The 23rd edition of Tempo Documentary Festival opens on 7 March and runs until 13 March. This year’s opening film is the Swedish premiere of Calendar Girls, an uplifting documentary about a group of older women finding togetherness through dancing. The film, which recently had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, is competing for SEK 75,000 in the Tempo Documentary Award, is in collaboration with the Swedish Film Institute.

The entire festival film programme will once again be available to watch digitally, but, subject to ongoing public health measures, the festival plans to be back in the cinemas this year.
In the category for feature film documentaries competing for the TEMPO DOCUMENTARY AWARD, the following titles are nominated:

CALENDAR GIRLS by Maria Loohufvud and Love Martinsen
GABI, BETWEEN AGES 8 TO 13 (GABI – MELLAN ÅREN 8 OCH 13) by Engeli Broberg
LOVE AND DIVORCE (KÄRLEK & SKILSMÄSSA) by Maud Nycander
LIVE TILL I DIE (LEVA TILLS JAG DÖR)   by Åsa Ekman, Gustav Ågerstrand, Oscar Hedin Hetteberg and Anders Teigen
NELLY & NADINE by Magnus Gertten
THE SCARS OF ALI BOULALA by Max Eriksson
TOUCHING FREEDOM by Manal Masri

Among the nominated feature film documentaries is Touching Freedom, an eerily close-up and deeply shocking depiction of war in real time. Its Swedish premiere is at Tempo.

Nelly & Nadine, that has its world premiere at Berlinale Panorama, is an unlikely love story set against the backdrop of the horrors of the Second World War. Two prisoners meet in the Ravensbruck concentration camp and immediately fall in love. Despite being separated before the end of the war, they manage to reunite.

In Live till I Die we follow activity coach Monica who works at a nursing home in Sweden. Monica has a special relationship with the colourful 99-year-old Ella and is planning a trip for the two before her 100th birthday, something that will be an emotional ordeal.

In 2004 Maud Nycander filmed Love and Fish Sticks (Kärlek och fiskpinnar) and now presents a follow-up about the couple, Lena and Johan; Love and Divorce. After 25 years and three children together, they have jointly decided to separate.

In the 1990s, 16-year-old Ali Boulala left Stockholm to become a skateboarding professional in Los Angeles, only for his life to abruptly change in 2007 following a serious in a motorcycle accident. The Scars of Ali Boulala tells the story of Ali’s path in trying to live on.

In Gabi, between ages 8 and 13 we follow Gabi from being a lively 8-year-old to puberty. The film challenges our view of gender and norms and emphasises the importance of being who you are.

And last, but not least, Calendar Girls, the festival’s opening film, where the film makers followed a dance troupe in Florida with women aged 60 and above over a number of years.

Tempo Documentary Award is arranged in collaboration with the Swedish Film Institute. The prize is SEK 75,000 and goes to the film’s director. All nominated films will be shown during Tempo Documentary Festival March 7-13, 2022. The prize will be awarded to the winner at the closing gala on Saturday, 12 March.

The entire festival programme and digital festival passes will be released on 9 February on tempofestival.se