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Simon and the Oaks
Directed by	Lisa Ohlin
Written by	Marnie Blok
Based on	Simon and the Oaks by Marianne Fredriksson
Produced by	Christer Nilson Per Holst
Starring	Bill Skarsgård Helen Sjöholm Jan Josef Liefers Cecilia Nilsson
Cinematography	Dan Laustsen
Edited by	Kasper Leick Michal Leszczylowski Anders Nylander
Music by	Annette Focks
Production companies	GötaFilm AB Filmkameratene A/S Asta Film ApS Schmidtz Katze Filmkollektiv GmbH
Distributed by	Nordisk Film
Release date	9 December 2011 (2011-12-09) (Sweden)
Running time	122 minutes
Country	Sweden
Language	Swedish

Simon and the Oaks (Swedish: Simon och ekarna) is a Swedish drama film which was released to cinemas in Sweden on 9 December 2011, directed by Lisa Ohlin and starring Bill Skarsgård. The film is based on the novel with the same name by Marianne Fredriksson. The film was nominated in 13 categories at the 47th Guldbagge Awards, won two of the awards: Cecilia Nilsson for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for the role as Inga, and Jan Josef Liefers for Best Actor in a Supporting Role as Ruben Lentov.

Ohlin took over as director for the film, after the director Björn Runge in April 2009 announced that he would drop out of the production. In May 2009, the Swedish Film Institute (SFI) announced that Ohlin quit her job as film commissioner at the SFI to direct the film.

Plot

The film is about Simon (Bill Skarsgård), growing up in a working-class family on the outskirts of Gothenburg during World War II. He is very talented and always felt different and an outsider. Against his parents' approval, he seeks education in the arts, normally not attended by members of the working class at the time. There he meets Isaak (Karl Linnertorp), the son of a wealthy Jewish bookseller who fled persecution in Nazi Germany. The lives of the two boys and their families intertwine as the war rages in Europe. At the end of the war, it becomes clear to Simon that his life, family and his very identity will no longer be the same.

Cast

• Bill Skarsgård as Simon Larsson
• Helen Sjöholm as Karin Larsson
• Jan Josef Liefers as Ruben Lentov
• Stefan Gödicke as Erik Larsson
• Karl Linnertorp as Isak Lentov
• Jonatan Wächter as young Simon
• Karl Martin Eriksson as young Isak
• Erica Löfgren as Klara
• Katharina Schüttler as Iza
• Josefin Neldén as Mona
• Lena Nylén as Olga
• Cecilia Nilsson as Inga
• Jan-Erik Emretsson as Klas, neighbor
• Pär Brundin as Åke, neighbor
• Frederik Nilsson as Teacher
• Hermann Beyer as Ernst Habermann
• Sven-Åke Gustavsson as a Professor
• Jan Holmquist as a Doctor
• Iwar Wiklander as a Headmaster
• Peter Borenstein as a Rabbi
• Dellie Kamijo as Malin, age 5
• Johanna Malmsten as Malin, age 2
• Tage Wirenhed as Malin, as a baby
• Max Wulfson as musician in Berlin, solo violin
• Jörg Fröhlich as musician in Berlin, contrabass
• Peter Bock as musician in Berlin, viola
• Sebastian Selke as musician in Berlin, cello
• André Peter as musician in Berlin, violin

Accolades

Simon and the Oaks was nominated for 13 Guldbagge Awards, and won two.

References

1. "Simon och ekarna" (in Swedish). Swedish Film Database. 9 December 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
2. Erik Helmerson/TT Spektra. (April 20, 2009). "Björn Runge hoppar av storfilmen" (in Swedish). Dagens Nyheter. Retrieved June 18, 2009.
3. "Lisa Ohlin slutar på Filminstitutet" (in Swedish). Swedish Film Institute. May 28, 2009. Retrieved June 18, 2009.
4. "Mede leder Guldbaggegalan" (in Swedish). GöteborgsPosten. Retrieved January 4, 2012.

External links

• Simon and the Oaks at IMDb
• Simon and the Oaks at the Swedish Film Institute Database
• Simon and the Oaks in the Danish Film Database

• 2011 films
• 2010s coming-of-age drama films
• Films based on Swedish novels
• Films directed by Lisa Ohlin
• Films set in the 1940s
• Films set in Gothenburg
• Swedish coming-of-age drama films
• Swedish World War II films
• 2011 drama films
• 2010s Swedish films