Best Swedish documentary movies

Europa: The Last Battle (2017)

An antisemitic, World War II revisionist 'documentary' that claims the Jewish people deliberately caused both World Wars – and that Hitler was only trying to save Germany from the Jews – as part of a plot to found the nation of Israel.

The Dog Walker (2014)

Retired actor Lars-Gunnar Persson spends his days with his neighbor's dog, sharing memories of failed relationships and questioning what life might have been. It's a friendship that suits Lars-Gunnar because the dog, Zeb, is an excellent listener.

Excess Will Save Us (2019)

In a small village of the North of France, an attack alert has been set off due to the combination of two events: the beginning of the hunting season and an argument between drunk Polish workers.

Avicii - I'm Tim (2024)

Before Avicii, there was Tim. Through his own words, witness how a prodigious musical talent became one of the defining artists of his generation.

Leave the World Behind (2014)

A music documentary following the breakup of Swedish House Mafia and their subsequent One Last Tour. The largest electronic tour in history, selling over 1 million tickets in one week. Director Christian Larson captures the band in a unique fly on the wall manner as they call it quits and seek closure by going on the tour they had always dreamed of. With breathtaking live moments, huge laughs and dark lows, the band start to unravel why they came to the decision to end the biggest achievement of their lives to date to save their friendship. The film maps out three of the biggest stars in a scene which has gripped youth the world over and the psychology of the band. A film not to be missed.

Avicii - My Last Show (2024)

On Aug. 28, 2016, Tim Bergling, better known as Avicii, graced the stage of the Ushuaïa nightclub in Ibiza for what would be his final performance.

PressPausePlay (2011)

The digital revolution of the last decade has unleashed creativity and talent of people in an unprecedented way, unleashing unlimited creative opportunites. But does democratized culture mean better art, film, music and literature or is true talent instead flooded and drowned in the vast digital ocean of mass culture? Is it cultural democracy or mediocrity? This is the question addressed by PressPausePlay, a documentary film containing interviews with some of the world’s most influential creators of the digital era.

Yung Lean: In My Head (2020)

When a Swedish teen rapper finds a rabid fanbase via the internet, international superstar Yung Lean is born. But as his fame grows, darkness settles in, blurring the line between reality and his own vivid imagination.

ABBA: In Concert (1979)

ABBA's 1979 tour of North America and Europe, with emphasis on performances at Wembley Arena, London.

Take One: A Documentary Film About Swedish House Mafia (2010)

This unique film follows a group of 3 DJs Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso as Swedish House Mafia over the course of 2 years, 285 gigs and 15 countries. The film charts their journey from the point at which the Swedish House Mafia really starts to cause big waves to finishing their first hit single, ONE, under a ground breaking joint venture record deal with Virgin Records. There are appearences by Kylie Minogue, Pharell Williams, Tinie Tempah and Dirty South and the film was directed by Christian Larson.

Lucky People Center International (1998)

Lucky People Center International takes us on a journey around the world through human souls. Music's rhythms and the film's pulsing form reminiscent of the music video aesthetics and gives the documentary a new face. The film traveled around the world for two years to find people and lifestyles that reflect the world before 2000.

ABBA Forever: A Celebration (2019)

This definitive music documentary, featuring a greatest hits soundtrack and bounty of classic performance clips, provides an inside look into how Swedish pop group ABBA's music was made, as the former members and various colleagues tell their story from pre-ABBA days onward.

Avicii on Tour (2013)

Tim Bergling, better know known to his millions of fans as Avicii, is at 24 already one of the world's best known and loved DJ:s. He plays sold-out venues all over the world and his name on the line up guarantees an almost insane audience response. But Avicii is also an artist with a conscience and together with his manager Ash, he is dedicated to fighting global hunger. This film follows Avicii during his Spring 2013 tour of Australia, where the profits went straight into their charity project "House for Hunger".

In Flames: Used & Abused. In Live We Trust (2005)

In Flames world tour captured by filmmaker Patric Ullaeus.

