Ruben Östlund: Cultural politicians are embarrassingly uneducated

Star director Ruben Östlund is tough on the cultural policy being pursued in Sweden today. He urges politicians to "grow up and become less embarrassingly ignorant".

» Published: January 25 2025

Ruben Östlund: Cultural politicians are embarrassingly uneducated
Photo: Adam Ihse/TT

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During the opening speech of the Gothenburg Film Festival by Culture Minister Parisa Liljestrand (M), she was met with boos.

In her speech, she said, among other things, that it is not "politics' task" to be the industry's best buddy.

Ruben Östlund, who is the honorary chairman of the festival, reacts against the Culture Minister's speech and says in a post published in Aftonbladet that none of his films could have been made without "the film and cultural policy that was developed in the 1960s in Sweden".

"Unfortunately, it is not the cultural policy driven by Sweden's politicians today", says Östlund.

He further says that "Sweden's cultural policy and cultural politicians, or at least the PR department, must grow up and become less embarrassingly uneducated".

Östlund did not attend the opening ceremony, as he is in Budapest filming his new movie.

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By TTEnglish edition by Sweden Herald, adapted for local and international readers

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