November 15th, 2017

As We're Told

Documentary
9.0

"It's simple! We do as we're told." This disconcerting reply comes from a Swedish employment office employee when asked how the country’s most unpopular government agency works. And that’s not all: in this creative documentary, case workers, receptionists and psychologists reveal how the Swedish employment system is failing. They complain about inadequate software and mystifying error messages, excessive caseloads and demoralizing results—on average, each case worker helps just 10 people find work each year, and only one in 10 clients will find a new job. To assure the anonymity of the interviewees, they're all represented by cardboard puppets. Thanks to visible puppeteers, expressive eyes and recognizable gestures, these puppets quickly take on the appearance of real people. The result is a fascinating, comical and artistic study of human strategies to get along in an irrational bureaucracy.

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Production Companies

Fasad

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Cast

Acting

Nils Dernevik

Unknown Role

Nils Dernevik
Acting

Leif Andrée

(voice)

Leif Andrée
Acting

Henrik Dorsin

(voice)

Henrik Dorsin
Acting

Andrea Edwards

Unknown Role

Andrea Edwards
Acting

Per Grytt

Unknown Role

Acting

Maria Kulle

(voice)

Maria Kulle
Acting

Malin Morgan

Unknown Role

Malin Morgan
Acting

David Rangborg

(voice)

Acting

Anna Takanen

(voice)

Acting

Märta Lundin

Unknown Role

Märta Lundin

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