During the years 1958 to 1989, the then newly established Swedish public broadcaster SVT had monopoly and was the only channel reporting from Israel and Palestine. Their reporters were constantly present in the war-affected region, documenting everything from everyday life to international crises. This extensive and, to most, unknown or forgotten footage makes up the material for Göran Hugo Olsson’s (The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975, Concerning Violence) new film.

The 3,5 hour long documentary interweaves footage of the rise of the Israeli state, with the Palestinian struggle for independence. Extensive news coverage with Yasser Arafat is mixed with Prime Minister Tage Erlander and Olof Palmes official visit to Israel in 1963, a country they saw as an ideal social democratic society. After the Six Day War in 1967 the sympathies begin to shift and the reporting in the next decade is centering more on the «Palestinian question». Combined, this thorough cinematic study of SVT’s extensive coverage tells a story of a changed media landscape and expose the shifting sympathies of a public broadcaster founded on the neutrality principle. Although centering on an historical epoque, the film can give valuable context for the last year’s escalation of violence and to the ongoing genocide on the Palestinian people.

Göran Hugo Olsson is a documentary filmmaker and cinematographer. Since the success of the Guldbagge-winning and internationally acclaimed films The Black Power Mixtape 1967–1975 (2011) and Concerning Violence (2014), he has been referred to as “the master of archives.” His time-consuming method involves systematically searching through archives to uncover and make cinematic reflections on society through forgotten film footage.

Olsson created the short documentary program Ikon on SVT and worked on SVT’s Elbyl series. He co-founded the production company Story AB and served on the editorial board of Ikon South Africa, a platform dedicated to the creative documentary scene in South Africa for SABC. From 1999 to 2002, Olsson was a Film Commissioner at the Swedish Film Institute.

Jørgen Jensehaugen is a senior researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). For many years, he has conducted research on Israel/Palestine and is a frequently consulted commentator in both Norwegian and international media. He is the author of the book A Short Introduction to the Israel-Palestine Conflict.