Frida Kempff
Swedish filmmaker (born 1977)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Frida Kempff (born 1977) is a Swedish filmmaker best known for the 2021 psychological thriller film Knocking.[1]
Frida Kempff | |
|---|---|
Kempff in 2020 | |
| Born | 1977 (age 48–49) |
| Occupations | Film director, screenwriter |
Early life
Kempff was born in 1977 in Sala, Sweden.[2]
Career
After graduating from the Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts, Kempff directed the documentary short film Bathing Micky about an elderly woman who is a member of her local bathing club. The short won the Prix du Jury at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.[3][4]
Kempff's fiction short While You Were Gone about a young man's changing relationship with his father premiered in 2011, followed by the 2015 documentary short Circles about a man's return to Stockholm after serving through Doctors Without Borders.[5][6]
In 2015, Kempff's feature-length debut, Winter Buoy, premiered at that year's Gothenburg Film Festival. The documentary highlighted a public health program in Toronto supporting at-risk pregnant women.[7]
Kempff next directed two more fictional short films: Dear Kid (2016), about a mother who suspects a swimming coach is abusing one of his pupils, and Wolf (2017), about a young woman who encounters a wolf that threatens her family's sheep.[8][9]
Kempff's feature fiction film debut Knocking, based on a novella by Johan Theorin, debuted at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.[4]
The Swedish Torpedo, Kempff's biographical period drama about Swedish woman Sally Bauer swimming the English Channel, will premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.[10]
Filmography
| Year | English title | Original title | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Bathing Micky | Micky Badar | Short film | [11] |
| 2011 | While You Were Gone | Medan du var borta | Short film | [5] |
| 2015 | Circles | Circlar | Short film | [6] |
| Winter Buoy | Vinterboj | N/a | [7] | |
| 2016 | Dear Kid | Älskade unge | Short film | [8] |
| 2017 | Wolf | Varg | Short film | [9] |
| 2021 | Knocking | Knackningar | N/a | [1] |
| 2024 | The Swedish Torpedo † | Den svenska torpedoen | N/a | [10] |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Cannes Film Festival | Prix du Jury – Short Film | Bathing Micky | Won | [11] |
| Expresion en Corto International Film Festival | Best Short Documentary | Won | [3] | ||
| Nordisk Panorama Film Festival | Nordic Documentary Film Award | Nominated | [3] | ||
| Skepto International Film Festival | Grand Prix | Won | [3] | ||
| 2011 | Stockholm International Film Festival | 1km Film Award | While You Were Gone | Nominated | [3] |
| 2015 | Nordic International Film Festival | Best Documentary | Winter Buoy | Won | [3] |
| Gothenburg Film Festival | Best Nordic Documentary | Nominated | [3] | ||
| 2016 | Stockholm International Film Festival | 1km Film Awawrd | Dear Kid | Won | [3] |
| Nordisk Panorama | Nordic Short Film Award | Circles | Nominated | [3] | |
| Gothenburg Film Festival | Short Film Award | Nominated | [3] | ||
| 2017 | Cinalfalma Lisbon International Film Awards | Best Debut Film | Wolf | Won | [3] |
| 2021 | Narcisse Award | Best Feature Film | Knocking | Nominated | [3] |