Swedish director Joakim Sandstrom has joined bicoastal/international The Artists Company for representation in the U.S. and out of its London office. This is the first foray stateside for the 28-year-old director/cinematographer, who will continue to work in Sweden through Imperial Films, the one-man production company he started two years ago.
Sandstrom first approached Debbie Turner, executive producer of The Artists Company’s London office a year ago. After the pair struck up a friendship, Sandstrom kept Turner updated as his reel developed, and dropped in to see her every time he was in the U.K. "Debbie and I watched my reel together," he said. "She seemed genuinely interested in my style, so it felt special with her from the very beginning. Just prior to Christmas, we started to seriously discuss working together. I’m very excited about working in the U.S., since my work so far has been European."
Sandstrom has explored his passion for film since childhood. His first experiments were horror movies shot on Super 8 in the forest near his Stockholm home; he funded the films through part-time work. He is largely self-taught in the art of filmmaking-at university, he studied construction engineering. During compulsory military service, Sandstrom convinced his superiors that his talent would be better utilized if he made documentaries about the military’s activities. By the end of his tenure, he had produced five films.
In ’93, he became involved in the startup of TV4 Sundsvall, a Swedish TV channel. There, he worked as a producer, cameraman and editor, and was one of the first people in Sweden to edit on an Avid. After a short stint as a music producer, he purchased a 16mm camera and started directing, initially working on music promos. Upon launching Imperial Films, he expanded his reel to include commercial work.
