Daniel Fridell
| Daniel Fridell | |
|---|---|
| Born |
31 March 1967 , Sweden |
| Occupation | Film director |
| Years active | 1993–present |
Daniel Fridell (born 31 March 1967) is a Swedish film director and producer.
Daniel Fridell grew up in Stockholm, Sweden. According to an interview in Aftonbladet, Daniels grandmother, Saga Sjöberg, introduced him to filmmaking when at the age of six she gave him a Super 8 camera for Christmas. His first film "Squirrel Fight" featuring two Star Wars dolls and a squirrel premiered at the local daycare. It took him only a short time to realize this was his true calling.
In 1993, while attending Kulturama Film Academy in Sweden, Daniel and actor Liam Norberg used the schools cameras at night and made the first of numerous Scandinavian hits, Sökarna (English:The Searchers) in 1993. The main actor Liam Norberg was arrested at the premiere for the film for the biggest robbery in Northern Europe. The film was accused to be financed with some of the 100 million Euros stolen from the bank but the film was still released throughout Scandinavia and went to #1 at the box office. While some of the cast went to prison, Daniel made Cry, an urban Romeo & Juliet that was also hit the Box Office and knocked off films like The Lion King' from the #1 spot. Cry was in competition at the Tokyo Film Festival and won several prizes including best youth film at the Rotterdam Film Festival.
Immersing himself fully into his craft, he spent the early 90's at the European Filmakademie in Berlin where he studied under Wim Wenders and Jan de Bont. He was invited to Los Angeles to continue studying with De Bont who was filming Basic Instinct and Twister where Daniel simultaneously enrolled at the Judith Weston Academy for Directors and Actors in Santa Monica.
It wasn't long after he set course for a string of award winning, box office hits including Under ytan in 1997, which became a success at the cinemas in Scandinavia, France and many other territories. It opened at the Montreal Film Festival winning numerous awards and was officially selected for over 40 film festivals. Mikael Persbrandt and Johanna Sällström won major acting awards, as well it won awards for Best Film and Photo. USA Films optioned the remake rights and the film was sold to over 25 countries and distributed in the U.S by Phaedra. In the 90's, it was also voted Best Swedish Feature by Swedish television.
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