There is no general Film permission required to film in public spaces in Stockholm if you are a small crew using a handheld camera and your filming will not cause an obstruction. But when you are using heavy equipment like dolly tracks, lights or causing obstruction you need to apply for a Film Permit at the Police. The Police is the authority in Sweden that handles and issues the film permits.
Here is a guide on how to apply for permits. The guide is in Swedish. To apply for permits you will need to be fluent in Swedish. Our advice is to hire a local location manager or other consultant. We are happy to help you find one.
Notice required – even if your film shoot is eligible to film without permission, the Stockholm Film Commission requires a notice so send an email with short description of reason for filming in Stockholm and the location. This is of large help if the Commission is contacted by the Police.
Public places exceptions:
Some public areas in Stockholm are managed or owned by authorities other than Stockholm city council and you always need to contact them:
Swedish crews speak fluent English and often a second foreign language. Sweden has seen an influx of international co-productions in recent years and even Swedish film sets are nowadays often run in English.
Swedish film crews are known as reliable, committed, flexible and well organized. Swedish crews have a high work ethic. In Sweden in general, punctuality is very much appreciated both for business and for social occasions. You will find that Swedes arrive for appointments on time, and oftentimes a few minutes early.
In general, the Swedish film industry is very budget-conscious: With a population of just 10 million, domestic film budgets are small. As a positive consequence production crews, VFX and post-production teams are extremely efficient and creative.
Finding crew and rates
For an updated list of film crew and rate card, please contact the Film Commission at daniel@filmcapitalstockholm.se
Finding production and service companies
For a list of production companies, please visit filmtvp.se/english/members
For smaller production service, please contact the Film Commission for an updated list.
New rules for flying with a drone since January 2021. They have not been updated in english yet.
Map for specially regulated areas
daim.lfv.se/echarts/dronechart/
Please feel free to contact the Stockholm Film Commission if you are looking for professional drone operators or aerial filming services.
Unfortunately we are one of the few countries in Europe that do not have any production incentives in place yet. But the government is working with the issue and hopefully Sweden will have them in place by next year.
What we can offer to foreign producers though is access to our national or regional film funds if they co-produce with a Swedish producer.
It works this way
We have the national film fund where you need to have a Swedish producer as your co-producer for your project. That producer is the only one who then can apply for funds from the national film fund. See www.sfi.se/en-GB/English/funding
From the regional film funds you can apply for smaller developing funds directly. You can also apply for top financing for your project when you already have most of your financing in place. The regional film fund will then act as an investor in your project and will expect to get money back when your finished film is being sold and distributed.
The film fund we represent is the film based in the larger region of Stockholm and it is advisable but not necessary that your project have some ties to our region.
The other regional film funds are:
For the west of Sweden filmivast.com
For the south of Sweden filmiskane.se
For the north of Sweden filmpoolnord.se
Also, when your Swedish co-producer has funding in place from at least two of the Scandinavian countries national film funds, your Swedish co-producer can apply for funds from The Nordic Film And TV Fund.
When two or more European countries are involved in the funding of a film you can even apply for funding from the Eurimage program.
Stockholm has a maritime-influenced climate, which means that we enjoy warm summers and cold winters. But the temperature is in fact very mild for it’s latitude – Stockholm has the warmest July months out of the Nordic capitals and has an annual average snow cover for between 75 and 100 days. Due to the city’s high northerly latitude, the length of the days varies widely, from more than 18 hours long around midsummer to around 6 hours long in late December. The nights from late May until mid July are bright even when cloudy.
Stockholm has a relatively mild weather compared to other locations at similar altitude, or even further south. With an average of just over 1800 hours of sunshine per year, it is also one of the sunniest cities in northern Europe, receiving more sunshine than Paris, London and a few other major European cities on further southern latitudes.
Read more about Stockholm’s weather and light here.
