UFO Sweden
| UFO Sweden | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Victor Danell |
| Written by | Victor Danell Jimmy Nivrén Olsson |
| Produced by | Albin Pettersson Olle Tholén |
| Starring | Inez Dahl Torhaug Jesper Barkselius Eva Melande Sara Shirpey Oscar Töringe |
| Cinematography | Hannes Krantz |
| Edited by | Victor Danell Fredrik Morheden |
| Music by | Oskar Sollenberg Gustaf Spetz |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | SF Studios |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 115 minutes[1] |
| Country | Sweden[1] |
| Language | Swedish[1] |
| Budget | 39 million kr (€3.4 million)[2] |
| Box office | $69,618[3] |
UFO Sweden (known as Watch the Skies in the United States and United Kingdom)[4][5][6] is a 2022 Swedish science fiction adventure film directed and written by Victor Danell. The film follows a teenager who believes her missing father was abducted by aliens joins forces with a UFO club of endearing misfits.
The film had its world premiere at Norrköping on 12 December 2022, and was released in Sweden on 25 December.
Cast
- Inez Dahl Torhaug as Denise
- Jesper Barkselius as Lennart
- Eva Melande as Kicki
- Sara Shirpey as Tomi
- Oscar Töringe as Uno
Production
Background
When members of the film collective Crazy Pictures around the 2018 premiere of The Unthinkable, saw Michael Cavanagh and Kerstin Übelacker's documentary Ghost Rockets, Victor Danell realized that he lived near the Archives for the Unexplained premises and contacted them and UFO-Sverige.[7][8] It started an idea to make a science fiction film with the unknown as a theme.[8] According to the filmmakers, the film is "an adventure film for adults" and is inspired by films and TV series such as Stranger Things, True Detective, Arkiv X and Interstellar.[9][10][11] The working title was Project X.[1]
Filming
UFO Sweden began filming in Norrköping in August 2021.[9] Filming concluded in early 2022, with some additional scenes filmed during the summer.[11]
Release
UFO Sweden had its world premiere at Norrköping on 12 December 2022[12], and was released in Sweden on 25 December.[2] An English dub of the film made using artificial intelligence was released in the United States on 9 May 2025 by XYZ Films under the title Watch the Skies.[4]
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 83% of 23 critics' reviews are positive.[13]
References
- ^ a b c d e "UFO Sweden (2022)". Swedish Film Database. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
- ^ a b "Crazy Pictures' co-founder on UFO Sweden, working as a rock band on low cost sci-fi". Nordisk Film & TV Fond. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
- ^ "Watch the Skies". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
- ^ a b Spry, Jeff (2025-04-01). "New alien abduction film 'Watch the Skies' is giving us Swedish Spielberg vibes (video)". Space. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
- ^ "Sci-fi film UFO Sweden is the first feature film dubbed with AI". Nordisk Film & TV Fond. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
- ^ "Watch the Skies (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. 13 June 2025. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
- ^ "ufosweden". www.ufo.se. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
- ^ a b "Crazy Pictures nya långfilm blir storfilms-äventyret "UFO Sweden"". MovieZine (in Swedish). 2021-06-08. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
- ^ a b "Crazy Pictures är officiellt igång med inspelningarna av "UFO Sweden"". MovieZine (in Swedish). 2021-08-30. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
- ^ "Gåshudsnivå på första teaserklippet från storsatsningen "UFO Sweden"". MovieZine (in Swedish). 2021-12-14. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
- ^ a b "Ny poster och en exklusiv titt bakom kulisserna av "UFO Sweden"". MovieZine (in Swedish). 2022-06-10. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
- ^ "Äntligen premiär för "UFO Sweden" - här är de första reaktionerna!". MovieZine (in Swedish). 2022-12-13. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
- ^ "Watch the Skies". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
External links
- UFO Sweden at IMDb