Alex Schulman's "Archipelag" will be Sweden's Oscar entry

It was last spring that Alex Schulman announced that he would debut as a film director. It is now clear that his first film is Sweden's Oscar entry.

In "Archipelag", Gustaf Skarsgård, Fares Fares and Linus Wahlgren play three fathers who accompany their daughters on a school trip, and stranded with the high school class, they are reminded of their own teenage traumas.

- It has uncomfortable qualities à la Ruben Östlund that all parents who have sat in a parent-teacher conference can identify with. But mostly it is a dark and raptly told story about a class trip that goes completely out of control. Because it really rocks, says Kulturnyheterna's film editor Hannes Fossbo.

According to Schulman, the film is based on his own experiences.

"Archipelag" has its cinema premiere on October 9.

Long journey to official nomination

The film has been selected by the Film Institute's jury and is intended to compete in the Best International Feature Film category. However, the road to a real nomination is long, the official nominations will be presented on January 21 next year.

The film needs to impress the international Oscar jury to become one of the final nominees on the Oscars' "short list". But to get all the way there, it needs to pass several votes and be marketed internationally.

- It's an entertaining film, but I don't think it will go all the way and win an Oscar, or be nominated. It's not really that good. Then, of course, you never know. It always seems to go the way of Alex Schulman. And "Archipelag" is better than several Swedish entries that have actually been nominated over the years, says Hannes Fossbo.

17 Swedish films have been nominated

Over the years, 17 Swedish films have been nominated for best international feature film. Four have been awarded the statuette: Ingmar Bergman's "Jungfrukällan" (1960), "Såsom i en spegel" (1961) and "Fanny and Alexander" (1983), also Bille August's "Pelle the Conqueror" (1987).

The last time a Swedish film made it all the way to nomination was in 2018 with Ruben Östlund's "The Square".