Jan Troell Video | Clips from Films Directed and Interviews

Jan Gustaf Troell (born 23 July 1931) is a Swedish film director. Usually, Troell writes his own scripts and serves as his own director of photography. His realistic films, with a lyrical photography in which nature is prominent, have placed him in the first rank of modern Swedish film directors along with Ingmar Bergman and Bo Widerberg. Troell was born in Limhamn outside Malmö, Sweden. For several years, he worked as an elementary-school teacher but started to make shorts films in the sixties. He became director of photography for Widerberg but soon made a debut with his own first... MORE

Jan Gustaf Troell (born 23 July 1931) is a Swedish film director. Usually, Troell writes his own scripts and serves as his own director of photography. His realistic films, with a lyrical photography in which nature is prominent, have placed him in the first rank of modern Swedish film directors along with Ingmar Bergman and Bo Widerberg. Troell was born in Limhamn outside Malmö, Sweden. For several years, he worked as an elementary-school teacher but started to make shorts films in the sixties. He became director of photography for Widerberg but soon made a debut with his own first feature, Here's Your Life (Här har du ditt liv, 1966), about a working class boy in Sweden, set in the beginning of the 20th century. The film was based upon an autobiographical novel by Eyvind Johnson. His next film Who Saw Him Die? (Ole dole doff, 1968) won the Golden Bear award at the 18th Berlin International Film Festival. Troell's major work in the 1970s became The Emigrants (Utvandrarna, 1971) and its sequel The New Land (Nybyggarna, 1972), two epic films about some peasants emigrating from the barren Swedish countryside to America in the 19th century. Once again, Troell films were based upon the LESS