| Children's Island | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical Release Poster | |
| Directed by | Kay Pollak |
| Written by | Kay Pollak |
| Based on | Children's Island by P. C. Jersild |
| Produced by | Bengt Forslund |
| Starring | Thomas Fryk Ingvar Hirdwall |
| Cinematography | Roland Sterner |
| Edited by | Thomas Holéwa |
| Music by | Jean-Michel Jarre |
| Distributed by | Svensk Filmindustri |
Release date |
|
Running time | 109 minutes |
| Country | Sweden |
| Language | Swedish |
Children's Island (Swedish:Barnens ö) is a Swedishdrama film which was released to cinemas in Sweden on 25 December 1980,[1] co-written and directed byKay Pollak, starring Thomas Fryk andIngvar Hirdwall. It is based on the novel of the same name byP. C. Jersild. Filming took place between July and October 1979. It won Sweden's most prestigious film prize, theGuldbagge, when it was released in 1980 and was Sweden's official selection for the54th Academy Awards. The film became controversial in Australia, being banned in 2014, over thirty years after its original release.[2]
The story is set inStockholm 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.
The movie was Kay Pollak's first commercial success, and won the awards forBest Film,Best Director andBest Actor (Hirdwall) at the17th Guldbagge Awards.[3] In 1981 it was entered into the31st Berlin International Film Festival.[4] The film was also selected as the Swedish entry for theBest Foreign Language Film at the54th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.[5]
