Bengt Idestam-Almquist

Bengt Idestam-Almquist (9 September 1895 – 16 September 1983) was a Swedish screenwriter, critic and film historian. The Swedish Film Institute calls him the "father of Swedish film criticism".^[1] At the 3rd Guldbagge Awards he won a Special Achievement award.^[2] He was a member of the jury at the 15th Venice International Film Festival in 1954.^[3]

Bengt Idestam-Almquist
Born	(1895-09-09)9 September 1895 Turku, Grand Duchy of Finland
Died	16 September 1983(1983-09-16) (aged 88) Enskededalen, Sweden
Occupation(s)	Film critic Screenwriter
Years active	1923-1965

Idestam-Almquist, who was the son of a Riksvensk father and a Swedish-speaking Finn mother, was born in Turku, Finland, and grew up in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire. He later fled to Sweden with his family during the February Revolution and studied art history in Uppsala. His fascination with film came after watching a silent film with a benshi while serving the Red Cross in Asia.^[4] He was the first cousin of Dag Hammarskjöld.

He was awarded the Illis quorum in 1983.^[5]

Selected filmography

• A Crime (1940)
• A Real Man (1940)
• The Three of Us (1940)
• Life Goes On (1941)
• The Poor Millionaire (1941)