Johannes Nyholm (b. 1974, Sweden) has this rare and precious ability to communicate
across the borders of galleries, film festivals, cinema and the internet,
and moves on unaffected by whether his films are perceived as high culture or
low culture. He has a garden of his very own. For anyone who may be caught up
in the zeitgeist dictating that the auteur film is dead, Johannes Nyholm must be a
genuine thorn in the eye. He is an artist, animator, screenwriter, editor, and often
producer of his own films.
The type of expression is wide-ranging. One track consists of the music videos for
The Knife, Jenny Wilson a.o., characterized by playfulness and excess of energy.
Another track starts with the comical failure of a plastilina bachelor in The Tale of Little
Puppetboy (2008), closely followed by the mockumentary Puppetboy (2008), a
dark meta-comedy where we meet a fictional Johannes Nyholm as the eccentric
creator of the plastilina film - and on to the naivistic and sorrowful shadow play
Dreams From the Woods (2009). His fame skyrocketed with the YouTube hit Las
Palmas, the trailer alone got more than 20 million plays. All these three animated
films had their premiere at Cannes (Director’s Fortnight).
In the feature films The Giant (Jätten, 2016) and Koko-di Koko-da (2019), other tones are
elaborated, the fiction moving towards a humane social realism, with unique and
unexpected elements of animation lifting the narrative out of the everyday life
and into a magical and allegorical sphere. However, still carefully balancing a
dark humor with life’s underlying grief and pain.
Particularly, we are fascinated by how animation ideas are conceived for the
short format, and then further developed and applied as elements boldly placed
within the otherwise strict regime of the feature film. Furthermore, how Johannes
Nyholm for eight years works with great perseverance and power to produce a
feature film like Koko-di Koko-da, and manages to stick to the pivotal elements
during the ongoing storm. Without people like him, the film itself - and not just
the auteur theory - would have been dead as a herring.
Johannes Nyholm
(Photo from cineuropa.org)
Johannes Nyholm 1: Masterclass (Total: 90 min.) Ons | Wed 17:00 [Nova 2]
Meet Johannes Nyholm in conversation concerning his cinematic universe.
SWE 2002 | Mus. | 4 min.
Director: Johannes Nyholm, Andreas Nilsson, Bo Melin
THE KNIFE – HEARTBEATS
Musikkvideo for The Knife. Unger på rullebrett, databehandlet found footage og animasjon.
Music video for The Knife. Skating kids, computerized found footage and animation.
SWE 2007 | Mus. | 4 min.
Director: Johannes Nyholm, Andreas Nilsson
JENNY WILSON - LET MY SHOES LEAD ME FORWARD
Musikkvideo for Jenny Wilson. Et hav av stop-motion-animerte sko danser seg gjennom de tomme rommene i en leilighet.
Music video for Jenny Wilson. An ocean of stop-motion animated shoes dance through the empty rooms of an apartment.
SWE 2008 | Ani. | 19 min.
Director: Johannes Nyholm
THE TALE OF LITTLE PUPPETBOY (Sagan om den lille Dockpojken)
Dukkegutten svetter elver av leire mens han forbereder seg på damebesøk. Han blir enda mer nervøs når hun kommer. Et animert hverdagsdrama i fire sammenhengende episoder: 1. Damebesøk - 2. Ivanhoe - 3. En kvinne i min seng - 4. What a shame, Brian.
Puppetboy is sweating floods of clay, preparing for a lady's visit. He gets even more nervous when she arrives. An animated everyday drama in four consecutive episodes: 1. A lady is visiting - 2. Ivanhoe - 3. A woman in my bed - 4. What a shame, Brian.
Script, Camera, Editing: Johannes Nyholm | Animation: Johannes Nyholm, Niki Lindroth von Bahr
Production: Joclo - Johannes Nyholm
SWE 2008 | Fic. | 27 min.
Director: Johannes Nyholm
PUPPETBOY (Dockpojken)
I mer enn et tiår har den egensindige kunstneren og animatøren Johannes Nyholm jobbet med filmer med en liten plastilinafigur han kaller Dukkegutten. Nå skal en TV-journalist lage en reportasje om kunstneren og hans verk.
For more than a decade, the wayward artist and animator Johannes Nyholm has worked on films featuring a little clay figure he calls Puppetboy. Today, a journalist is going to make a television feature about the artist and his work.
