Am-stram-gram (Ole dole doff) by Jan Troell

The Swedish New Wave

For the 2025 edition, FIKA(S) and the Cinémathèque Québécoise are highlighting Swedish cinema from the 1960s with a selection of films by Bo Widerberg, Jan Troell, and Vilgot Sjöman. While Ingmar Bergman has reigned supreme over the Swedish cinematic landscape since the end of World War II, this new generation of filmmakers, inspired by the French New Wave and American independent cinema, is challenging the conventions of representation and turning towards a decidedly social cinema.

Am-stram-gram (Ole dole doff) by Jan Troell Sweden, 1968, 110 min 35mm, Subtitled in French

A teacher at a high school in Malmö, in southern Sweden, struggles to maintain order in his classroom. His professional dissatisfaction affects his personal life and leads him to question his desire for fatherhood. Released in March 1968, Ole dole doff by Jan Troell portrays, in an audacious style with documentary-like elements, the gap of misunderstanding between a generation of disillusioned adults and a youth revolting against institutions (the events of May are not far away…). This film won the Golden Bear at the 1968 Berlin Film Festival.