ONCE YOU SHALL BE ONE OF THOSE WHO LIVED LONG AGO 

by Alexander Rynéus & Per Bifrost

In a small mining town in the north part of Sweden we witness a melancholic, humorous and sometimes absurd last epoch of a place. Beneath the town’s fading streets lies one of the world’s largest underground iron ore mines—an engine of both prosperity and disappearance.  The film is about farewell, change, and the transient nature of life, told through the experiences of some of the towns last residents. As the town faces its final days, it becomes a setting for deeply personal stories of loss, transition, and remembrance told trough a kaleidoscope of moments.

Crew

Writer & director: Alexander Rynéus & Per Bifrost 
Producers: Andreas Emanuelsson & Jonas Selberg Augustsén
Executive producer: Tony Österholm
Co-producers: Mattias Sjöstedt (SVT), Katja Härkönen (Filmpool Nord), Mattias Ehrenberg (Film i Dalarna)
DoP: Alexander Rynéus & Per Bifrost
Editor: Bobbie E. G. Pertan
Sound design: Ljudbang
Original music: Nils Petter Molvaer

Produced by

Iris Film AB in co-production with Sveriges Television AB, Filmpool Nord AB and Film i Dalarna AB in association with Intakt Produktion and with support from The Swedish Art Grants Committee and The Swedish Film Institute.

Production note

Original title: En gång skall du vara en av dem som levat för längesen
English title: Once you shall be one of those who lived long ago
Festival release: Edinburgh International Film Festival, August 17th 2025
National release: TBA

Genre: Documentary
Runtime: 93 min
Language: Swedish

Nominations and awards

Nominee: Sean Connery Award, EIFF 2025