Ruben Östlund () (born 13 April 1974) is a Swedish filmmaker best known for his satirical black comedy films '' Force Majeure'' (2014), '' The Square'' (2017) and '' Triangle of Sadness'' (2022). He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Palmes d'Or, four

European Film Awards The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the mos ...

and nominations for three

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

Early life and education

Östlund was born in Styrsö,

Gothenburg Municipality Gothenburg Municipality ( or ) is a municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Gothenburg. When the first Swedish local government acts were implemented in 1863 the City of Gothenburg, founde ...

, Sweden. After high school, he started working in various

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area–a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North Am ...

s in the

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during the winter seasons. While in the Alps, he began making skiing videos for his friends, which helped him obtain a job at a local production company. He went on to study at the Gothenburg film school, graduating in 2001. He was accepted to the school based on his skiing films. Together with film producer Erik Hemmendorff, he is the co-founder of the production company Plattform Produktion, which produces his films.

Career

2000–2011

His first three feature-length fiction films were '' The Guitar Mongoloid'' (2004), '' Involuntary'' (2008) and ''

Play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

'' (2011). ''The Guitar Mongoloid'' won the

FIPRESCI The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for ''Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique'') is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the wor ...

Award at the 27th Moscow International Film Festival. Östlund's short film ''Incident by a Bank'' won the Golden Bear for Best Short Film at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival and the Grand Prix at Tampere Film Festival in 2011.

2014–present

In 2014, his film ''Force Majeure'' was selected to compete in the

Un Certain Regard (; 'A Certain Glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films with unusua ...

section at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

, winning the Jury Prize. Sweden then submitted ''Force Majeure'' for the

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

. After the

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

shortlisted but did not nominate it, Östlund released a humorous video of his response to the snub. In 2016, he was a member of the jury for the Un Certain Regard section at

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

. In 2017, his film '' The Square'', loosely inspired by some of his own experiences and art installation with Kalle Boman, competed at the

, where it ultimately won the

Palme d'Or The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...

. Alissa Wilkinson of '' Vox'' described the film as "Burying self-referential allusions in the background and merrily poking viewers till they bruise, ''The Square'' at times feels more like longform performance art than a narrative film. It’s social satire by way of art-world comedy, and no woke participant is exempt from its barbs." In 2020, he received the King's medal in gold for significant contributions to Swedish film. His next project was '' Triangle of Sadness'', a satirical film about the wealthy elite, winning his second

in 2022. On January 23, 2023, he won Best Director at the Guldbaggens gala for '' Triangle of Sadness''. The film won five other nominations. In January of the same year, only a day after winning the Guldbaggengala, ''Triangle of Sadness'' received

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and

Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best ...

. He was the Jury president of the

2023 Cannes Film Festival The 76th annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 16 to 27 May 2023. Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund served as jury president. With the French film ''Anatomy of a Fall'' winning the Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, Justine Triet became ...

Personal life

Östlund has been in a relationship with fashion photographer Sina Görcz since 2014 and has a son called Elias. He was previously married to his director colleague Andrea Östlund. They divorced in 2008 and have twin daughters, Alva and Hilda, together. Östlund was 28 when he became a father for the first time and was working on '' The Guitar Mongoloid'', his first feature film.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

BAFTA Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best Cinema of the United Kingdom, British and Worl ...

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual Awards ceremony, award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally ...

References

External links

* *
Ruben Östlund
at the Danish Film Institute
Ruben Östlund
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

Plattform Produktion official website

Plattform Produktion
at

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ostlund, Ruben 1974 births Living people Best Director Guldbagge Award winners Best Screenplay Guldbagge Award winners Directors of Palme d'Or winners European Film Award for Best Director winners European Film Award for Best Screenwriter winners Swedish male screenwriters Mass media people from Gothenburg Swedish cinematographers Swedish film directors Swedish comedy film directors Swedish film editors Swedish film producers Swedish satirists Swedish satirical film directors 21st-century Swedish screenwriters