In coordination with the March 9 panel “Masculinity & Culture — The Making of a Man” with writer/filmmaker Lo Dagerman and author Mark Greene, Scandinavia House presents a Virtual Cinema event of Lo Dagerman’s 2019 film The Making of a Man from March 1 through 14.

The Making of a Man explores courage, cowardice and toxic masculinity across time and place (postwar France, Sweden and the contemporary U.S.). Its point of departure is a play by Swedish writer Stig Dagerman set in postwar France, when French manhood had been badly bruised by the Nazi occupation, and was being restored through false narratives and myth-making about French courage.

Inspired by a family he meets, Dagerman pens the play Marty’s Shadow, about a young man who becomes a victim of rampant toxic masculinity.In 2017, the play has its American premiere at the August Strindberg Repertory Theater in New York, where the young lead has his own personal insight into toxic masculinity; the play very much resonates with the cast.

Lo Dagerman’s The Making of a Man, told through dramatization, archival footage and interviews, is propelled by the interconnected stories of four young men: her father – the playwright; the refugee who inspires him; the protagonist he creates; and the actor who channels him. All of them facing the same challenge: What to do when pressure mounts?

“There is so much in The Making of a Man that greatly interests me. As an avid fan of Stig Dagerman, I could listen to Lo for hours talking about him. But I also appreciate the central question in the film about the meaning of a hero, and how facts are whitewashed to fabricate heroes, as was the case in post WWII France. …The film uses Stig’s play as a jump-off point to make the viewer reflect on a wide range of issues like parent and sibling relationships, politics, courage and manliness.”—Stellan Skarsgård, actor

**ASF Members can receive their ticket discount by using the same promo code for the New Nordic Cinema series, which was sent to all Members on Tuesday, February 9.**

Lo Dagerman (director) is a translator, writer, filmmaker, producer dedicated to bringing the work of Stig Dagerman (1923-1954) to new audiences. An immigrant to the United States with two American sons, she is the daughter of two Swedish cultural legends: writer Stig Dagerman and actress Anita Björk. With author Nancy Pick, Lo co-wrote The Writer and the Refugee (amazon, 2019) about the French encounter that inspired Stig Dagerman to pen his play Marty’s Shadow.

She worked as a screenwriter and producer on Dan Levy Dagerman’s Our Need for Consolation (2012) featuring Stellan Skarsgård, and Marty’s Shadow (2019) starring Jimi Stanton. The Making of a Man (2019) is her directorial debut.