DOCUMENTARY, SWEDEN, GERMANY, 98 min
DIRECTOR: Wilfried Hauke
PRODUCTION: Ida Film & TV Produktion GmbH
This film explores Astrid Lindgren’s early adult life during the Second World War through her own wartime diaries, creating a sensitive and visually rich reflection on life, death and artistic responsibility in times of conflict.
Long before she became one of the most widely read children’s authors in the world, Lindgren was a young woman living in Stockholm in the 1930s, still finding her voice as a writer. As Europe moved toward war, she observed events with growing concern, and when Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939, she began keeping a diary that would accompany her throughout the war years. In these entries, Lindgren records her thoughts on politics, everyday life, mortality and the meaning of art under the pressure of global violence.
Drawing on these texts, the film paints an intimate portrait of Lindgren’s formative years, combining carefully staged reconstructions of her life in Stockholm and the archipelago with reflections from her family. It also traces the creative path that eventually led to the birth of Pippi Longstocking, completing a humane and quietly powerful portrait of an artist shaped by history.
FESTIVALS
CPH:DOX 2026
Nordische Filmtage Lübeck 2025
