Arne Sucksdorff

{{Short description|Swedish film director (1917–2001)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Arne Sucksdorff

| image = Arne-Sucksdorff-Vintage-Photograph-353121388830.jpg

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_name = Arne Edvard Sucksdorff

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1917|2|3|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Stockholm, Sweden

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2001|5|4|1917|2|3|df=yes}}

| death_place = Stockholm, Sweden

| nationality = Swedish

| other_names =

| occupation = Film director

| years_active = 1940–1972

| known_for =

| notable_works =

| spouse = {{plainlist|

• Alfhild Nordendahl
• {{marriage|Astrid Bergman|1951|1964}}
• Maria Graca

}}

| children = 5

}}

Arne Edvard Sucksdorff (3 February 1917 – 4 May 2001) was a Swedish film director, considered one of cinema's greatest documentary filmmakers. He was particularly celebrated for his visually poetic and scenic nature documentaries. His works include Pojken i trädet (The Boy in the Tree) and the Academy Award-winning Människor i Stad (Symphony of a City).

Perhaps Sucksdorff's most widely admired work was the internationally acclaimed Det Stora Äventyret (1953) (The Great Adventure) about a year in the outdoors told in semidocumentary fashion from the viewpoint of a farmboy. It is noted for its remarkable photography and authentic scenes of nature, and its appeal to children for its story of domesticated otters. Sucksdorff also appeared as an actor in this film, portraying the father, while his real-life son is an actor as well."Arne Sucksdorff; Film-Maker Who Captured The Beauty Of Sweden." The Guardian (London) 22.(n.d.): LexisNexis Academic. Web. 1 May 2012 The film won the International Prize at the 1954 Cannes Film Festival{{cite web|url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/3866/year/1954.html|title=Festival de Cannes: The Great Adventure|accessdate=30 January 2009|website=Festival de Cannes}} and the Big Silver Medal (Documentaries and Culture Films) at the 4th Berlin International Film Festival.{{cite web|url=http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1954/03_preistr_ger_1954/03_Preistraeger_1954.html|title=4th Berlin International Film Festival: Prize Winners|accessdate=23 December 2009|work=berlinale.de}}

In the early 1960s, Sucksdorff moved to Alghero, Sardinia, and lived there about 2 years doing spear fishing and exploring the coast with a rubber inflatable Zodiak mark V, after moved to Rio de Janeiro, where he taught cinema at the film school and continued making documentaries, as well as the documentary-style drama Mitt hem är Copacabana (My Home Is Copacabana), which is controversial due to Sucksdorff making up a back story as a street orphan for one of the main actors, a nine year old boy from Ipanema, whose daughter told the real story in a 2019 book.{{Cite news|url=https://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/mangbottnad-debut-om-ett-hem-pa-jorden/|title=Bokrecension: Mångbottnad debut om ett hem på jorden|date=2019-08-12|newspaper=Dagens Nyheter|language=sv|access-date=2019-08-12}} The film was entered into the 1965 Cannes Film Festival{{cite web|url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/2906/year/1965.html|title=Festival de Cannes: My Home Is Copacabana|website=Festival de Cannes|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208014017/http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/2906/year/1965.html|archivedate=8 February 2012}} and the 4th Moscow International Film Festival.{{cite web|url=http://www.moscowfilmfestival.ru/miff34/eng/archives/?year=1965|title=4th Moscow International Film Festival (1965)|accessdate=2 December 2012|work=MIFF|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116145645/http://www.moscowfilmfestival.ru/miff34/eng/archives/?year=1965|archivedate=16 January 2013}} Sucksdorff also won the award for Best Director at the 2nd Guldbagge Awards.{{cite web|url=http://www.sfi.se/en-GB/Swedish-film-database/Item/?type=MOVIE&itemid=4709&iv=Awards|title=My Home Is Copacabana (1965)|publisher=Swedish Film Institute|date=26 February 2014|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140311130736/http://www.sfi.se/en-GB/Swedish-film-database/Item/?type=MOVIE&itemid=4709&iv=Awards|archivedate=11 March 2014}} At the 29th Guldbagge Awards he won the Creative Achievement award.{{cite web|url=http://www.sfi.se/en-GB/Swedish-film-database/Item/?type=PERSON&itemid=60832&iv=AWARDS|title=Arne Sucksdorff|publisher=Swedish Film Institute|date=23 March 2014}}

In later life, he became an outspoken critic of deforestation and a fervent environmentalist.

Sucksdorff's last film was the 1971 feature Cry of the Penguins (also titled Mr. Forbush and the Penguins), starring John Hurt and Hayley Mills.

He died of pneumonia in May 2001 at his birthplace, Stockholm, Sweden.