Ruben Östlund (b. 1974)

Alias:
Claes Olle Ruben Östlund
Рубен Эстлунд
루벤 외스트룬드
루벤 외스틀룬드

Birthplace:
Styrsö, Gothenburg, Sweden

Born:
April 13, 1974

Ruben Östlund (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈrʉːbɛnˈœstlɵnd]) (born April 13 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 and nominations for three Academy Awards.  Östlund was born in Styrsö, Gothenburg Municipality, Sweden. After high school, he started working in various ski resorts in the Alps 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 film school in Gothenburg, 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.  His first three feature-length fiction films were The Guitar Mongoloid (2004), Involuntary (2008) and Play (2011). The Guitar Mongoloid won the FIPRESCI 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.  In 2014, his film Force Majeure was selected to compete in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival, winning the Jury Prize. Sweden then submitted Force Majeure for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. After the Academy shortlisted but did not nominate it, Östlund released a humorous video of his response to missing the nomination list. In 2016, he was a member of the jury for the Un Certain Regard section of Cannes.  In 2017, his film The Square, loosely inspired by some of his own experiences and art installation with Kalle Boman, competed at the Cannes Film Festival, where it ultimately won the Palme d'Or. 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 efforts in Swedish film.  Afterwards, he pursued the project Triangle of Sadness, a satirical film about the wealthy elite, winning his second Palme d'Or 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 nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. He was the Jury president of the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.  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.  Description above from the Wikipedia article Ruben Östlund, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Additional information:

The Search Form


Art Department Production Assistant:
2016  Ten Meter Tower

Camera Operator:
1997  Free Radicals
2016  Ten Meter Tower

Cinematography:
1997  Free Radicals
2001  Let the Others Deal With Love
2016  Ten Meter Tower

Creative Director:
1997  Free Radicals
2001  Let the Others Deal With Love
2016  Fight on a Swedish Beach!!
2016  Ten Meter Tower

Director:
1997  Free Radicals
1998  Free Radicals II
2001  Let the Others Deal With Love
2001  Scen nr 6345 ur mitt liv
2002  Family Again
2002  Mustasch: Down in Black
2004  The Guitar Mongoloid
2005  Autobiographical Scene Number 6882
2006  Nattbad
2008  Involuntary
2010  Incident by a Bank
2011  Play
2014  Force Majeure
2016  Fight on a Swedish Beach!!
2016  Ten Meter Tower
2017  The Square
2022  Triangle of Sadness
????  The Entertainment System Is Down
????  Toast

Director of Photography:
1997  Free Radicals
1998  Free Radicals II
2001  Let the Others Deal With Love
2001  Scen nr 6345 ur mitt liv
2002  Family Again
2002  Mustasch: Down in Black
2003  Irmelin
2004  The Guitar Mongoloid
2005  Autobiographical Scene Number 6882
2006  Nattbad
2008  An Extraordinary Study in Human Degradation
2008  Involuntary
2010  Incident by a Bank
2011  Play
2014  Force Majeure
2016  Fight on a Swedish Beach!!
2016  Ten Meter Tower
2017  The Square
2022  Triangle of Sadness
????  The Entertainment System Is Down
????  Toast

Editor:
1997  Free Radicals
1998  Free Radicals II
2001  Let the Others Deal With Love
2001  Scen nr 6345 ur mitt liv
2002  Family Again
2002  Kalle och bollhavet
2002  Mustasch: Down in Black
2003  Irmelin
2004  The Guitar Mongoloid
2005  Autobiographical Scene Number 6882
2006  Nattbad
2006  Weekend
2008  An Extraordinary Study in Human Degradation
2008  Involuntary
2010  Incident by a Bank
2011  Play
2014  Force Majeure
2016  Fight on a Swedish Beach!!
2016  Ten Meter Tower
2017  The Square
2022  Triangle of Sadness
????  The Entertainment System Is Down
????  Toast

Executive Producer:
1997  Free Radicals
1998  Free Radicals II
2001  Let the Others Deal With Love
2001  Scen nr 6345 ur mitt liv
2002  Family Again
2002  Kalle och bollhavet
2002  Mustasch: Down in Black
2003  Irmelin
2004  The Guitar Mongoloid
2005  Autobiographical Scene Number 6882
2006  Nattbad
2006  Weekend
2008  An Extraordinary Study in Human Degradation
2008  Involuntary
2009  Greetings from the Woods
2010  Incident by a Bank
2011  Play
2011  Twin Brothers: 53 Scenes in Chronological Order
2014  Force Majeure
2016  Fight on a Swedish Beach!!
2016  Ten Meter Tower
2017  The Square
2020  Downhill
2022  Triangle of Sadness
2023  And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine
2024  Life and Other Problems
????  The Entertainment System Is Down
????  Toast

Original Film Writer:
1997  Free Radicals
1998  Free Radicals II
2001  Let the Others Deal With Love
2001  Scen nr 6345 ur mitt liv
2002  Family Again
2002  Kalle och bollhavet
2002  Mustasch: Down in Black
2003  Irmelin
2004  The Guitar Mongoloid
2005  Autobiographical Scene Number 6882
2006  Nattbad
2006  Weekend
2008  An Extraordinary Study in Human Degradation
2008  Involuntary
2009  Greetings from the Woods
2010  Incident by a Bank
2011  Play
2011  Twin Brothers: 53 Scenes in Chronological Order
2014  Force Majeure
2016  Fight on a Swedish Beach!!
2016  Ten Meter Tower
2017  The Square
2020  Downhill
2022  Snow thérapie
2022  Triangle of Sadness
2023  And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine
2024  Life and Other Problems
????  The Entertainment System Is Down
????  Toast

