Filmstaden
Filmstaden ("Filmstadt") is the name of the former film studios in Solna near Stockholm , where a significant part of Swedish film productions between 1920 and 1969 was made.
history
Filmstaden was built between 1919 and 1920 based on designs by the architect Ebbe Crone on the initiative of the Swedish film company Svensk Filmindustri , or SF for short . The architectural style is typical of Swedish classicism from the 1920s . Due to the rest of the work, a complete facility with studios, administration building, laboratory, cloakrooms and restaurants was created far outside the city gates of Stockholm. In its day, Filmstaden was one of Europe's most modern film studios and one of the largest in the world.
The first film produced here was Körkarlen by Victor Sjöström . Since then, around 400 films have been made, including many by Ingmar Bergman such as Wild Strawberries and The Seventh Seal . In 1969 SF left the premises and soon after the production of films was completely stopped.
Ingmar Bergman described Filmstaden in his book Laterna Magica :
“Filmstaden in Råsunda was a factory that produced between twenty and thirty films a year during the 1940s. There was a great deal of experience in professional skill and craft tradition, in Schlendrian and bohemianism. During my years as a manuscript negro, I had often stayed in the studios, the laboratory, the editing rooms, the sound department and the canteen, so I was very familiar with the premises and the people. I was also excitedly convinced that I would soon manifest myself as the world's leading film director. "
Filmstaden today
Today the area looks like a separate little district of Solna . Some of the historic buildings have been preserved and renovated and are now listed as historical monuments . They now include artist studios, film company offices, cinemas and restaurants. For this purpose, new residential buildings have been built on the site. Of the original buildings, the following are still preserved:
- The entrance portal and sentry box welcomed the visitor. The wrought-iron portal with the logo of the film company SF , Svensk Filmindustri, dates back to the original era; there used to be a barrier inside the portal with a large “stop” sign. The gatekeeper provided access control and supervised the handling of the dangerous nitrate film .
- All classic silent films were shot in the studio ( Lilla ateljén ), and Körkarlen was also shot here. In the building there were several studios on three floors, the largest was on the top floor under a glazed roof and with glazed facades. During the sound film era, filming continued here, although the large glass surfaces allowed interference from outside to penetrate. On the ground floor you will find the renovated Bergman Opera House with 24 seats, which was used to watch the current film recordings and the raw copies.
- In the laboratory ( Laboratoriehuset ) the film material was developed and copied. Up to 25,000 meters of film could be processed in one day. Because of the nitrate film used at the time, the building was fire and explosion-proof.
- The director's pavilion ( Regissörspaviljongen ) contained work and meeting rooms for directors. Victor Sjöström , Mauritz Stiller and Selma Lagerlöf , for example, met here to discuss how their novel could best be turned into a film.
photos
Web links
Coordinates: 59 ° 22 ′ 1 ″ N , 17 ° 58 ′ 54 ″ E