Jörn Donner


Jörn Johan Donner was a Finnish writer, film director, actor, producer, politician and founder of Finnish Film Archive.

Biography

He is a member of the Donner family of German descent. He was the son of the linguist Kai Donner and the grandson of linguist and politician Otto Donner.
Jörn Donner for long periods lived and worked in Sweden, and, among other things, served as director of the Swedish Film Institute. In 1979, he was a member of the jury at the 29th Berlin International Film Festival. Internationally Jörn Donner was best known as the producer of Ingmar Bergman's film Fanny and Alexander. In 1984 the movie won a total of four Academy Awards including the award for best foreign language film, making him to date the only Finn to receive an Oscar. His novel Far och son won the Finlandia Prize in 1985.
Donner was associated with several different political parties, such as SDP and RKP, and was at different times a member both of the Finnish parliament and the European Parliament. he was again a member of the Finnish parliament for a short while, after Eva Biaudet resigned to take a position at the OSCE.
Donner suffered from prostate and lung cancers. He died of lung disease at Meilahti hospital in Helsinki on 30 January 2020, six days before his 87th birthday.

Filmography