Jan Troell

A former elementary school teacher who began collaborating on films with director Bo Widerberg in the early 1960s, Troell made his own feature directing debut in 1965 and went on to become one of his country's leading filmmakers. His best-known work outside Sweden is the sweeping diptych "The Emigrants" (1972), which earned Troell a Best Director Oscar nomination, and "The New Land" (1973), based on novels by Vilhelm Moberg and starring Liv Ullman and Max Von Sydow. He made two US films, the disappointing "Zandy's Bride" (1973) and "Hurricane" (1979). Troell received critical acclaim for his biopic "Hamsun" (1996), about the Nobel Prize-winning Norwegian author who lent support to the Nazis during WWII.