Senior Lecturer Tobias Falk: How AI and Agile Methods Could Transform Swedish Cinema
With streaming’s dominance, declining cinema attendance, and a tradition-bound production model, both creativity and finances in Swedish cinema are under threat. At the same time, new technology and agile working methods are opening the door to an entirely new way of making films – and this is where Tobias Falk, film director and Senior Lecturer at Stockholm University, steps in.
“I want more people to be able to make films within the established industry. We really need new voices and new generations of storytellers in film. But young creative people are going elsewhere. The film industry truly needs to change in order to survive, and costs must be drastically reduced to make risks viable. This isn’t science fiction, it’s absolutely possible, but it demands courage, collaboration and research,” he says.
A journey through worlds of storytelling
Falk does not have a traditional academic background. Raised among artists, actors, and directors, he began in the film industry as an unpaid assistant in the 1980s, directed his first feature at 29 (the award-winning Stjärnsystrar), and was early to direct external productions for Swedish Television, such as Barnen på Luna and En ö i havet. After nearly two decades in the industry, he switched tracks to video games.
“I started from the bottom again. But what I knew was storytelling and that’s universal,” he says.
As a pioneer in motion capture for the gaming industry, he helped blur the boundaries between performance, technology, and narrative. He later brought this technical expertise into academia, joining the Department of Computer and Systems Sciences at Stockholm University, where he has been a driving force in developing one of Sweden’s most modern media programmes.
A new production model in sight
Falk’s students recently created a groundbreaking mixed reality performance in collaboration with Kulturhuset Stadsteatern, where choreography was inserted in real time during the show. This is just one example of how he is exploring new ways of working that challenge old hierarchies.
Now, he wants to take on the future of film.
“Swedish cinema can’t go on as before. The production model is too expensive, too slow, and too rigid. I want to reboot the industry with agile methods, AI, and direct contact with the audience.”
His vision is simple yet radical: a new model for filmmaking where teams of around four people work in modular fashion, handling filming, editing, and audience engagement in parallel. The production cost? About one-tenth of today’s standard, but with the potential to be more profitable than ever.
“Working with generative AI is the most magical thing I’ve ever experienced,” Falk says. “We’ve gone from needing enormous resources to a point where a single creative can produce world-class work from a laptop.”
AI can streamline not just production and visualisation, but also administration, budgeting, and audience analysis – dramatically lowering the barriers for new voices and perspectives. And that, Falk argues, is the core of the project.
“Storytelling has been democratised for quite a few years now. A young creative no longer needs to endure years of humiliation in an old hierarchy. It’s revolutionary – but the film industry hasn’t adapted to the consequences of that change.”
The goal: a new research centre with Stockholm University at its core
Falk hopes that in the near future Stockholm University can help establish an interdisciplinary centre for innovation in film and media, bringing together researchers, creatives, and industry. His inspiration comes from the gaming sector, where research and practice have long gone hand in hand.
“The Swedish film industry lacks a research centre – and that’s disastrous in a time of enormous technological change. The university could become the place where new working models are born, tested, and shared.”
The centre would build on collaboration between researchers in film studies, AI, economics, psychology, law, and systems development, supporting creatives, independent producers, and entrepreneurs. The aim: more films, more perspectives, greater diversity, and stronger audience engagement.
A pilot project ready to launch
Right now, Falk is working on a research collaboration with Ericsson, and has already planned the next step: a low-budget feature film pilot project with a small crew and agile workflow, testing the entire production chain.
Support from the industry is growing: producers, film funds, and the trade union Scen & Film have expressed interest. The aim is not to replace traditional filmmaking but to create a parallel model where new voices have space and new business models can be tried.
“I’ve tested this with hundreds of students – it works to make films in an agile way, and AI accelerates every process. Now I want to prove that it can also work in practice with real distributors and audiences.”
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Written by: Madeleine Bäckman
Last updated: September 24, 2025
Source: The Office for Research, Engagement and Innovation Services