Jan Troell (born July 23, 1931 in Limhamn outside Malmö, Skåne län, Sweden) is a Swedish film director. Usually, Troell writes his own scripts and serves as his own director of photography. His realistic films with a lyrical photography in which nature is prominent have placed him in the first rank of modern Swedish film directors along with Ingmar Bergman and Bo Widerberg. July 23 is the 204th day (205th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 161 days remaining. ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1931 calendar). ... Limhamn is, in administrative sense, the southern district of the city of Malmö in Sweden. ... View over Malmö IPA: /málmø:/ is the third largest city in Sweden, situated in the southernmost province of SkÃ¥ne. ... SkÃ¥ne County, or SkÃ¥ne län, is the southernmost County or län, of Sweden. ... A cinematographer (from cinema photographer) is one photographing with a motion picture camera. ... Ingmar Bergman (pronounced in Swedish, IPA notation) (born July 14, 1918 as Ernst Ingmar Bergman) is a Swedish stage and film director who is one of the key film auteurs of the second half of the twentieth century. ... Bo Widerberg, (born June 8, 1930 in Malmö, SkÃ¥ne län, Sweden, died May 1, 1997 in BÃ¥stad, SkÃ¥ne län, Sweden). ...

For several years, Troell worked as an elementary-school teacher but started to make shorts in the sixties. He became director of photography for Widerberg but soon made a debut with his own first feature, This Is Your Life (Här har du ditt liv, 1966), about a working class boy in Sweden, set in the beginning of the 20th century. The film was based upon an autobiographical novel by Eyvind Johnson. Eyvind Johnson, (July 29, 1900- August 25, 1976) was a Swedish author. ...

Troell's major work in the '70s became The Emigrants (Utvandrarna, 1971) and its sequel The New Land (Nybyggarna, 1972), two epic films about some peasants emigrating from the barren Swedish countryside to America in the 19th century. Once again, Troell films were based upon the novels of a Swedish working-class author, in this case Vilhelm Moberg. As in many of Troell's films, Max von Sydow plays one of the major roles. The Emigrants was nominated for several Academy Awards. The Emigrants, or Utvandrarna, is a 1971 film which tells the story of a Swedish couple who emigrate to 19th century America. ... Nybyggarna (The New Land) is a 1972 Swedish film written by Bengt Forslund and directed by Jan Troell. ... Vilhelm Moberg (August 20, 1898 - August 8, 1973) was a Swedish author and historian. ... Max von Sydow as Ming the Merciless in Flash Gordon (help· info) (born April 10, 1929) is a Swedish actor, known in particular for his collaboraton with Ingmar Bergman. ... Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent film awards in the United States and most watched awards ceremony in the world. ...

After a brief and unsuccessful sojourn in Hollywood, which resulted in the films Zandy's Bride (1974), starring Gene Hackman, and The Hurricane (1979), Troell made The Flight of the Eagle (Ingenjör Andrées luftfärd, 1982). It is a film about S. A. Andrée's disastrous Arctic balloon expedition of 1897. The Flight of the Eagle was nominated for the Academy Awards (foreign language film). Gene Hackman Eugene Alden Hackman (born January 30, 1930) is an Academy Award-winning American actor. ... S.A. Andrée Salomon August Andrée (1854 – 1897) was a Swedish engineer and aeronaut who perished during a failed attempt to reach the Geographic North Pole by hydrogen balloon. ... S. A. Andrée and Knut Frænkel with the crashed balloon on the pack ice, photographed by the third expedition member, Nils Strindberg. ... Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent film awards in the United States and most watched awards ceremony in the world. ...

The release of Il Capitano: A Swedish Requiem (Il Capitano, 1991) became controversial since the film is based upon a true story; the brutal murder of a Swedish family just a few years earlier (see Juha Valjakkala). Yet, it concentrates on the psychological power game between the murderer and his girlfriend rather than the violence of the crime. It was awarded with the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. Juha Veikko Valjakkala (born June 13, 1965) became a part of Finnish and Swedish crime history in 1988 when he was convicted of the murder of a family of three at a cemetery in the northern Swedish community of Ã…msele. ... The Berlin International Film Festival, also called the Berlinale, is one of the most important film festivals in Europe and the world. ...

Troell has also made documentaries, for instance Land of Dreams (Sagolandet, 1988), dealing with modern society's alienation from nature and A Frozen Dream (En frusen dröm, 1997) in which he once again brings up Andrée's polar expedition.

Even in his seventies, Troell remains productive. His recent films include As White as in Snow (Så vit som en snö, 2001) and his latest documentary Presence (Närvarande, 2003).

External links

• Jan Troell at IMDb