Ruben Östlund

Ruben Östlund: biography

Ruben Östlund is a Swedish movie director, screenwriter, and producer who is known for his sharp social commentary and his ability to explore complex themes with a dry sense of humor.

Childhood and youth

Ruben Östlund was born on April 13, 1974 in Styrsö, a small island located in the Gothenburg archipelago, Sweden. Not much is known about his childhood and youth. However, it is known that he studied at the film school in Gothenburg and began his career as a director and screenwriter in the early 2000s.

Movie making career

He made his directorial debut with the feature movie "Involuntary" in 2008, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival and won several awards. Since then, he has continued to work in the movie industry, directing and producing movies that have been recognized internationally.

His next movie, "Play" (2011), premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Palme d'Or. The film follows five African-American boys who are falsely accused of theft in a shopping mall, and examines themes of racism and prejudice.

Östlund's 2014 movie "Force Majeure" premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and won the Jury Prize. The film tells the story of a family on a ski vacation in the French Alps, and their reactions to a near-disaster on the slopes. The film received widespread critical acclaim and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

In 2017, Östlund directed "The Square", a satirical film that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and won the Palme d'Or. The movie explores the theme of the commodification of art and the role of the artist in society. It was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

In addition to his feature movies, Östlund has also directed several short movies and documentaries. He is considered one of the most important contemporary movie directors in Sweden and has been compared to filmmakers such as Lars von Trier and Michael Haneke.

Östlund continues to work on new projects, his most recent work named "Triangle of Sadness" was released in 2022. It’s a satirical black comedy movie about wealthy people. Ruben won Palme d’Or for this movie in 2022. His work has been recognized and awarded in various international movie festivals, and his movies have been widely distributed and seen in cinemas around the world. His unique style and themes have made him a prominent figure in the world of cinema, and his movies continue to be critically acclaimed and widely discussed.

Personal life

Ruben is known to keep his private life separate from his professional life and not much is publicly known about his family. He was married to Andrea Östlund but they didn’t stay together for a long time and divorced in 2008. They have two twin daughters together - Alva and Hilda. Ruben has been together with fashion photographer Sina Görcz since 2014. They have a son together, his name is Elias.

Filmography

• Addicted (1993)
• Free Radicals (1997)
• Free Radicals 2 (1998)
• Family Again (2002)
• The Guitar Mongoloid (2004)
• Autobiographical Scene Number 6882 (2005)
• Involuntary (2008)
• Incident by a Bank (2009)
• Play (2011)
• Force Majeure (2014)
• The Square (2017)
• Triangle of Sadness (2022)