Script, Editing: Johannes Nyholm | Camera: Henrik Andersson | Cast: Bo Melin, Johannes Nyholm, Sanna Ingermaa Nilsson, Bahador Foladi, Eric Saline
Production: Joclo - Johannes Nyholm
SWE 2009 | Ani. | 9 min.
Director: Johannes Nyholm
DREAMS FROM THE WOODS (Drömmar från skogen)
En dag forlater Jenta sin venn Store Fugl for å søke eventyr i den store verden. Lokket av den vakre musikken fra Dødens fløyte går hun seg vill i den dype skogen. Et skyggedukkespill om kjærlighet og sorg.
One day the Girl leaves her friend Big Bird to seek adventure in the wide world. But lured by the beautiful music of Death's flute, she gets lost in the deep forest. A shadow-puppet play about love and sorrow.
Script, Camera, Editing: Johannes Nyholm
Production: Joclo - Andreas Jonsson Hay
SWE 2011 | Fic.Ani. | 14 min.
Director: Johannes Nyholm
LAS PALMAS
En middelaldrende dame på sydenferie prøver å skaffe seg nye venner og ha det litt morsomt. Traileren til denne kortfilmen har 20 millioner visninger på YouTube.
A middle-aged lady on a holiday in the sun tries to make new friends and have a good time. The trailer for this short has 20 million YouTube views.
Script, Camera, Editing: Johannes Nyholm | Props: Niki Lindroth von Bahr, Amanda Jakobsson | Cast: Helmi Hellrand Nyholm
Production: Joclo - Johannes Nyholm
SWE 2007 | Mus. | 4 min.
Director: Johannes Nyholm
THE TALLEST MAN ON EARTH - IT WILL FOLLOW THE RAIN
Musikvideo for The Tallest Man on Earth. En spire til kjempen i langfilmen Kjempen.
Music video for The Tallest Man on Earth. A seed for the giant of the feature film The Giant.
Johannes Nyholm 3: Koko-di Koko-da(Total: 86 min.) Tor | Thur 19:00 [Cinemateket]
Note: The film is not subtitled in English
SWE 2019 | Fic. | 86 min.
Director: Johannes Nyholm
KOKO-DI KOKO-DA
Et sørgende ektepar drar på teltferie for å finne tilbake til hverandre. En varieté-artist og hans tvilsomme følgesvenner dukker opp fra skogens mørke og terroriserer paret, og lokker dem dypere og dypere inn i en malstrøm av psykologisk terror og ydmykelser. En innsiktsfull utforskning av den menneskelige psyken, med dristig bruk av animasjon i fiksjonen for å gi rom for refleksjon.
A mourning couple goes tent camping to find their way back to each other. A variety artist and his freak companions emerge from the darkness of the forest and terrorize the couple, luring them deeper and deeper into a maelstrom of psychological terror and humiliation. An insightful exploration of the human psyche, making daring use of animation within the fiction to add room for reflection.
Script, Editing: Johannes Nyholm | Camera: Tobias Höiem-Flyckt, Johan Lundborg | Cast: Leif Edlund Johansson, Ylva Gallon, Peter Belli, a.o.
Production: Johannes Nyholm Produktion - Johannes Nyholm
Johannes Nyholm 4: Kjempen | Johannes Nyholm 4: The Giant(Total: 90 min.) Tor | Thur 21:00 [Cinemateket]
Note: The film is not subtitled in English
SWE 2016 | Fic. | 90 min.
Director: Johannes Nyholm
KJEMPEN (Jätten)
Richard ble født autistisk og deformert og ble tidlig tatt fra sin mor. Nå, 30 år senere, er han fast bestemt på å vende tilbake til henne. Han har ikke hatt det enkelt, men ett lyspunkt har han i livet – i spillet boule, og drømmen om å vinne Nordisk Mesterskap. Til sin hjelp har han boule-vennen Roland, tre gullklumper og en 50 meter høy kjempe. En lovsang til outsideren.
Richard was born autistic and deformed and was at an early age taken from his mother. Now, 30 years later, he is determined to return to her. He has not had an easy life, but he has one pleasure in life - in the boules game, and the dream of winning the Nordic Championship. To his aid he has the boule friend Roland, three gold nuggets and a 50 meter tall giant. A song of praise for the outsider.
Script: Johannes Nyholm | Camera: Johan Lundborg | Editing: Morten Højbjerg, Johannes Nyholm | Cast: Christian Andrén, Johan Kylén, a.o.
Production: Maria Dahlin, Morten Kjems Hytten Juhl
Til topps
