Craft is nothing that comes easy and when it does, it’s something of a noble art. Lisa Ohlin has proven this in a number of films that are characterized by solid respect and curiosity for the cinematic craft as well as a feeling for strong stories and complex personal portraits.
Lisa Ohlin grew up in the United States where she studied anthropology and the arts at the George Washington University and attended the New York University Graduate Film School.
Her second short film, What Is This Thing Called Love (1992) made an impression, not least on film producer Katinka Faragó, who contacted Ohlin and suggested a collaboration. The result was the acclaimed short film Ingen som du (No one like you, 1994).
Then Ohlin took on Inger Edelfeldt’s acclaimed teenage novel Juliane & jag (Juliane and me), which became the TV series Nattens barn (Children of the night, 1995). It was one of Swedish film and television’s first conscious investments in stories from young girls’ perspectives – only three years before the sensational arrival of Show Me Love/Fucking Åmål. That year, 1998, Ohlin committed her feature film debut with Waiting for the Tenor, based on a story by Klas Östergren. The film was a great success and received much praise. For example, Helena Lindblad wrote in Dagens Nyheter: “In Waiting for the Tenor, Lisa Ohlin finally shows herself in full figure and as a true film narrator. Her joyous storytelling is contagious and her ability to handle a really good story, turning it into an even better film, is very impressive.”
After that, Ohlin made two more feature films, Seeking Temporary Wife (2003) and Sex, Hope and Love (2005) as well as a TV series, Kvalster (Mite, 2005), based on her own scripts. They all told stories about ordinary people in search of fellowship and love. With the grand venture Simon and the Oaks (2011), based on Marianne Fredriksson’s popular novel, Ohlin proved once again her strength in the portrayal of men, men’s suffering and the yearning for fellowship.
Between 2007 and 2011, Ohlin also held the position of film consultant at the Swedish Film Institute and contributed to the production of, among other films, Lena Koppel‘s Rally Chicks (2008), Teresa Fabik‘s Starring Maja (2009) and Lisa Langseth‘s Pure (2010).
The theme of Simon and the Oaks returns in Walk With Me (2015), where Ohlin appears as a Nordic counterpart of Kathryn Bigelow, specifically the Oscar-winning director’s war films The Hurt Locker (2009) and Zero Dark Thirty (2012).
Walk With Me is the story of a Danish soldier who loses both legs in Afghanistan and then finds his way back to life thanks to the encounter with a stubborn and persistent ballerina. It is a beautiful and well-made film, with exquisite camera work by Lars Skree and film star performances by Mikkel Boe Følsgaard and Cecilie Lassen in the leading roles. In Sweden, this primarily Danish production received very limited distribution, and under it’s English title at that.
In 2018, Lisa Ohlin and Karin Fahlén co-directed the TV series Sthlm Requiem for C More, TV4 and ZDF, an original series based on Kristina Ohlsson’s books about the criminologist Fredrika Bergman, who starts working as a civilian investigator within the police. The script was written by Jörgen Hjert, Pauline Wolff and Åsa Lantz.
Lisa Ohlin runs her own production company Flaming Film AB.
Mikaela Kindblom (2018, edited 2021)
(translated by: Jan Lumholdt)
Basic info
Main profession: Director
Born: 1960
Active: 1988-
Filmography
Regi:
Beck – 58 minuter (2022)
Beck – den gråtande polisen (2022)
Beck – döden i Samarra (2021)
Beck – den förlorade sonen (2021)
Sthlm Requiem (2019)
De standhaftige (2015)
Wallander – sorgfågeln (2013)
Simon och ekarna (2011)
Kvalster (2005)
Sex, hopp & kärlek (2005)
Tillfällig fru sökes (2003)
Familjen (2002)
“You Can Never Be Too Rich or Too Thin” (2001)
90 minuter 90-tal (2000)
Invigningen (1999)
Ernst Billgrens Kontakt (1998)
Veranda för en tenor (1998)
Happy Days (1995)
Nattens barn (1995)
Ingen som Du (1994)
What Is This Thing Called Love (1992)
Jimmy’s Day (1989)
Manus:
Kvalster (2005)
Sex, hopp & kärlek (2005)
Tillfällig fru sökes (2003)
“You Can Never Be Too Rich or Too Thin” (2001)
Invigningen (1999)
Veranda för en tenor (1998)
Happy Days (1995)
Ingen som Du (1994)
What Is This Thing Called Love (1992)
Jimmy’s Day (1989)
Idé:
Kvalster (2005)
Happy Days (1995)
Producent:
What Is This Thing Called Love (1992)
Jimmy’s Day (1989)
Klippning:
Vem är rädd för nyårsafton? (1994)
A Woman’s Point of View During Sex (1993)
What Is This Thing Called Love (1992)
Jimmy’s Day (1989)
Manusbearbetning:
Simon och ekarna (2011)
Nattens barn (1995)
Inspelningsledare:
Jönssonligan på Mallorca (1989)
Assistent till inspelningsledare:
Livsfarlig film (1988)
Filmkonsulent:
Between 2 Fires (2011)
Framtidens melodi (2011)
Gud är inget lyckopiller (2011)
Mitt mörka hjärta (2011)
Familia (2010)
För kärleken (2010)
Into Eternity (2010)
Puss (2010)
Sebbe (2010)
Snabba cash (2010)
Sound of Noise (2010)
Till det som är vackert (2010)
Underkastelsen (2010)
Antichrist (2009)
Bröllopsfotografen (2009)
Det enda rationella (2009)
Engelen (2009)
Flickan (2009)
Mañana (2009)
Over gaden under vandet (2009)
Prinsessa (2009)
Så olika (2009)
Allt flyter (2008)
Angel (2008)
Pojkar och flickor som dansar (2008)
Det som ingen ved (2008)
deOSYNLIGA (2008)
Fishy (2008)
Himlens hjärta (2008)
Les grandes personnes – De vuxna (2008)
Persona non grata (2008)
Rallybrudar (2008)
Arn: tempelriddaren (2007)
Det svider i hjärtat (2007)
Ett hederligt arbete (2007)
Övrig medarbetare:
När lämnade vi varandra? (1987)
Tack till:
Sprickorna i muren (2003)
Awards
2012: Guldbaggenominerad för Bästa regi (Simon och ekarna).
2006: Pris (Göteborg), Sveriges Dramatikerförbunds och SVT:s årliga stipendium, till minne av Lars Molin.
2005: Festivalpris (Montreal), Innovation Award för regi (Sex, hopp & kärlek).
1999: Guldbaggenominerad för Bästa regi (Veranda för en tenor).
1999: Guldbaggenominerad för Bästa manuskript (Veranda för en tenor).
1995: Kurt Linder-stipendium.