Film Institute.