What are the Guldbagge (='Golden Beetle') Awards?
They are Sweden's premier film awards for "outstanding achievement on behalf of Swedish film in the past year."
What is the beetle statuette made of?
Weighing in at 1.2 kg, the beetle is made of enamelled copper covered with gold leaf.
Which artist designed the Guldbagge?
Karl Axel Pehrson.
Which films qualify for nomination?
Fictional films that have screened at cinemas and have premiered during the past calendar year. The screening time must be equivalent to at least 2,000 metres of 35 mm-film, roughly 73 minutes. The film must also qualify as Swedish through a points system based on the native country of the artistic principals (Sweden), the language (Swedish) and the principal financial backers (Swedish). In order to qualify for Guldbagge nomination, at least seven of the maximum 13 points must be obtained.
Cinema screening is not compulsory for short and documentary films: instead, these may have been screened at one of the three festivals relevant to this nomination group.
Selecting the winners, and the juries doing it
The board of the Swedish Film Institute selects a number of organisations or institutions from the world of Swedish film which in turn select two or four of their members to sit on the Nominations Jury. The board then supplements the jury with four further members. The members must see all the Swedish feature films that have premiered during the year. They then cast their votes in sealed envelopes, ranking three films or people within all feature film categories (apart from Best Foreign Language Film). These ballot forms are then counted by the Film Institute.
Around one week prior to the Guldbagge Awards Ceremony the Winners Jury is informed about the nominated films, following which they meet and decide on who should receive the much sought-after 'beetles'. The results are subsequently announced during the ceremony.
The Winners Jury, comprising seven members and one chairperson, is appointed by the board of the Film Institute. One of the members must come from another Nordic country. The jury selects the Guldbagge winners in open discussion.
The board of the Film Institute also appoints the Nomination Group for Best Foreign Language Film and the Nomination Group for Best Short and Documentary Films, which comprises two persons each from the film festivals in Göteborg and Uppsala and a further two from the Tempo Documentary Film Festival in Stockholm.
The Jury Group for Special Achievements is appointed from the members of the Nominations Jury. This jury group comprises a maximum of six people. Organisations taking part in the main Nominations Jury and people working in the film industry have the opportunity to propose winners for the three special Guldbagge Awards.
What are the award categories?
See Guldbagge Award categories
What is the Audience Award?
The Audience Award was founded by the CEO of the Swedish Film Institute, Cissi Elwin Frenkel, in 2006. The website www.biopublikenspris.se is open for anyone wishing to nominate a film which premiered in the past year. The three films receiving most nominations compete during the live broadcast of the Guldbagge Awards Ceremony for the telephone votes of the viewers. The film with most votes during the evening wins the award.
How long have the Guldbagge Awards existed?
The first Guldbagge Awards were presented in September 1964, during what used to be known as the Film Ball. Ingmar Bergman won the first Guldbagge for Best Director (for "The Silence") that evening.
When is the next Guldbagge Awards Ceremony?
Read about the date and time for the next Guldbagge Awards Ceremony on the Guldbagge start page.
Where is the next Guldbagge Awards Ceremony?
Read about the location of the next Guldbagge Awards Ceremony on the Guldbagge start page.
Can I see the Guldbagge Awards Ceremony?
Read about the broadcast of the next Guldbagge Awards Ceremony on the Guldbagge start page
How many beetles has Jan Troell won?
Five, which is a record.
Which year did they start with a Guldbagge for Best Short?
1995
Where have most ceremonies been held?
At Cirkus in Stockholm, eight times.