Mirja Wester has been named CEO of the Göteborg Film Festival. Wester is well-established in the film industry and has worked at the festival for several years in different capacities, most recently as festival manager.
“Motion pictures are becoming increasingly important in shaping the way people view the world. Therefore, it is also increasingly important to portray diversity in film narratives. Göteborg Film Festival has been a leader on that front for nearly 40 years,” Wester says. “Göteborg Film Festival has meant so much to me for quite some time now, as a filmmaker, film-lover and Gothenburger. So it is with pride and enthusiasm that I’ll be working together with the Artistic Director and a wonderful team in order to bring this year's Göteborg Film Festival across its various platforms as an arena for cinema and audiences to meet.”
Wester has previously worked as a film producer, having produced Gabriela Pichler’s short film Scratches (Skrapsår), which was awarded a Guldbagge in 2010. She has worked at the Swedish Film Institute’s international department where she was responsible for short films. She has an MA in Film Production and a BA in Business Administration from the School of Business, Economics and Law in Göteborg. In 2001 she started working as a volunteer at the Göteborg Film Festival.
Göteborg Film Festival chairman Sven-Olof Bodenfors said, “Mirja is a leader who has already shown that she can promote operational development. Moreover, people in the film industry have strong confidence in her.”
Jonas Holmberg Göteborg Film Festival artistic director said, “Mirja Wester is an adept strategist with a substantial background in economics and strong ties to the film industry. And she’s also deeply passionate about the festival. I can’t think of a better person for pursuing development of Göteborg Film Festival’s activities.”
Göteborg Film Festival is the largest film festival in the Nordic countries and one of biggest public film festivals in the world. Each year it attracts nearly 180,000 visitors. The festival is also an important market place for new Nordic film. Notably, for the past few years it has offered the digital film service drakenfilm.se, which encompasses hundreds of quality films from across the world.
The upcoming film festival will mark the 40th anniversary of the festival, and will take place from January 27 to February 6, 2017.