Frida Kempff

{{Infobox person

| name =

| image = Frida Kempff.png

| alt =

| caption = Kempff in 2020

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1977}}

| birth_place = Sala, Sweden

| death_date =

| death_place =

| other_names =

| occupation = Film director, screenwriter

| years_active =

| known_for =

| notable_works =

}}

Frida Kempff (born 1977) is a Swedish filmmaker best known for the 2021 psychological thriller film Knocking.{{cite news |last1=Simon |first1=Alison |title=Swedish Helmer Frida Kempff on Göteborg Festival Closer ‘Knocking’ |url=https://variety.com/2021/film/global/frida-kempff-goteborg-knocking-1234902384/ |access-date=15 August 2024 |agency=Variety}}

Early life

Kempff was born in 1977 in Sala, Sweden.{{cite web |title=While You Were Gone |url=https://arhiva.zagrebdox.net/en/2013/programme/official_competition/international_competition/while_you_were_gone.html |website=Zagreb Dox |access-date=16 August 2024}}

Career

After graduating from the Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts, Kempff directed the documentary short film Bathing Micky about an elderly woman who is a member of her local bathing club. The short won the Prix du Jury at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.{{cite web |title=Frida Kempff |url=https://www.salomonssonagency.se/frida-kempff/ |website=Salomonsson Agency |access-date=16 August 2024}}{{cite web |last1=Lumholdt |first1=Jan |title=Frida Kempff • Director of Knocking |url=https://cineuropa.org/en/interview/397068/ |website=Cineuropa |access-date=16 August 2024}}

Kempff's fiction short While You Were Gone about a young man's changing relationship with his father premiered in 2011, followed by the 2015 documentary short Circles about a man's return to Stockholm after serving through Doctors Without Borders.{{cite web |title=While You Were Gone |url=https://www.fullframefest.org/film/while-you-were-gone/ |website=Full Frame Film Festival |access-date=16 August 2024}}{{cite web |title=Circles |url=https://www.fridakempff.com/circles |website=Frida Kempff |access-date=16 August 2024}}

In 2015, Kempff's feature-length debut, Winter Buoy, premiered at that year's Gothenburg Film Festival. The documentary highlighted a public health program in Toronto supporting at-risk pregnant women.{{cite web |title=Winter Buoy |url=https://momentofilm.se/films/winter-buoy/ |website=Momento Films |access-date=16 August 2024}}

Kempff next directed two more fictional short films: Dear Kid (2016), about a mother who suspects a swimming coach is abusing one of his pupils, and Wolf (2017), about a young woman who encounters a wolf that threatens her family's sheep.{{cite web |title=Dear Kid |url=https://www.premium-films.com/catalogue/dear-kid |website=Premium Films |access-date=16 August 2024}}{{cite web |title=Wolf |url=https://www.fridakempff.com/wolf |website=Frida Kempff |access-date=16 August 2024}}

Kempff's feature fiction film debut Knocking, based on a novella by Johan Theorin, debuted at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.

The Swedish Torpedo, Kempff's biographical period drama about Swedish woman Sally Bauer swimming the English Channel, will premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.{{cite web |title=The Swedish Torpedo |url=https://www.tiff.net/events/the-swedish-torpedo |website=Toronto International Film Festival |access-date=16 August 2024}}

Filmography

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" ! scope="col" \| Year ! scope="col" \| English title ! scope="col" \| Original title ! scope="col" \| Notes ! scope="col" class="unsortable" \| Ref.
scope="row" \| 2010 \| Bathing Micky \| Micky Badar \| Short film \| align="center" \| {{cite web \|title=Bathing Micky \|url=https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/micky-bader/ \|website=Cannes Film Festival \|access-date=16 August 2024}}
scope="row" \| 2011 \| While You Were Gone \| Medan du var borta \| Short film \| align="center" \|
scope="row" rowspan="2" \| 2015 \| Circles \| Circlar \| Short film \| align="center" \|
Winter Buoy \| Vinterboj \| {{N/a}} \| align="center" \|
scope="row" \| 2016 \| Dear Kid \| Älskade unge \| Short film \| align="center" \|
scope="row" \| 2017 \| Wolf \| Varg \| Short film \| align="center" \|
scope="row" \| 2021 \| Knocking \| Knackningar \| {{N/a}} \| align="center" \|
scope="row" \| 2024 \| {{Pending film\|The Swedish Torpedo}} \| Den svenska torpedoen \| {{N/a}} \| align="center" \|

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

! scope="col" | Year

! scope="col" | English title

! scope="col" | Original title

! scope="col" | Notes

! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Ref.

scope="row" | 2010

| Bathing Micky

| Micky Badar

| Short film

| align="center" | {{cite web |title=Bathing Micky |url=https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/micky-bader/ |website=Cannes Film Festival |access-date=16 August 2024}}

scope="row" | 2011

| While You Were Gone

| Medan du var borta

| Short film

| align="center" |

scope="row" rowspan="2" | 2015

| Circles

| Circlar

| Short film

| align="center" |

Winter Buoy

| Vinterboj

| {{N/a}}

| align="center" |

scope="row" | 2016

| Dear Kid

| Älskade unge

| Short film

| align="center" |

scope="row" | 2017

| Wolf

| Varg

| Short film

| align="center" |

scope="row" | 2021

| Knocking

| Knackningar

| {{N/a}}

| align="center" |

scope="row" | 2024

| {{Pending film|The Swedish Torpedo}}

| Den svenska torpedoen

| {{N/a}}

| align="center" |

Awards and nominations

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" ! scope="col" \| Year ! scope="col" \| Award ! scope="col" \| Category ! scope="col" \| Nominated work ! scope="col" \| Result ! scope="col" class="unsortable" \| Ref.
scope="row" rowspan="4" \| 2010 \| Cannes Film Festival \| Prix du Jury – Short Film \| rowspan="4" \| Bathing Micky \| {{Won}} \| align="center" \|
Expresion en Corto International Film Festival \| Best Short Documentary \| {{Won}} \| align="center" \|
Nordisk Panorama Film Festival \| Nordic Documentary Film Award \| {{Nominated}} \| align="center" \|
Skepto International Film Festival \| Grand Prix \| {{Won}} \| align="center" \|
scope="row" \| 2011 \| Stockholm International Film Festival \| 1km Film Award \| While You Were Gone \| {{Nominated}} \| align="center" \|
scope="row" rowspan="2" \| 2015 \| Nordic International Film Festival \| Best Documentary \| rowspan="2" \| Winter Buoy \| {{Won}} \| align="center" \|
Gothenburg Film Festival \| Best Nordic Documentary \| {{Nominated}} \| align="center" \|
scope="row" rowspan="3" \| 2016 \| Stockholm International Film Festival \| 1km Film Awawrd \| Dear Kid \| {{Won}} \| align="center" \|
Nordisk Panorama \| Nordic Short Film Award \| rowspan="2" \| Circles \| {{Nominated}} \| align="center" \|
Gothenburg Film Festival \| Short Film Award \| {{Nominated}} \| align="center" \|
scope="row" \| 2017 \| Cinalfalma Lisbon International Film Awards \| Best Debut Film \| Wolf \| {{Won}} \| align="center" \|
scope="row" \| 2021 \| Narcisse Award \| Best Feature Film \| Knocking \| {{Nominated}} \| align="center" \|

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

! scope="col" | Year

! scope="col" | Award

! scope="col" | Category

! scope="col" | Nominated work

! scope="col" | Result

! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Ref.

scope="row" rowspan="4" | 2010

| Cannes Film Festival

| Prix du Jury – Short Film

| rowspan="4" | Bathing Micky

| {{Won}}