Nordic National Cinemas explores the film histories and cultures of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, tracing the twentieth-century development of each country's domestic film production and cinema audiences. The authors discuss the place in cinema history both of such internationally-renowned figures as Mauritz Stiller, Victor Sjostrom, Carl Dreyer and Ingmar Bergman, directors of classics such as Vampyr , Ordet , Wild Strawberries and Cries and Whispers , and of nationally important filmmakers such as August Blom, Bodil Ipsen, Lau Lauritzen and Nils Malmros. They also discuss contemporary filmmakers such as Gabriel Axel, director of Babette's Feast , the Kaurismaki brothers, directors of The Match Factory Girl and The Leningrad Cowboys and the recently-acclaimed Lars Von Trier, director of Breaking the Waves . In discussing the film culture of each country, each section considers three specific questions: state control and support of film production; the cultural characteristics of Nordic film which both unify and define each country; film production, content and form. In a final chapter, the authors assess the direction and future of the Nordic cinemas.