Frida Kempff

Frida Kempff (born 1977) is a Swedish filmmaker best known for the 2021 psychological thriller film Knocking.^[1]

Frida Kempff
Kempff in 2020
Born	1977 (age 47–48) Sala, Sweden
Occupation(s)	Film director, screenwriter

Early life

Kempff was born in 1977 in Sala, Sweden.^[2]

Career

After graduating from the Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts, Kempff directed the documentary short film Bathing Micky about an elderly woman who is a member of her local bathing club. The short won the Prix du Jury at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.^[3][4]

Kempff's fiction short While You Were Gone about a young man's changing relationship with his father premiered in 2011, followed by the 2015 documentary short Circles about a man's return to Stockholm after serving through Doctors Without Borders.^[5][6]

In 2015, Kempff's feature-length debut, Winter Buoy, premiered at that year's Gothenburg Film Festival. The documentary highlighted a public health program in Toronto supporting at-risk pregnant women.^[7]

Kempff next directed two more fictional short films: Dear Kid (2016), about a mother who suspects a swimming coach is abusing one of his pupils, and Wolf (2017), about a young woman who encounters a wolf that threatens her family's sheep.^[8][9]

Kempff's feature fiction film debut Knocking, based on a novella by Johan Theorin, debuted at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.^[4]

The Swedish Torpedo, Kempff's biographical period drama about Swedish woman Sally Bauer swimming the English Channel, will premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.^[10]

Filmography

Year	English title	Original title	Notes	Ref.
2010	Bathing Micky	Micky Badar	Short film	[11]
2011	While You Were Gone	Medan du var borta	Short film	[5]
2015	Circles	Circlar	Short film	[6]
	Winter Buoy	Vinterboj	—	[7]
2016	Dear Kid	Älskade unge	Short film	[8]
2017	Wolf	Varg	Short film	[9]
2021	Knocking	Knackningar	—	[1]
2024	The Swedish Torpedo †	Den svenska torpedoen	—	[10]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
2010	Cannes Film Festival	Prix du Jury – Short Film	Bathing Micky	Won	[11]
	Expresion en Corto International Film Festival	Best Short Documentary		Won	[3]
	Nordisk Panorama Film Festival	Nordic Documentary Film Award		Nominated	[3]
	Skepto International Film Festival	Grand Prix		Won	[3]
2011	Stockholm International Film Festival	1km Film Award	While You Were Gone	Nominated	[3]
2015	Nordic International Film Festival	Best Documentary	Winter Buoy	Won	[3]
	Gothenburg Film Festival	Best Nordic Documentary		Nominated	[3]
2016	Stockholm International Film Festival	1km Film Awawrd	Dear Kid	Won	[3]
	Nordisk Panorama	Nordic Short Film Award	Circles	Nominated	[3]
	Gothenburg Film Festival	Short Film Award		Nominated	[3]
2017	Cinalfalma Lisbon International Film Awards	Best Debut Film	Wolf	Won	[3]
2021	Narcisse Award	Best Feature Film	Knocking	Nominated	[3]