My Brother Ted (0)

For Ted, music and creation are the most important things in life. And around him he has a small group of friends who never hesitate to do everything they can to help him. My Brother Ted is a touching declaration of love from a big brother to his little brother.

Ola – den svenska popkungen (2020)

Silent Shout: An Audio Visual Experience (2006)

Concert film documenting The Knife, taken from the April 12, 2006 concert at the Trädgår'n, Gothenburg, Sweden, in their Silent Shout tour.

Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon (2003)

Yes he is a legend, and this collection of 20 newly remastered favorites will remind you just how powerful John's solo work could be. Includes Give Peace a Chance; Instant Karma; Mother (single edit); Jealous Guy; Power to the People; Cold Turkey; Love; Mind Games; Whatever Gets You thru the Night; #9 Dream; Stand by Me; (Just Like) Starting Over; Woman; Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy); Watching the Wheels; Nobdy Told Me; Borrowed Time; Working Class Hero; Happy Xmas (War Is Over) , and Imagine .

Jan Johansson - en liten film om en stor konstnär (2018)

"A small film about a great artist" - The Swedish pianist Jan Johansson (1931-1968), one of the most celebrated jazz/folk music pianist's of Northern Europe. The film tracks the pianist's coming greatness through the great masters Schubert, Mozart, and Hayden, to jazz music and Jan Johansson's transformation of Swedish folk songs, records on the album "Jazz på svenska".

A Tiger in Paradise (2023)

A surreal journey into singer José González’s inner world of thoughts and shadows. Staged with dark humour in the picturesque Swedish countryside around his home with Ruben Östlund’s regular creative partners behind the camera.

My Name Is Albert Ayler (2006)

The prophetic jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler, who today is seen as one of the most important innovators in jazz, was obsessed with his radical music and by the thought that people one day would understand it. In 1962 he recorded his first album in Sweden. Eight years later he was found dead in New York's East River, aged 34. (TCM)

The Heart Is a Drum (2019)

After a botched relationship with a Swedish girl in 1971, Klaus Dinger, a young drummer from Düsseldorf resorts to his drums in the band NEU!

I Am Greta (2020)

Greta Thunberg, a 15-year-old student in Sweden, started a school strike for the climate as her question for adults was, if you don’t care about my future on earth, why should I care about my future in school? Within months, her strike evolved into a global movement as the quiet teenage girl on the autism spectrum becomes a world-famous activist.

Bergman: A Year in a Life (2018)

The year 1957 was one of the most prolific for the Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman: he shot two films, released two of his most celebrated films and produced four plays and a TV movie while juggling with a complicated private life.

Trespassing Bergman (2013)

In the sixties, Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007) built a house on the remote island of Fårö, located in the Baltic Sea, and left Stockholm to live there. When he died, the house was preserved. A group of very special film buffs, came from all over the world, travel to Fårö in search of the genius and his legacy. (An abridged version of Bergman's Video, 2012.)

Olmo and the Seagull (2015)

'Olmo and the Seagull' is a poetic and existential dive into an actress's mind during the nine months of her pregnancy as she must confront her most fiery inner demons while trying to rewrite a new philosophy of life, identity and love. Underlying this hybrid film is mounting tension over what is real and what is enacted when one is performing one's own life.

Becoming Zlatan (2015)

The decisive years of Swedish soccer player Zlatan Ibrahimović, told through rare archive footage in which a young Zlatan speaks openly about his life and challenges. The film closely follows him, from his debut with the Malmö FF team in 1999 through his conflict-ridden years with Ajax Amsterdam, and up to his final breakthrough with Juventus in 2005.

Young Royals Forever (2024)

From casting to the final scene, this special shows how the cast and crew of "Young Royals" brought Wilhelm and Simon's heartwarming journey to life.

The Last Journey (2024)

Renowned Swedish TV-duo Filip and Fredrik embark on a trip to France, aiming to rekindle the zest for life of Filip's father.

The Most Beautiful Boy in the World (2021)

In 1971, due to the world premiere of Death in Venice, Italian director Lucino Visconti proclaimed his Tadzio as the world’s most beautiful boy. A shadow that today, 50 years later, weighs Björn Andrésen’s life.