Born: 3 December 1922, Moheda, Kronobergs län, Sweden, as Sven Vilhem Nykvist, son of Gustaf Nykvist [1871-1944], a Lutheran missionary. [His parents spent most of their lives in the Belgian Congo, so Sven was raised by relatives in Sweden and saw his parents rarely.]

Died: 20 September 2006, Stockholm, Sweden.

Education: Stockholm Municipal School for Photographers [Still ph].

Career: Joined Sandrews Studio in 1941 as c.asst. From 1943-44 he worked as c.asst/interpreter for Mario Soldati and Franco Vigni at the Cinecittà Studios, Rome. In 1997, while working on Woody Allen's 'Celebrity', he was diagnosed with progressive aphasia, a form of dementia, that forced him into early retirement. He wrote the book 'Resan till Lambarene/Journey to Lambarene' [1959] on Albert Schweitzer. His son Carl-Gustaf [Charlie] is a film director. Former member of the fsf. Was member of the ASC.

Appearances: Appeared in the doc's 'Foto: Sven Nykvist' [1972, Bayley Silleck; ph: Stephen Goldblatt; SN is also the commentator and narrator], 'Stand By to Shoot!' [1974, Katinka Faragó & Hans Reutersvard], 'Tre scener med Ingmar Bergman' [1975, Jörn Donner], 'A Look at Liv' [1977, Richard Kaplan], 'The Bergman File' [1977, Jörn Donner], 'Storyville Story' [1978, Lasse Summanen & Charlie Nykvist], 'Lights Please - En film om ljus och mörker' [1985, Lars Svanberg], "Dokument Fanny och Alexander/The Making of 'Fanny and Alexander'" [1986, Ingmar Bergman; ph: Arne Carlsson], 'Regi - Andrej Tarkovsky' [1988, Michal Leszczylowski], 'Jag är nyfiken, film/I Am Curious, Film' [1995, Stig Björkman], 'Lumière et compagnie' [1995, seg dir by Liv Ullmann], 'Liv Ullmann scener fra et liv' [1997, Edvard Hambro], 'Cinéma de notre temps: une journée d'Andrei Arsenevitch' [2000, Chris Marker] & 'Ljuset håller mig sällskap/Light Keeps Me Company' [1999, Carl-Gustaf Nykvist]. Interviewee in the doc 'Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography' [1991].

Awards: Guldbagge Awards 'Jury Specialbagge' [1973]; 'Oscar' AA [1973], NSFC Award [1973] & BAFTA Film Award nom [1974] for 'Viskningar och rop/Cries and Whispers'; 'César' Award [1976] for 'Black Moon'; BSC Award [1983], LAFCA Award [1983], 'Oscar' AA [1984] & BAFTA Film Award [1984] for 'Fanny och Alexander'; Cannes FF 'Best Artistic Contribution' [1986] for 'Offret'; BSC Award nom [1988], 'Oscar' AA nom [1989], ASC Award nom [1989] & Independent Spirit Award [1989] for 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being'; BSC Award nom [1992] for 'Chaplin'; Camerimage Lifetime Achievement Award [1993]; Camerimage 'Golden Frog' nom [1995] for 'Kristin Lavransdatter'; ASC Lifetime Achievement Award [1996]; Camerimage 'Special Award' [1998; shared with Ingmar Bergman]; fsf 'Golden Aperture Plate' [199?] 'for his global incarnation of the spirit of Swedish cinematography'.

1942        En Stockholmssilhuett [Bibi Lindström] b&w; doc/10m

1943        I mörkaste Småland/In the Darkest Corner of Småland [Schamyl Bauman] b&w; cph: Olle Nordemar

1943        Östersjöns nyckel [Carl-Åke Wadsten] b&w; doc/12m

1944        Indianer och blekansikten [Ragnar Falck] b&w; short/10m

1944        Barnen från Frostmofjället/The Children from Frostmo Mountain [Rolf Husberg] b&w; cph: Olle Nordemar

                    (Nykvist began as c.asst, but took over ph when O. Nordemar fell ill); filmed Aug 1944 & April 1945

1944        Tre söner gick till flyget [Rolf Husberg] b&w; ph December 1944; cph: Olle Nordemar (September-November 1944)

