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LMGI COMPASS
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Spring 2026
Our party enjoyed touring the varied film-friendly areas of
Stockholm, from the historic to the forward-leaning architecture,
such as the brightly painted underground stations buried
deep into bedrock. As we toured the islands, from Gröskär—a
beautiful tiny island on the eastern edge of the Archipelago with
a 300-year-old stone lighthouse—to the Swedish architecture of
auto-free Sandhamn.
I consider being invited to attend a late November
LMGI Fam Tour, an honour made even more special by
the chance to visit a personal bucket-list destination—
with the added bonus of being in Sweden in the run-up
to Christmas. You can imagine how excited I was to
make this trip.
The beauty of the locations visited could only be
matched by the warm welcome and hospitality shown
to me and my fellow travellers, LMGI members Enrico
Latella, David Pieper, Harriet Lawrence and Markus
Bensch. Our host, Film Commissioner Daniel Chilla/
Film Stockholm, was extremely knowledgeable, and
the tour was well organised.
We enjoyed the most incredible languid Arctic sunsets as
we travelled from island to island throughout the Stockholm
Archipelago, each unique in its own right. Some boast luxury
hotels, whilst others provided a more back-to-nature feel with a
vibe of times-past. The reliance on the sea was visible at every
turn. And many of us noted that a few of the locations had the
potential to play for coastal New England. We visited ports of all
shapes and sizes and took a selection of vessels as we journeyed
from Stockholm and back again.
We were impressed with how diverse and logistically accessible
the islands are for film productions and by how strongly the local
communities support filmmaking. So many untouched natural
locations still exist so close to the city.
The tour highlights for me include interacting with the wildlife,
especially seals and elk and being introduced to Swedish
traditions and the delicious seasonal treats. But it was the light
that took my breath away—clear and crisp, bouncing off the
water as the sun set over a smooth-as-glass ocean whilst our
boat glided on to its next stop!
The Stockholm Archipelago—I just can't wait for an opportunity
to return and shoot there!
Harriet Lawrence/LMGI
