Arne Sucksdorff

Who was Arne Sucksdorff?

Arne Sucksdorff was a Swedish film director, considered one of cinema's greatest documentary filmmakers. He was particularly celebrated for his visually poetic and scenic nature documentaries. His works include Pojken i trädet and the Academy Award-winning Människor i Stad.

Perhaps Sucksdorff's most widely admired work was the internationally acclaimed Det Stora Äventyret about a year in the outdoors told in semidocumentary fashion from the viewpoint of a farmboy. It is noted for its remarkable photography and authentic scenes of nature, and its appeal to children for its story of domesticated otters. Sucksdorff also appeared as an actor in this film, portraying the father, while his real-life son is an actor as well. The film won the International Prize at the 1954 Cannes Film Festival and the Big Silver Medal at the 4th Berlin International Film Festival.

In the early 1960s, Sucksdorff moved to Rio de Janeiro, where he taught cinema at the film school and continued making documentaries, such as Mitt hem är Copacabana. The film was entered into the 1965 Cannes Film Festival and the 4th Moscow International Film Festival.