- Born
- Died
- Birth nameBo Gunnar Widerberg
- Bo Widerberg was born on June 8, 1930 in Malmö, Skåne län, Sweden. He was a director and writer, known for Lust och fägring stor (1995), Ådalen 31 (1969) and Joe Hill (1971). He was married to Vanja Nettelbladt and Ann-Mari Björklund. He died on May 1, 1997 in Ängelholm, Skåne län, Sweden.
- SpousesVanja Nettelbladt(1954 - 1973) (divorced, 3 children)Ann-Mari Björklund(1953 - 1954) (divorced)
- Films typically end on freeze frames.
- Natural lighting and handheld camerawork.
- Politically-charged stories.
- Favored casting amateurs and non-professionals as opposed to real actors.
- Frequently cast Thommy Berggren.
- In the 60s, as a young director, he questioned Ingmar Bergman's status in Sweden and in the world with unusual fire and soul, believing the stories and camera work were to constructed and Bergmans characters too stiff. On the other hand, Bergman was very impressed with Widerberg's films, but the two directors never met.
- Left school at 17, then deserted from the army after being conscripted, but was able to avoid prosecution. By the time he was 22 he had published a novel and short story collection.
- Not a friend of good planning, he sometimes rewrote parts of the script in the margins of a newspaper while sitting on the can in the morning, before going to the shoot. He flourished under chaos, with everything happening fast and in no particular order. This was extremely demanding for the crew, never really knowing what to except, but everybody agreed it was a great way to get the energy up for every day.
- Suffered from bipolar disorder but only agreed treatment in his later years.
- Favoured natural lighting in his films and considered black & white photography as too stark and stylised.
- Morals are highly important to me. In my novels, I was a terrible moralist, and even if I no longer want to judge, I'm still worried by sharp and unexpected differences of opinion.
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