By the end of the 1940s the Swedish Labour Movement (The Social Democratic Party, the major trade unions, the co-operative union, etc.) owned two film companies – Nordisk Tonefilm and Filmo. Nordisk Tonefilm was for a few years one of the majors within the Swedish film and cinema market, fully integrated with theatres, distribution and production. 

Films from Nordisk Tonefilm also gained some international success. Hon dansade en sommar (One Summer of Happiness) directed Arne Mattsson in 1951 makes one example of a worldwide box office hit by the company. It was particular successful in DDR. This was not a coincidence. The Archive of Nordisk Tonefilm (as well as the one of Filmo) bares witness of an intense interaction with Eastern Europe. The two companies exported films to the countries behind the Iron Curtain, participated in festivals like the one in Karlo Vary, and regularly imported films from Soviet, Yugoslavia or other socialist states.

In my paper I give examples of this international interaction during the 1950s,  related to the film policy of The Social Democracy of Sweden in general.