The cultural policies of minor cinema practices: The Swedish film workshop during its first years 1973–76

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe essay is a description of the first years of the Stockholm film workshop, Filmverkstan, founded in 1973. The activities of the workshop are put into the framework of the new cultural policies of Sweden and the question of cultural democracy, as well as alternative ways of producing and distributing film. The output of the early years is set into generic and film historical contexts, connected to the problems of amateur film and minor cinema. One key topic is how this new venue for alternative film production was able to function together with other agencies, for example, the Swedish Film Institute, the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation and the FilmCentre coop. The essay offers an analysis of the implementation of state cultural policies within an alternative production context, the avant-garde and the alternative as a modified state apparatus.