A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence

{{Short description|2014 film by Roy Andersson}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2014}}

{{Infobox film

| name = A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence

| image = A-pigeon-sat-on-a-branch-reflecting-on-existence-148-Afis.jpg

| caption = Turkish film poster

| director = Roy Andersson

| producer = {{plainlist|

• Linn Kirkenær
• Pernilla Sandström
• Håkon Øverås
• Philippe Bober }}

| writer = Roy Andersson

| starring = Holger Andersson
Nisse Vestblom
Charlotta Larsson
Viktor Gyllenberg
Lotti Tornros
Jonas Gerholm
Ola Stensson
Oscar Salomonsson
Roger Olsen Likvern

| music =

| cinematography = István Borbás
Gergely Pálos

| editing = Alexandra Strauss

| studio = Roy Andersson Filmproduktion AB

Coproduction Office

| distributor = TriArt Film (Sweden)

| released = {{film date|df=y|2014|09|02|Venice|2014|11|14|Sweden}}

| runtime = 101 minutes

| country = Sweden
Norway
France
Germany
Denmark

| language = Swedish

| budget =

| gross = $5.8 million{{Cite web|url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/duva-satt-pa-en-gren-och-funderade-pa-tillvaron-En#tab=box-office|title=En duva satt på en gren och funderade på tillvaron (2015) - Financial Information}}

}}

A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence ({{langx|sv|En duva satt på en gren och funderade på tillvaron}}) is a 2014 internationally co-produced black comedy-drama film written and directed by Roy Andersson. It is the third installment in his "Living" trilogy, following Songs from the Second Floor (2000) and You, the Living (2007). It premiered at the 71st Venice International Film Festival{{cite web |url=http://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/71st-festival/line-up/off-sel/venezia71/ |title=International competition of feature films |access-date=24 July 2014 |work=Venice |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006083927/http://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/71st-festival/line-up/off-sel/venezia71/ |archive-date=October 6, 2014 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2014/07/venice-film-festival-lineup-2014-movie-list-808803/ |title=Venice Film Festival Lineup Announced |access-date=24 July 2014 |work=Deadline|date=July 24, 2014 }} where it was awarded the Golden Lion for Best Film.{{cite news|title=Roy Andersson film scoops Venice Golden Lion award|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-29098103|access-date=7 September 2014|work=BBC News|date=7 September 2014}} It was selected as the Swedish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards but it was not nominated.{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2015/film/global/sweden-sends-roy-anderssons-pigeon-to-foreign-language-oscar-race-1201582628/ |title=Sweden Sends Roy Andersson's 'Pigeon' to Foreign-Language Oscar Race |work=Variety |date=1 September 2015 |access-date=1 September 2015}}{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/oscars-sweden-picks-a-pigeon-819278 |title=Oscars: Sweden Picks 'A Pigeon Sat on a Branch' for Foreign Language Category |last=Roxborough |first=Scott |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=1 September 2015 |access-date=1 September 2015}} It was released in Sweden on 14 November 2014, by TriArt Film.{{cite web|url=https://www.filminstitutet.se/en/about-us/press-service/press-archive-old/2015/a-pigeon-sat-on-a-branch-reflecting-on-existence--swedens-candidate-for-the-academy-award-nominations/|title=A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence – Sweden's candidate for the Academy Award nominations|date=1 September 2015|publisher=Swedish Film Institute|access-date=13 November 2023}}

Its title is a reference to the 1565 painting The Hunters in the Snow by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The painting depicts a rural wintertime scene, with some birds perched on tree branches. Andersson said he imagined that the birds in the scene are watching the people below, wondering what they are doing. He explained the title of the film as a "different way of saying 'what are we actually doing', that's what the movie is about."{{cite news |date=27 January 2013 |url=http://www.svd.se/kultur/roy-andersson-siktar-pa-guldpalmen_7863666.svd |title=Roy Andersson siktar på Guldpalmen |newspaper=Svenska Dagbladet |language=sv|quote=Det är egentligen bara en slags omskrivning för 'vad håller vi på med egentligen', det är det som filmen handlar om.}} At the Venice Film Festival, Andersson said that the film had been inspired by the 1948 Italian film Bicycle Thieves by Vittorio De Sica.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-29098103 |title=Roy Andersson film scoops Venice Golden Lion award |access-date=7 September 2014 |work=BBC News|date=September 7, 2014 }}