Henrik Svensson Production Designer
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Interview on SpoilerAlert Radio
Finished shooting SaraKlara Hellström’s expressionistic dystopic Massacre Of The Innocents.
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Sick of Myself (Syk Pike) premiered in Oslo
…and it seems to do alright in Norway
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Racing the Veteran Speedway circuit. Fastest Swedish rider in Linkoping before ignition failure.
Broke down two more bikes the next event in Eskilstuna.
Photo: Dan Stenberg
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Gearing up for a swedish tour with my old band.
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Sick of Myself went to Cannes.
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Wrapping up 1930’s horror The Musical Spider, directed by Henry Moore Selder, dp Lioner Turner. Based on a graphic novel by Philippe Foerster.
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Just finished the work on norwegian movie Syk Pike (Sick of Myself), directed by Kristoffer Borgli and shot by Benjamin Loeb.
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Run Uje Run opens december 18. Playing myself.
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Faro Island Film Festival:
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DiscussingFilm Critics Awards:
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North Dakota Film Society Awards:
MIDSOMMAR is 33rd on Empires list of the 50 best horror films of all time, just ahead of Poltergeist and Dracula.
Interview on Ghoulish Cast
Experimenting with director Henry Moore Selder. We are, among other things, developing a light rig, together with canadian artist Vincent de Belleval, for shooting dream sequences.
Tvagning by Saraklara Hellström now on Swedish television.
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ABOUT MIDSOMMAR:
Managed to end up on this list of the Best Production Design of the Decade.
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San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle :
’’Take special note of Henrik Svensson’s production design which does as much as the script, perhaps more, to pin us to our seats.’’ Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
’’Everything here has been crafted with meticulous precision to fit his narrative, made all the more effective by the sublime cinematography of Pawel Pogorzelski and the immaculate production design of Henrik Svensson, both of which deserve attention come awards season.’’ The Jam Report
’’The art direction is exceptionally good – the input of designer Henrik Svensson was, by all accounts, key to every stage of the film’s development.’’ Roger Clarke, BFI
’’Henrik Svensson, the production designer, constructs a layered world, destined for cinematic analysis. Like “Hereditary,” there are a lot of visual aspects that will go unnoticed. Svensson, a Swedish artist, brings an abundance of detail to this village. On repeat viewings, his meticulous methods will reward viewers who seek further answers/details’’ The Parthenon
’’The production design in Midsommar is an overwhelming masterpiece that captures the essence of pagan cults and adapts it to Aster’s story.’’ Alfalfa Studio
’’MIDSOMMAR is one of those rare films that is so physically beautiful and so consistent in its folklore that these elements elevate it throughout. Production designer Henrik Svensson deserves Oscar consideration’’ AssignmentX
’’Their Edenic land has a sparse infrastructure, but each building they do occupy is a gorgeously designed piece of architectural or artistic brilliance (major kudos to production designer Henrik Svensson for what seems like a set worthy of The Shire tourist treatment) that sets the stage for every scene magnificently, regardless of whether it sits in the background or houses a conversation.’’ ’’Things that are great about MIDSOMMAR: 1. Florence Pugh. 2. Henrik Svensson’s next-level production design. 3. Pawel Pogorzelski’s slow, steady camera that lulls you into a state of calm. 4. Ari Aster meditating intensely about trauma and loss in the most fucked up ways.’’ Film School Rejects
’’Henrik Svensson’s production design is especially praiseworthy’’ Chicago Reader
’’Production designer Henrik Svensson creates a stunning location, where each building has its own distinct characteristics, some straight out of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and some so ordinary as to seem forgettably safe.’’ dreadcentral.com
’’To give “Midsommar” its due, the film is visually remarkable. Henrik Svensson’s production design—with its surrealistically shape buildings set against the green fields and towering rocky cliffs’’ oneguysopinion.com
’’With his estimable crew — the cinematographer is Pawel Pogorzelski, the production designer is Henrik Svensson — Aster creates a sun-blasted, open-plan settlement that conveys airiness, back-to-the-land self-reliance and other assorted healthy things. ’’. New York Times
’’Aster’s equally dedicated to investing us in the world of Midsommar’s Hälsingland, capturing the breathtaking detail of Henrik Svensson and Andrea Flesch’s impressive art direction and costume design.’’ Cinapse
’’Director Ari Aster and his outstanding production team (particularly cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski, editor Lucian Johnston, and designer Henrik Svensson) drop plenty of hints that all’s not well. ’’ Frame Rated
’’Cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski and production designer Henrik Svensson combine forces to render a geometrically seductive arrangement of striking, elegantly simple buildings integrated with natural features including woods, meadows, and an ominous rock formation that features in what might be the film’s most shocking and stunning sequence.’’ High Plains Reader
’’For the malevolent melodrama’s ghoulish intensity and ludicrous effectiveness, director/screenwriter Ari Aster (“Hereditary”), who calls it “an apocalyptic breakup film,” owes a great deal to cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski and production designer Henrik Svensson.’’ Westport News