Producer:
1997  Free Radicals
1998  Free Radicals II
2001  Let the Others Deal With Love
2001  Scen nr 6345 ur mitt liv
2002  Family Again
2002  Kalle och bollhavet
2002  Mustasch: Down in Black
2003  Irmelin
2004  Den ljusnande framtid är vår
2004  The Guitar Mongoloid
2005  Autobiographical Scene Number 6882
2006  Nattbad
2006  Weekend
2008  An Extraordinary Study in Human Degradation
2008  Involuntary
2009  Greetings from the Woods
2010  Incident by a Bank
2011  Play
2011  Twin Brothers: 53 Scenes in Chronological Order
2014  Force Majeure
2016  Fight on a Swedish Beach!!
2016  Ten Meter Tower
2017  The Square
2020  Downhill
2022  Snow thérapie
2022  Triangle of Sadness
2023  And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine
2024  Life and Other Problems
????  Redoubt
????  The Entertainment System Is Down
????  Toast

Screenplay:
1997  Free Radicals
1998  Free Radicals II
2001  Let the Others Deal With Love
2001  Scen nr 6345 ur mitt liv
2002  Family Again
2002  Kalle och bollhavet
2002  Mustasch: Down in Black
2003  Irmelin
2004  Den ljusnande framtid är vår
2004  The Guitar Mongoloid
2005  Autobiographical Scene Number 6882
2006  Nattbad
2006  Weekend
2008  An Extraordinary Study in Human Degradation
2008  Involuntary
2009  Greetings from the Woods
2010  Incident by a Bank
2011  Play
2011  Twin Brothers: 53 Scenes in Chronological Order
2014  Force Majeure
2016  Fight on a Swedish Beach!!
2016  Ten Meter Tower
2017  The Square
2020  Downhill
2022  Snow thérapie
2022  Triangle of Sadness
2023  And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine
2024  Life and Other Problems
????  Redoubt
????  The Entertainment System Is Down
????  Toast

Thanks:
1997  Free Radicals
1998  Free Radicals II
2001  Let the Others Deal With Love
2001  Scen nr 6345 ur mitt liv
2002  Family Again
2002  Kalle och bollhavet
2002  Mustasch: Down in Black
2003  Irmelin
2004  Den ljusnande framtid är vår
2004  The Guitar Mongoloid
2005  Autobiographical Scene Number 6882
2006  Nattbad
2006  Weekend
2008  An Extraordinary Study in Human Degradation
2008  Involuntary
2009  Greetings from the Woods
2010  Incident by a Bank
2011  Play
2011  Twin Brothers: 53 Scenes in Chronological Order
2014  Force Majeure
2016  Fight on a Swedish Beach!!
2016  Ten Meter Tower
2017  The Square
2020  Downhill
2022  Marks
2022  Snow thérapie
2022  Triangle of Sadness
2023  And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine
2023  Beau Is Afraid
2024  Life and Other Problems
????  Redoubt
????  The Entertainment System Is Down
????  Toast

Writer:
1997  Free Radicals
1998  Free Radicals II
2001  Let the Others Deal With Love
2001  Scen nr 6345 ur mitt liv
2002  Family Again
2002  Kalle och bollhavet
2002  Mustasch: Down in Black
2003  Irmelin
2004  Den ljusnande framtid är vår
2004  The Guitar Mongoloid
2005  Autobiographical Scene Number 6882
2006  Nattbad
2006  Weekend
2008  An Extraordinary Study in Human Degradation
2008  Involuntary
2009  Greetings from the Woods
2010  Incident by a Bank
2011  Play
2011  Twin Brothers: 53 Scenes in Chronological Order
2014  Force Majeure
2016  Fight on a Swedish Beach!!
2016  Ten Meter Tower
2017  The Square
2020  Downhill
2022  Marks
2022  Snow thérapie
2022  Triangle of Sadness
2023  And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine
2023  Beau Is Afraid
2024  Life and Other Problems
????  Redoubt
????  The Entertainment System Is Down
????  Toast

About the Movie Section

Most data and links to images for the Movies section come from TheMovieDB (TMDB).

Additional data for Film Titles come from The Open Movie Database (OMDb).

At least one plug-in comes from IMDb.

Data are -- hey, it's a plural -- subject to the limitations of their sources. (For example, TMDB search results currently max out at 20.) I am limiting myself to free data sources for now. (No, a "free trial" is not free.)

While much of the above data are retrieved directly from outside APIs and other such sources, data from American Film Institute (AFI) and British Film Institute (BFI) were manually entered the old fashioned way into a MySQL database. Re BFI I took the following liberties:

  • I added "runners up" to Top 10 lists, treating them as ties where applicable and numbering them accordingly at the bottom of each list.
  • Regarding those polls wherein "franchise" movies were submitted as one project until BFI's policy changed to regard them separately, I treated them as ties and renumbered the affected lists accordingly (e.g. the Godfather films).

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Filtering is applied here to film projects flagged as "adult" by TheMovieDB. Pending "popular demand" I am contemplating a login and profile system with preferences (such as whether to allow adult images to appear) and permissions (such as data entry).

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Whether or not he still clings to an award which he won in 1986 as a film critic for his college's newspaper, Jeffrey Hartmann is not responsible for the texts of overviews and biographies supplied by external data sources.