''Children's Island'' ( sv, Barnens ö) is a Swedish

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

which was released to cinemas in Sweden on 25 December 1980, directed by

Kay Pollak Kay Gunnar Leopold Pollak (born 21 May 1938) is a Swedish film director. Career After a long break from film-making, he returned in 2004 with ''As It Is in Heaven'' (''Så som i himmelen''), a major box office success in Sweden. The film was nomi ...

, starring Thomas Fryk and

Ingvar Hirdwall Lars Ingvar Hirdwall (born 5 December 1934), is a Swedish actor. One of the country's most prolific stage and film actors, he is probably most widely recognised for his two heterogenous roles in the Martin Beck universe; as the eponymous killer i ...

. It is based on the novel of the same name by

P. C. Jersild Per Christian Jersild, better known as ''P. C. Jersild'', (born 1935) is a Sweden, Swedish author and physician. He also holds an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Medicine at Uppsala University from 22 January 2000, and another one in engine ...

. Filming took place between July and October 1979. It won Sweden's most prestigious film prize, the ''Guldbagge'', when it was released in 1980 and was Sweden's official selection for the

54th Academy Awards The 54th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 1981 and took place on March 29, 1982, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m ...

. The film became controversial in Australia, being banned in 2014, over thirty years after its original release.

Plot

The story is set in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

where 11-year-old Reine is on the verge of puberty and afraid of sexual maturity. He lives in a suburb with his single mother who sends him to one of the traditional Swedish summer camps which were common at the time of the setting and were managed by the cities for children in need of visiting the countryside. The title of the film refers to an island that is home to many such camps. His mother then vacations on her own, but in fact Reine never goes to the camp. Instead he spends the summer exploring the city of Stockholm on his own, where he meets several strange adults.

Cast

* Tomas Fryk as Reine Larsson *

as Stig Utler *

Anita Ekström Gertrud Anita Ekström (13 January 1943 ⁠– 18 June 2022) was a Swedish actress. At the 7th Guldbagge Awards she won the award for Best Actress for her role in ''Jänken''. She has appeared in more than 30 films and television shows since 196 ...

as Harriet Larsson *

Börje Ahlstedt Nils Börje Ahlstedt (born 21 February 1939) is a Swedish actor who has worked extensively with the world-famous director Ingmar Bergman in films like ''Fanny and Alexander'' (1982), ''The Best Intentions'' (1992), '' Sunday's Children'' (1992) a ...

as Hester * Lars-Erik Berenett as Esbjörn *

Hjördis Petterson Hjördis Olga Maria Petterson (17 October 1908 – 27 May 1988) was a Swedish actress. She appeared in more than 140 films. She was born in Visby, Sweden and died in Stockholm. Selected filmography * ''Perhaps a Poet'' (1933) * ''Eva Goes ...

as Olga *

Sif Ruud Sif Einarsdotter Ruud Fallde born Sif Einarsdotter Ruud (6 May 1916 – 15 August 2011), best known as Sif Ruud, was a Swedish film actress. Born in Stockholm to Einar Ruud and Inez Engström, she began her career in 1938, and appeared in 14 ...

as Mrs. Bergman-Ritz *

Lena Granhagen Karin Anna-Lena Granhagen (born 7 January 1938) is a Swedish actress and singer. She has appeared in 40 films and television shows since 1958. She starred in the 1969 film '' Made in Sweden'', which won a Silver Bear award at the 19th Berlin Int ...

as Helen * Majlis Granlund as Lotten * Malin Ek as Kristina * Maud Sjökvist as Maria * Hélène Svedberg as Nora

Awards

The movie was Kay Pollak's first commercial success, and won the awards for

Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

and

Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to th ...

(Hirdwall) at the

17th Guldbagge Awards The 17th Guldbagge Awards ceremony, presented by the Swedish Film Institute, honored the best Swedish films of 1980 and 1981 and took place on 30 October 1981. ''Children's Island'' directed by Kay Pollak was presented with the award for Best Fi ...

. In 1981 it was entered into the

31st Berlin International Film Festival The 31st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 February 1981. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Spanish film '' Deprisa, Deprisa'' directed by Carlos Saura. The retrospective was dedicated to British film producer Mic ...

. The film was also selected as the Swedish entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the

, but was not accepted as a nominee.Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

References

External links

* * {{Swedish submission for Academy Awards 1980 films 1980s coming-of-age drama films 1980s Swedish-language films Films directed by Kay Pollak Films set in Stockholm Best Film Guldbagge Award winners Films whose director won the Best Director Guldbagge Award Swedish coming-of-age drama films Film controversies in Australia Obscenity controversies in film Juvenile sexuality in films 1980 drama films Films about puberty 1980s Swedish films

Plot

Cast

Awards

See also

References

External links