Graduation Films Tread Water

Graduation films from the Stockholm University of the Arts (SKH) are currently being featured on SVT and SVT Play, offering a glimpse into the work of recent graduates. However, a critical review suggests these films are largely characterized by a pervasive sense of stagnation, failing to move the viewer despite their technical merits.

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The graduation films from Stockholm University of the Arts are characterized by stagnation. This doesn't have to be wrong in itself, but the viewer should be set in motion internally.

While the films exhibit high production quality, with notable attention to sound design and visual grading, they often convey a distinct mood of unease. Theodor Solin's "En lek för två" depicts unsettlingly manipulative games played by caregivers in a nursing home. Julia Ammouri's "Sjung min sång" presents a socially critical narrative about a debt-ridden mother undergoing a new medical procedure that allows immigrants to erase their native language for a reward. Sepehr Nosrati's "175" uses a single long take to portray two sisters' ill-fated kidnapping attempt of a politician's son, aiming to prevent a motion that would render immigrants nearly lawless.

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If I were to define an SKH style, it is characterized by the feeling that all students in sound, photo, and directing have tried their utmost. Hard grading, with droning, crackling, and rumbling soundscapes convey with all the clarity that high production quality can achieve a distinct and unambiguous mood. In this year's films, it is characterized by strong discomfort.

Despite these extreme scenarios, the films often fail to achieve narrative or character progression. In "175," the sisters remain in their initial dichotomous positions even after their plan fails. Henric Hammarlind's master's film, "Slutstation Sverige," features characters expressing fear and grief in a studio setting that resembles a waiting room for death, but no meaningful interaction or change occurs. The recurring feeling of being "stuck in place" leaves the viewer, and seemingly the characters, in a state of unresolved tension, questioning the purpose and impact of these cinematic explorations.

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The sisters' different feelings about the action are what constitute the drama itself, but even when the plan fails in the end, they are in the same dichotomous positions as in the beginning.