When the Guldbagge Swedish film awards were first presented in 1964 there were only four categories – Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress and Best Actor. Since then, a number of new awards have gradually been introduced.
Awards are currently presented in the following categories:
- Best Picture
- Best Director
- Best Actress in a Leading Role
- Best Actor in a Leading Role
- Best Actress in a Supporting Role
- Best Actor in a Supporting Role
- Best Screenplay
- Best Cinematography
- Best Foreign language Film
- Best Short Film
- Best Documentary Film
- Lifetime Achievement Award
- Best Achievement (three awards) for achievement in professional areas not covered by their own Guldbagge
Previously in the history of the Guldbagge the following awards have also existed:
- The Special Achievement Award (1964-1987). Replaced by Creative Achievement Award.
- Creative Achievement Award (1988-1999). Replaced by Best Achievement Award.
- Best Achievement in the professional areas of film editing, scenography, costume, makeup, special effects and animation (2000-2006)
- Best Achievement in the professional areas of sound technology, mixing and score composition (2000-2006)
Related awards
Apart from the Guldbagge Awards, certain separate awards are presented at the same ceremony, namely the Gullspira Award and the Audience Award. Until 2006 even the Ingmar Bergman Award was presented at the Guldbagge ceremony.
The Gullspira is an award that goes to an individual who has made a special contribution to children's films. Set up by the board of the Swedish Film Institute and first presented in 2006, the award takes its name from the name of the goat in the classic Swedish children's film Barnen från Frostmofjället.
The Audience Award goes to the Swedish film that Swedish cinemagoers vote for as their favourite over the previous year and is also presented at the Guldbagge ceremony. The award was set up in 2006 by the current CEO of the Swedish Film Institute, Cissi Elwin Frenkel.
The Ingmar Bergman Award was primarily intended to honour achievements in Swedish film which had not otherwise been considered when the Guldbagge awards were handed out. The jury comprised Ingmar Bergman himself and the CEO of the Swedish Film Institute. The award was first presented at the 1978 Guldbagge ceremony, and presentation ceased after Bergman's death in 2007.
Film years and time scales for presentation of awards
The Guldbagge ceremony is held at the beginning of each year, and awards are presented for films that have premiered during the previous year. In other words, a Guldbage presented at the ceremony held on 25 January 2010 relates to the 2009 film year.
Earlier in the history of the Guldbagge there were so-called 'broken film years', i.e. films years that did not coincide with the calendar year, but ran instead from July until June the following year. During the period of broken film years, the Guldbagge ceremony was held during the autumn. The last broken film year occurred in 1982/83.
Awards presented at the January 1985 Guldbagge ceremony were in respect of 18 months of film production owing to the changeover from the broken calendar year to the standard calendar year during 1984.