1945        13 stolar/The 13 Chairs [Börje Larsson] b&w

1945        Gomorron Bill!/Good Morning, Bill! [Lauritz Falk & Peter Winner] b&w; cph: Hilding Bladh & Göran Strindberg

1946        Där lägereldarna brinna [Mauritz Sandin] b&w; doc/8m

1946        Förnuftig fritid [Bo Löfberg] b&w; doc/12m

1946        Saltstänk och krutgubbar/Gay Old Time/Salt Water Spray and Tough Old Boys [Schamyl Bauman] b&w

1947        En stad med tradition - En film om staden Lund [Bo Löfberg] b&w; doc/10m

1947        Ett yrke med tradition [Bo Löfberg] b&w; doc/9m

1947        Lata Lena och blåögda Per/Lazy Lena and Blue Eyed Per [Lennart Wallén] b&w

1947        Maj på Malö/Maj from Malö [Schamyl Bauman & Ragnar Arvedson] b&w

1948        Hin och smålänningen/The Devil and the Man from Småland [Ivar Johansson] b&w; cph: Carl-Eric Edlund

1948        Sjösalavår/Spring in Sjösala [Per Gunvall] b&w

1948        I fetischmannens spår/In the Footsteps of the Witch Doctor/In the Footsteps of the Magician [Sven Nykvist]

                    b&w; doc/14m

1949        Lång-Lasse i Delsbo/Lanky Lasse Goes to Delsbo [Ivar Johansson] b&w

1949        Rågens rike/The Land of Rye [Ivar Johansson] b&w

1949        Loffe blir polis/Loffe Joins the Police [Elof Ahrle] b&w; cph: Göran Strindberg

1949        Bohus Bataljon/Bohus Battalion [Sölve Cederstrand] b&w

1950        Bisi Congo [Sven Nykvist] b&w; doc/10m

1950        När syrenerna blomma/When Lilacs Bloom [Ivar Johansson] b&w

1952        Under Södra korset/Under the Southern Cross [Olof Bergström & Sven Nykvist] b&w; doc/83m; + co-prod/co-scrpl/

                    co-stills/co-sound

1952        Vördnad för livet/Respect for Life [Sven Nykvist] b&w; doc/16m; + scrpl

1952        Barabbas [Alf Sjöberg] b&w; cph: Göran Strindberg

1952        Vägen till Klockrike/The Road to Klockrike [Gunnar Skoglund] b&w

1953        Gycklarnas afton/The Naked Night/Sawdust and Tinsel/Sunset of a Clown [Ingmar Bergman] b&w; prod started

                    by ph Göran Strindberg and finished by Nykvist (int) & Hilding Bladh (ext)

1953        Salka Valka [Arne Mattsson] b&w

1953        Storm över Tjurö [Arne Mattsson] b&w

1954        Karin Månsdotter [Alf Sjöberg] b&w-c

1954        Älskling på vågen/Darling at Sea [Schamyl Bauman] c; cph: Göran Strindberg

1955        Den underbara lögnen/The True and the False/Gentle Thief of Love [Schamyl Bauman & Michael Road] b&w

1955        Sista ringen/The Last Form [Gunnar Skoglund] b&w

1955        En drömmares vandring/A Dreamer's Walk [Lars-Magnus Lindgren] b&w

1955        Ett kungligt äventyr/A Royal Adventure [Daniel Birt] c; there is also an English version: 'Laughing in the Sunshine'

