Director's Bio-Filmography:
1941 Born in Skara, southern Sweden
1959-60 Disciple of the Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Arne Sucksdorff
1961-64 Attended the Faculty of Arts at Uppsala University and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Aesthetics
1965-66 Film Academy in Stockholm
1968 First feature-length documentary, "Dom kallar oss mods"/"They Call Us Misfits" (first part of a trilogy, together with Jan Lindqvist)
1969-76 Production manager for Stig Björkman, Öyvind Fahlström, Mai Zetterling and Bo Widerberg; periodically assistant for Arne Sucksdorff
1973- Initiator and collaborator for the Folkets Bio film distribution company
Credentials
- Author of four books
- Legally responsible (under Swedish law) for Film & TV film magazine
- 30 films, 12 feature-length documentaries for the silver screen
- Organizer of the Bastad Film Festival
- Winner of three "Guldbaggar", the national annual award from the Swedish Film Institute
- Winner of the European Film Academy Felix Award ("Europe's Oscar")
- Winner of the International Documentary Associations Award, called the "Oscar of documentary film"
- Received the Silver Medallion at the Telluride Film Festival as "one of Europe´s leading documentarians"
- Plus some 50 other awards worldwide
"Stefan Jarl is the most prominent of the Scandinavian documentary film makers and recipient of several awards, among them the Felix Award. He had the renowned documentary director Arne Sucksdorff as teacher and has been production manager for several Swedish directors, among them Bo Widerberg. A key figure in the alternative Swedish film movement. His feature film debut came in 1968 with "They Call Us Mods" (together with Jan Lindqvist), which came to be the first part in a trilogy. The other parts came in 1979, with "A decent life" and in 1992, with "Misfits to Yuppies". With this trilogy he opened up a new path in Swedish cinema. His films have regularly been chosen for Forum of New Cinema at the Berlin Film Festival. A restrospective of his work has toured the World, and at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado he was awarded the Silver Medallion as "one of Europe´s leading documentary film makers".
"Stefan Jarl demonstrates with each passing year that he must be numbered among the world´s major documentarists"
/Peter Cowie, Film Guide International
"One of the world´s most distinguished documentarists"
/NHK, Japan
"Sweden has not had a documaker to match Jarl since the days of the great Arne Sucksdorff. Whether dealing with drug addicts or people liing in the countryside, Jarl´s films have been both hard.hitting and lyrical, with a finished feel reflecting the long time spent in post-production."
/Variety
"The greatest unknown documentary filmmaker currently at work".
/Michael Wilmington, Los Angeles Times
"A life-long profane firebrand"
/Ray Pride, Filmmaker magazine
"Stefan Jarl's vision of the documentary lead to some o the most exciting European documentaries..."
/Marion Döring, Director of the European Film Academy
Director's / Curator's Statement:
Un documentar despre „lumea chimica" în care traim, o lume pe care oamenii o construiesc înca din timpul celui de-al doilea Razboi Mondial. Pe atunci, omenirea folosea un milion de tone de substante chimice pe an. Astazi s-a ajuns la 500 de milioane de tone. Industria chimica e industria cu cea mai rapida dezvoltare de pe glob. Utilizam 100.000 de substante chimice în fiecare zi, fara a pune la socoteala aditivii alimentari. Sunt substante la care suntem expusi zilnic, precum emolienti, agenti pentru dedurizarea apei, substante ignifuge, detergenti si atâtea altele. Documentarul prezinta marturii si opinii ale unor oameni de stiinta renumiti despre povara chimica în continua crestere pe care trebuie sa o suporte corpul omenesc.