’’It was incredibly immersive. That field in which the village was built was just stunning. I mean, really, what’s amazing is that never at any point were there are signs of the film world spoiling the image of that village. That village was largely untouched unless we were inside and shooting. Nothing that felt like a set, if that makes sense. There was nothing propping it up. There were no unpainted walls, or wires hanging out the back of those buildings, nothing like that. It was an entirely believable world created by Henrik Svensson, who’s the head art director on this, who I think just did an unbelievable job.’’ Will Poulter in Den of Geek
’’Aster, production designer Henrik Svensson, and cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski have meticulously crafted a world that feels ripped out of time and that manages to look exactly like paradise but feel like an extension of hell.’’ Joblo
’’Production designer Henrik Svensson brings a camp to life that is so breath-taking you’ll want to spend time in it despite what we witness while there. The architecture of each building stands out with it’s own personality which I really appreciated. The paintings, tapestries, and symbols all over the walls are bone chilling. ’’ crpwrites.com
’’Viewing Aster’s films is a bit like walking into an art installation — quite literally, as he populates his frame with stunning compositions and art-focused mise en scene, as with the beautifully designed wooden structures of the compound, or the exquisite murals and art displayed on the building’s walls (a huge shout-out to his production designer, Henrik Svensson, and the art directing crew)’’ Arkansas Online
’’purposefully precise framing of every single shot that accentuates the amazing production design by Henrik Svensson’’ Last Day Deaf
’’Aster and his production designer, Henrik Svensson, approach this fictional cult with astonishing detail and obsessiveness. The extraordinary visual scheme that Svensson brings isn’t big on explanations but as you study the exquisite runes and paintings, some of them set to Bobby Krlic’s euphorically dissonant score, you will be swept into a world that seemingly exists outside time.’’ Griff’s Picks
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A selection of interviews
https://www.frameweb.com/news/midsommar-production-design-henrik-svensson-interview
https://www.slashfilm.com/midsommar-production-designer-interview/
https://metalmagazine.eu/en/post/article/metal-no-42
https://www.dropbox.com/s/r1j4ttsvalqdrb4/HENRIK%20SVENSSON.pdf?dl=0
https://www.polygon.com/2019/7/18/20696442/midsommar-paintings-art-spoilers-a24
https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/midsommar-is-harga-real
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Further rewind
2019: Midsommar is released. Got amazing feedback and do press second half of the year. Trying to catch up with (the rest of) my life.
2018: Shooting Midsommar in Hungary, USA and Sweden.
2017: On paternity leave.
2015: Had a son. Some touring.
2014: Suffered a minor stroke in Milan. Lost my drivers licence and had to slow down. Took a year off and got asked to help out develop a film project. Met Ari Aster, and regained faith.
2013: Moved back to Stockholm. Did some work as food photographer.
2011: Moved to Malmö. Had a daughter. Only occasional film work.
2010: Made an album with 12 covers of songs called Maybe Tomorrow.
2009: Moved back to Stockholm. Took up touring.
2008: Moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Started bands and hung out with people in the movie industry. Did some art forgery work.
2007: Got my first and only platinum record as a producer. Did some more studio work.
2006: Started a new band and we recorded and toured rapidly for one year sharp. Did commercials as a Set Decorator and Prop Master. Started developing my 6-4-2-system.
2005: Broke both arms and one leg and got fired from the band. Didn’t know what to do, so I did some work at movie shoots.
2004: Took up motocross again. Used to be a big part of my life until I began playing in bands.
2003: Got my first gold record. Started making music for movies and commercials.
2002: Began touring seriously. With several acts.
1998: Joined another band
1995: Got a record deal with my first band. I’m immensely proud of my part in the history of Silence.
1994: Started to work at a school with kids aged 6-9. Did that on and off for 10 years.
Met these guys and they changed my life forever.
1993: Went to China for 3 months to study chinese. Had a revelation. Switched to drums when I got home after listening to the Velvets.
1990: Started high school. Discovered that people could be cool and interested in cool stuff. Understood that art could be a bridge. Since I was close to music I decided I’d go for that. Started my first band as a bass player, since that was the free position. Joined a few others.
1987: Got REALLY into hiphop.
1983: Bought a Eumig Super-8 and made a couple of action flicks. Particularly interested in titles and credits.
1982: Got to school and that got me really confused. All my interests faded. School is by far the place where I learned the least.
1982: Dad built me an electric guitar out of free parts given to us from guitar shops and scrap Ikea stuff. Also a tube amplifier based on a $2,50 german radio, the mighty Telewatt.
Made my own ’’movies’’ – drawings on slides.
1981: Became interested in motorsports. My first LP was given to me by my aunt for christmas, White Light/White Heat by The Velvet Underground.
Bought my first LP for my own money, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap with AC/DC.
1980: Discovered feedback on dad’s electric guitar
1979: Got lost listening to music in headphones
1975: Born in Stockholm, Sweden
Even shorter version.
Music:
About 45 albums as a band member, composer, producer, engineer
Commercials, shorts, tv-series, documentaries and ONE feature as a composer.
Toured Europe, Asia, US 1999-2012.
Movies:
Art department
Tons of commercials, tv-series and features.
Production design
Tons of commercials, music videos and shorts. Midsommar is my first feature.