1955        Nattbarn/Children of the Night [Gunnar Hellström] b&w

1955        Blånande hav/Blue Sea [Gunnar Skoglund] c

1955        Gorilla - En filmberättelse från Belgiska Kongo [Lars-Henrik Ottoson & Lorens Marmstedt] as/c; doc/88m;

                    cph: Bengt Lindström

1956        Flickan i frack/Girl in Tails [Arne Mattsson] c

1956        Den tappre soldaten Jönsson/The Brave Soldier Jönsson [Håkan Bergström] b&w; cph: Rune Ericson

1956        Gäst i eget hus/Guest at One's Own Home [Stig Olin] b&w

1957        Synnöve Solbakken/A Girl of Solbakken [Gunnar Hellström] c

1957        Damen i svart/The Lady in Black [Arne Mattsson] b&w

1958        Laila/Make Way for Lila [Rolf Husberg] c

1958        Der Engel, der seine Harfe versetzte [Kurt Hoffmann] b&w

1959        Får jag låna din fru?/Lend Me Your Wife [Arne Mattsson] b&w

1959        Jungfrukällan/The Virgin Spring [Ingmar Bergman] b&w

1959        Lampenfieber [Kurt Hoffmann] b&w

1959        A Matter of Morals/De sista stegen [John Cromwell] as/b&w

1960        Domaren/The Judge [Alf Sjöberg] b&w

1960        Såsom i en spegel/Through a Glass Darkly [Ingmar Bergman] b&w

1961        Die Ehe des Herrn Mississippi/The Marriage of Mr. Mississippi [Kurt Hoffmann] b&w

1961        Mörderspiel/Murder Party/Le jeu de l'assassin [Helmut Ashley] b&w

1961        Lita på mej, älskling!/Trust Me, Darling! [Sven Lindberg] b&w

1961        Nattvardsgästerna/Winter Light/The Communicants [Ingmar Bergman] b&w

1962        Schneewittchen und die sieben Gaukler/Snow White and the Seven Jugglers [Kurt Hoffmann] c

1962        Tystnaden/The Silence [Ingmar Bergman] b&w

1962        Liebe will gelernt sein [Kurt Hoffmann] b&w

1963        Prins Hatt under jorden [Bengt Lagerkvist] b&w

1963        För att inte tala om alla dessa kvinnor/All These Women/Now About These Women [Ingmar Bergman] c

1963        Klänningen/The Dress [Vilgot Sjöman] b&w

1964        Att älska/To Love [Jörn Donner] b&w

1964        Älskande par/Loving Couples [Mai Zetterling] b&w

1965        Lianbron/The Vine Bridge [Sven Nykvist] c

1965        Persona [Ingmar Bergman] b&w

1966        Vargtimmen/Hour of the Wolf [Ingmar Bergman] b&w

1966        Roseanna [Hans Abramson] c

1967        Bränt barn/The Sinning Urge [Hans Abramson] c

1967        Skammen/Shame [Ingmar Bergman] b&w

1968        En passion/The Passion of Anna/A Passion [Ingmar Bergman] c

1969        An-Magritt [Arne Skouen] c

1969        Erste Liebe/First Love [Maximilian Schell] c; filming took 76 days between May 1969 and March 1970

1970        Beröringen/The Touch [Ingmar Bergman] c

1970        One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich/En dag i Ivan Denisovitsj' liv [Caspar Wrede] c

1971        The Last Run [Richard Fleischer & John Huston] p/c; 2uc: Neil Gemmel

1971        Lockfågeln/The Decoy/The Birdcall [Torgny Wickman] p/c

1971        Viskningar och rop/Cries and Whispers [Ingmar Bergman] c

1972        Siddhartha [Conrad Rooks] p/c

1973        The Dove [Charles Jarrott] p/c

1973        Victoria [Max von Sydow] ?

1974        Ransom/The Terrorists [Caspar Wrede] c

1975        Monismanien 1995 - En film om frihet/Monismania [Kenne Fant] 16mm-35bu/c

1975        Black Moon [Louis Malle] c

1976        Le locataire/The Tenant [Roman Polanski] c

1976        The Serpent's Egg/Das Schlangenei [Ingmar Bergman] c; addph: Peter Rohe & Dietrich Lohmann

1977        Pretty Baby [Louis Malle] c

1977        En och en/One and One [Erland Josephson, Ingrid Thulin & Sven Nykvist] c; + co-prod

1977        Höstsonaten/Autumn Sonata [Ingmar Bergman] c

1978        King of the Gypsies [Frank Pierson] c; collab ph: Edward Lachman; spec unit ph: Lars Looschen

1978        Hurricane/Forbidden Paradise [Jan Troell] tao35 & 70bu/c

1978        Starting Over [Alan J. Pakula] c

1979        Willie and Phil [Paul Mazursky] c

1979        Marmeladupproret/Marmalade Revolution [Erland Josephson] c; + co-prod

1980        The Postman Always Rings Twice [Bob Rafelson] c

1980        Aus dem Leben der Marionetten/From the Life of the Marionettes [Ingmar Bergman] b&w-c

1980        [John Steinbeck's] Cannery Row [David S. Ward] c

1982        Star 80 [Bob Fosse] c

1983        Un amour de Swann/Swann in Love [Volker Schlöndorff] c

1985        Offret/The Sacrifice [Andrei Tarkovsky] b&w-c

1985        Agnes of God [Norman Jewison] c

1985        Dream Lover [Alan J. Pakula] c

1987        The Unbearable Lightness of Being [Philip Kaufman] c; 2uc: Joseph Ort-Snep

1988        New York Stories [seg 'Oedipus Wrecks' dir by Woody Allen] c; other seg ph by Néstor Almendros & Vittorio Storaro

