‘D’ya Know Where They’re from?’: Migrants in Swedish Children’s Film

The chapter is about the representation of migrants (or the children of migrants) in Swedish children’s film. Modern Sweden became an immigrant country after World War II. Before that, Sweden was a country where emigration was considered a major concern for the political leadership. In the aftermath of the war, refugees came to Sweden. They were followed in the 1950s by labour migrants, much needed in the booming post-war industry. This type of immigration stopped in the early 1970s, and it has since then more or less been replaced by refugees and their families. Sweden in the 2020s is one of the most diverse and heterogeneous countries in the Western world. Therefore, one would expect that children’s films would include the theme of migration, the inclusion and thereby representation, of children of different national, cultural and/or ethnic backgrounds. In fact, migration and ethnic diversity are seldom treated or reflected in Swedish children’s film. In the chapter, three films that do thematize migration are analysed: Agneta Fagerström-Olsson’s autobiographical childhood portrayal Seppan (1986), Josef Fares’ Zozo (2005) which is also at least partly autobiographical and Ylva Gustavsson’s and Catti Edfeldt’s Kidz in da Hood (2006). In conclusion, the dominant motifs of cultural and ethnic difference in these films are discussed.