Frida Kempff Explained

Birth Place:Sala, Sweden
Occupation:Film director, screenwriter

Frida Kempff (born 1977) is a Swedish filmmaker best known for the 2021 psychological thriller film Knocking.[1]

Early life

Kempff was born in 1977 in Sala, Sweden.[2]

Career

After graduating from the Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts, Kempff directed the documentary short film Bathing Micky about an elderly woman who is a member of her local bathing club. The short won the Prix du Jury at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.[3] [4]

Kempff's fiction short While You Were Gone about a young man's changing relationship with his father premiered in 2011, followed by the 2015 documentary short Circles about a man's return to Stockholm after serving through Doctors Without Borders.[5] [6]

In 2015, Kempff's feature-length debut, Winter Buoy, premiered at that year's Gothenburg Film Festival. The documentary highlighted a public health program in Toronto supporting at-risk pregnant women.[7]

Kempff next directed two more fictional short films: Dear Kid (2016), about a mother who suspects a swimming coach is abusing one of his pupils, and Wolf (2017), about a young woman who encounters a wolf that threatens her family's sheep.[8] [9]

Kempff's feature fiction film debut Knocking, based on a novella by Johan Theorin, debuted at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.

The Swedish Torpedo, Kempff's biographical period drama about Swedish woman Sally Bauer swimming the English Channel, will premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.[10]

Filmography

YearEnglish titleOriginal titleNotesRef.
2010Bathing MickyMicky BadarShort film[11]
2011While You Were GoneMedan du var bortaShort film
2015CirclesCirclarShort film
Winter BuoyVinterboj
2016Dear KidÄlskade ungeShort film
2017WolfVargShort film
2021KnockingKnackningar
2024Den svenska torpedoen

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryNominated workResultRef.
2010Cannes Film FestivalPrix du Jury – Short FilmBathing Micky
Expresion en Corto International Film FestivalBest Short Documentary
Nordisk Panorama Film FestivalNordic Documentary Film Award
Skepto International Film FestivalGrand Prix
2011Stockholm International Film Festival1km Film AwardWhile You Were Gone
2015Nordic International Film FestivalBest DocumentaryWinter Buoy
Gothenburg Film FestivalBest Nordic Documentary
2016Stockholm International Film Festival1km Film AwawrdDear Kid
Nordisk PanoramaNordic Short Film Award Circles
Gothenburg Film FestivalShort Film Award
2017Cinalfalma Lisbon International Film AwardsBest Debut FilmWolf
2021Narcisse AwardBest Feature FilmKnocking

Notes and References

  1. News: Simon . Alison . Swedish Helmer Frida Kempff on Göteborg Festival Closer ‘Knocking’ . 15 August 2024 . Variety.
  2. Web site: While You Were Gone . Zagreb Dox . 16 August 2024.
  3. Web site: Frida Kempff . Salomonsson Agency . 16 August 2024.
  4. Web site: Lumholdt . Jan . Frida Kempff • Director of Knocking . Cineuropa . 16 August 2024.
  5. Web site: While You Were Gone . Full Frame Film Festival . 16 August 2024.
  6. Web site: Circles . Frida Kempff . 16 August 2024.
  7. Web site: Winter Buoy . Momento Films . 16 August 2024.
  8. Web site: Dear Kid . Premium Films . 16 August 2024.
  9. Web site: Wolf . Frida Kempff . 16 August 2024.
  10. Web site: The Swedish Torpedo . Toronto International Film Festival . 16 August 2024.
  11. Web site: Bathing Micky . Cannes Film Festival . 16 August 2024.