Name Mimmi Spang | Role Film producer | |
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Nominations European Film Award for European Discovery of the Year Movies Sebbe, Call Girl, Cockpit, Blowfly Park, The Apple & The Worm Similar People Mikael Marcimain, Marten Klingberg, Marietta von Hausswol, Babak Najafi, Jens Ostberg | ||
Cockpit - teaser
Katarina Margareta Spång (born May 5, 1973), more known under the name Mimmi Spång, is a Swedish film producer and production manager. She has been involved with and produced several films, notably the Swedish productions Sebbe and Call Girl.
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Education
She graduated from the Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts (SADA) in 2001 (previously known as University College of Film, Radio, Television and Theatre).
Career
Spång first accepted a position at Memfis Film. She worked there for three years and participated in projects such as Zozo and Kopps as first assistant director. Spång stated in an interview that she found her time at Memfis to be extremely enlightening, but that she felt that she wanted to work as a producer. She founded her own company and was hired by Garagefilm International in 2007. Spång became one of the co-owners of Garagefilm together with founders Malte Forsell and Håkan Lindhé, and her longtime producer partner, Rebecka Lafrenz.
Spång and Lafrenz met as students at SADA in 1998. They moved together from their graduation to Memfis Film and Garagefilm. Together they have produced several films, among them being Sebbe, Call Girl and Cockpit. In 2011 Spång and Lorenz were chosen to represent Sweden in European Film Promotions Producers on the Move at the Cannes film festival. In 2011, the duo were awarded the Lorens prize for producers at the Gothenburg Film festival.
“The choice is obvious. Without Garagefilm, their commitment, knowledge and courage, the Swedish film industry would be poorer,” commented Swedish Film Institute international chief, Pia Lundberg, about sending Spång and Lafrenz to Cannes.
Some of Spång's films received criticism. Call Girl was critiqued for insinuating that one of Sweden’s previous prime ministers, Olof Palme, participated in purchasing sexual favors from minors. Both Palme’s son, Mårten Palme, and several other people reacted strongly to this depiction, finding it offensive and "tainting". The director and writers' attempt to explain that everything in the film was purely fiction was rejected as cowardly by Swedish newspaper SvD head of culture, Mårten Jönsson.
In 2012, the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Swedish institute arranged a film festival in Bangkok, Thailand. The Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter (Daily News) later reported that the organization of this festival in part was an attempt to sell military aircraft. Several filmmakers that were involved with the festival were outraged to learn that their work could be connected to the selling of war machines. Spång was among these filmmakers and stated, “We really don’t want any of our films to contribute to weapons exports. We find it absolutely appalling.”
In 2013, SFI’s Film room held a conference called Film Politics 2020, inviting Swedish filmmakers to speak discuss film politics. Spång was a representative for Swedish producers, together with Peter ”Piodor” Gustafsson. Spång stated that she believes in quotation for the development of Swedish film production to begin its evolution concerning human variety in the film industry.
Recognition
Spång's career got off to a solid start when her graduation-project Viktor and his Brothers won the Swedish Guldbagge Award for Best Short Film in 2002. Several of her projects received multiple awards and nominations for production and crew as well as cast. A SOAP received the Silver Bear and Best Debut in Berlin in 2006. In 2009 Heaven’s Heart was awarded a Guldbaggen. Spång-produced film Guidance was nominated for the Dragon Award at the Göteborg International Film Festival and the New Talent Award in CPH Pix. Sebbe was nominated for the Dragon Award 2010 and Best First Feature Film at the Berlinale 2010. In 2011 Sebbe won a Guldbagge for Best Picture. Call Girl was awarded four Guldbagge awards as well as several international festival prizes.