1988        Another Woman [Woody Allen] c

1988        Ved Vejen/Katinka/Vid vägen [Max von Sydow] c; cph: Claus Loof

1988        Crimes and Misdemeanors [Woody Allen] c

1989        Buster's Bedroom [Rebecca Horn] c

1991        Oxen/The Ox [Sven Nykvist] c; + small part

1991        Chaplin [Richard Attenborough] b&w-c; 2uc: Alexander Witt

1992        Sleepless in Seattle [Nora Ephron] c; 2uc: Marty Oppenheimer & David Wagreich (Baltimore); aph: Jon Kranhouse

1992        What's Eating Gilbert Grape [Lasse Hallström] c

1993        With Honors [Alek Keshishian] c

1993        Only You/Him/Just in Time [Norman Jewison] c; 2uc: Nicola Pecorini

1994        Mixed Nuts/Lifesavers [Nora Ephron] c

1994        Kristin Lavransdatter/Kransen [Liv Ullmann] c

1994        Something to Talk About/Grace Under Pressure [Lasse Hallström] c; 2uc: Anastas Michos

1997        Celebrity [Woody Allen] b&w; 2uc: Peter Reniers

1997        Curtain Call [Peter Yates] c

1997        Storm of the Heart [Don Baldwin] ?

1968        Riten/The Rite/The Ritual [Ingmar Bergman] tvm/b&w

1969        Fårödokument/Fårö-dokument/The Fårö Document [Ingmar Bergman] doc/b&w-c/88m; ph color inserts; also part

                    of the doc 'Fårö-dokument 1979' (1979/103m)

1970        Karpfs Karriere [Bernhard Wicki] tvm

1972        Scener ur ett äktenskap/Scenes from a Marriage [Ingmar Bergman] 6-part miniseries/16mm; also released

                    theatrically (168m/35bu)

1972        Strohfeuer/A Free Woman/Summer Lightning [Volker Schlöndorff] tvm

1973        Das Blaue Hotel [Stanislav Barabas] tvm

1974        Trollflöjten/The Magic Flute [Ingmar Bergman] opera/16mm; also released theatrically (35bu); + small part

1974        Les raisons de Georgina/Georginas Gründe [Volker Schlöndorff] seg of 5-part miniseries 'Nouvelles de Henry James';

                    other seg ph by Bruno Nuytten, Jean Rabier, a.o.

1975        Ansikte mot ansikte/Face to Face [Ingmar Bergman] 4-part miniseries (177m); also released theatrically (114m)

1976        Vårbrytning [Erland Josephson] tvm

1981        Ingrid Bergman [Gunnel Broström] interview

1981        Fanny och Alexander/Fanny and Alexander [Ingmar Bergman] miniseries (326m); 2uc: Tony Forsberg; also

                    released theatrically (188m)

1982        La tragédie de Carmen [Peter Brook] tvm/16mm

1983        Efter repetitionen/After the Rehearsal [Ingmar Bergman] tvm

1985        Nobody's Child [Lee Grant] tvm

1996        Enskilda samtal/Private Confessions/Private Conversations [Liv Ullmann] tvm

1941        En fattig miljonär/A Poor Millionaire [Lennart & Sigurd Wallén] co-c.asst; ph: Hilding Bladh & Evert Löfstedt

1942        General von Döbeln [Olof Molander] ph: Hilding Bladh

1948        I fetischmannens spår/In the Footsteps of the Witch Doctor/In the Footsteps of the Magician [+ ph] see Films

1950        Bisi Congo [+ ph] see Films

1952        Under Södra korset/Under the Southern Cross [co-d; + ph] see Films

1952        Vördnad för livet/Respect for Life [+ scrpl/ph] see Films

1965        Lianbron/The Vine Bridge [+ ph] see Films

1974        Kallelsen/The Vocation [short] ph: ?

1977        En och en/One and One [co-d; + co-prod/ph] see Films

1991        Oxen/The Ox [+ co-scrpl/ph] see Films