The Swedish “film reform” of 1963 – when the Swedish Film Institute (SFI) was founded, and a national system of film subsidies was to be introduced – led to changes in the strategies of national film production and a general institutionalization of national film culture and art cinema values.

In the history of Swedish cinema, a less high-lighted effect of the new system is the different kinds of temporary tactical enactments that followed the reform. These media tactics could often be recognized as temporary or singular actions. There were frequently examples of producers pre- or postponing the opening night of a film in order to have the premiere registered in the “right” year; or of producers adding scenes to film to reach the required length for a feature film to be entitled to subsidies.  

These tactical manoeuvres were regularly reported on by the press. Not only were the long-term strategies of fitting into the “Ingmar Bergman-pattern” discussed, but also short-sighted attempts to deceive the new system gained public attention. In 1966 the film Myglaren (The Fixer) by Jan Myrdal and Rune Hassner was subject to both these discourses in the public debate. The film was an overt critique of the social democracy, but also an implicit critique of the new film policy. Originally produced for TV, the film was not entitled to any subsidy. The two directors, however, staged one single showing in a movie theatre, in order to be able to apply for funding from the SFI. The aim of their application was also to start a debate on the film reform.

In this paper, I will make this outstanding case pivotal in a discussion of strategies and tactics in Swedish 1960s cinema.