‘Triangle of Sadness’ Cleans Up at Sweden’s Guldbagge Awards

Ruben Östlund’s Oscar contender Triangle of Sadness continues to build award buzz, on Monday night sweeping Sweden’s Guldbagge Awards, taking six trophies, including Best Film and Best Director.

The capitalism satire also picked up Best Supporting Actress trophy for Dolly de Leon, the Filipino breakout whose turn in Triangle as Abigail —a cleaner on a luxury yacht who becomes the de facto leader of the one-percenters left over after a shipwreck —has put her on Hollywood’s radar.

Croatian actor Zlatko Burić, a scene-stealer in Triangle as the obnoxious Russian billionaire Dimitry, took the Best Supporting Actor nod, just a month after scooping the same prize at the European Film Awards. Sofie Krunegård  also won the Guldbagge for Best Costume Design for Triangle, and Stefanie Gredig took the award for Best Make-Up.

Östlund’s dramedy, which co-stars Harris Dickinson, Woody Harrelson, and the late Charlbi Dean, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Palme d’Or. It won four European Film Awards, including best film, and is a triple BAFTA nominee. Largely shot in English, Triangle of Sadness did not qualify for the best international feature Oscar but is considered a dark horse candidate in several other categories, including Best Picture.

Granit Rushiti won Best Actor at the 2023 Guldbagge Awards for his debut performance, as the teenage version of Swedish soccer star Zlatan Ibrahimović in Jens Sjögren’s biopic I Am Zlatan, while another teenage performance, Sigrid Johnson as the would-be stand-up star Sasha in Sanna Lenken’s Comedy Queen, won the Best Actress prize.

Tarik Saleh won Best Screenplay for his script to Cairo Conspiracy, Sweden’s official Oscar contender, which made the Best International Feature shortlist.

Adam Berg’s Netflix actioner Black Crab, starring Noomi Rapace and Jakob Oftebro, was the big winner in the technical categories, taking Guldbagge honors for Best Cinematography (Jonas Alarik), Best Visual Effects (Simon Sandrin), Best Set Designs (Linda Janson).

The Guldbagges, or Golden Beetle awards, handed out annually by the Swedish Film Institute since 1964, are the country’s highest cinema honor.