Pia Lundberg has been appointed as the new artistic director of the Goteborg Film Festival, Scandinavia’s largest film event, and will take up the new position on March 1, 2024.
She takes over from Jonas Holmberg, who announced in June that he was stepping down from the post after a decade to pursue new opportunities.
Lundberg has recently spent five years as counsellor for cultural affairs at the Embassy of Sweden in London.
Previously Lundberg was head of international at the Swedish Film Institute between 2007 and 2018. She is also a former film and culture journalist who was the editor of Swedish film magazine Cinema and was a contributor to Screen International and Variety.
“I am extremely happy that the Board has managed to bring Pia Lundberg back to the film field after several years as a cultural attaché in London. There are few individuals in Sweden with such vast experience in international film festivals and a deep connection to the Nordic film world. I look forward to working together with Lundberg to further develop the Göteborg Film Festival as the hub of Nordic film culture,” said Mirja Wester, CEO of Göteborg Film Festival.
Well known and respected both in the Nordics and internationally, Lundberg’s appointment has been welcomed by the Nordic industries.
Lundberg said: “It feels fantastic to become a part of the largest film festival in Scandinavia, and I am thrilled to have earned their trust. I have attended hundreds of film festivals and now finally have the opportunity to help create one. Sometimes, I wish that significant cinematic experiences could be prescribed by doctors. In a time when more and more people in power view art as an instrumental tool, it is more important than ever to elevate film as an independent artistic expression.”
The board said it chose Lundberg after considering “many highly qualified applicants.” “Pia Lundberg has broad and varied experience in the film industry, where she has held multiple roles and developed a vast network that will contribute to strengthening the film festival,” said Carina Lindberg Glavå, president of Goteborg’s board.
She will work alongside the festival’s exiting CEO, Mirja Wester. Goteborg’s head of industry continues to be Josef Kullengård.
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