WG Film

WG Film is a Swedish documentary production company based in Malmö. Founded in 1994 by documentary filmmaker Lars Westman and journalist Fredrik Gertten, it was originally known as Westman & Gertten AB before adopting the WG Film name. The company has built its identity around independently produced documentaries that connect local experiences with broader international questions. In its early period, WG Film frequently focused on stories rooted in Malmö and other specific communities. These films examined work, identity, migration, social life, and everyday political realities, while using local subjects to address issues that could be understood beyond Sweden. Over time, the company's production profile became increasingly international, with projects dealing with labor rights, corporate power, urban planning, environmental politics, inequality, corruption, and the social consequences of globalization. WG Film produces documentaries for both broadcast and theatrical release. Its work has also circulated extensively through international documentary and film-festival networks, including Sundance, South by Southwest, and the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam. The company is associated particularly with films that combine investigative reporting, character-driven storytelling, and a clear civic or political perspective. Among WG Film's best-known productions is Bananas!* (2009), which addressed a legal and labor conflict involving Dole Food Company and banana plantation workers in Nicaragua. The film's distribution and legal controversy became the subject of the follow-up documentary Big Boys Gone Bananas!* (2012), which examined the lawsuit brought against filmmaker Fredrik Gertten, WG Film, and producer Margarete Jangård. Together, the films established the company as a prominent producer of documentaries about corporate accountability and the ability of powerful institutions to influence public narratives. Other notable titles include Bikes vs Cars (2015), an examination of cycling, automobile dependence, and the influence of the car industry on urban planning; Becoming Zlatan (2016), a documentary about footballer Zlatan Ibrahimovic's formative years; Dead Donkeys Fear No Hyenas (2017), which explored land investment and displacement in Ethiopia; and PUSH (2019), which investigated the global housing crisis and the financialization of housing. The company has also produced and co-produced documentaries such as Burma VJ, The Man Who Saved the World, Jozi Gold, and Daughters. WG Film's latest production identified in the reference material is Breaking Social (2023). Premiering at CPH:DOX in March 2023, the film examines corruption, kleptocracy, concentrated wealth, and the weakening of the social contract. Its thematic focus continues WG Film's established interest in the relationship between economic power, democratic institutions, and ordinary people's lives. The company remains an active documentary producer with a catalog spanning local Swedish stories, international investigations, feature documentaries, short films, and co-productions.

WG Film was established in Malmö in 1994 by documentary filmmaker Lars Westman and journalist Fredrik Gertten. The company initially operated under the name Westman & Gertten AB. Its early work was characterized by documentaries grounded in local Swedish stories but structured around questions with wider social and political relevance. This approach allowed the company to connect community-level experiences with issues such as labor, identity, urban life, and social change. As its body of work developed, WG Film expanded toward more international subjects and collaborations. The company's productions have covered stories in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America, while retaining a focus on people affected by institutional or economic power. Its catalogue includes feature documentaries, broadcast projects, short films, and co-productions. The films have been shown in cinemas, on television, and at prominent international festivals, including Sundance, South by Southwest, and IDFA. A major turning point came with Bananas!* in 2009. The film examined allegations and a legal conflict involving banana plantation workers in Nicaragua and Dole Food Company. Rather than ending with the original film, the dispute became the subject of Big Boys Gone Bananas!* in 2012. That sequel followed the legal action brought against Gertten, WG Film, and producer Margarete Jangård, making the production itself an example of the power struggle explored in the company's documentaries. WG Film subsequently developed a series of films addressing public space, environmental pressures, inequality, and political accountability. Bikes vs Cars, released in 2015, considered the struggle between cycling and automobile-centered urban development. Becoming Zlatan, released in 2016, shifted toward a sports biography while retaining an interest in social background and personal formation. Dead Donkeys Fear No Hyenas, released in 2017, examined land investment and its effects in Ethiopia. PUSH, released in 2019, addressed the global housing crisis and the financialization of residential property. Its international festival reception included audience, jury, and environmental-film recognition, and it was shortlisted for a European Film Academy documentary award. WG Film has also been involved in projects such as Burma VJ, The Man Who Saved the World, Jozi Gold, Daughters, and other international co-productions. The company's 2023 documentary Breaking Social continued its examination of economic and political power. Premiering at CPH:DOX in March 2023, the film focused on corruption, kleptocracy, extreme wealth, and the breakdown of the social contract. It also considered how a renewed social contract might be created. Across its history, WG Film's consistent role has been that of an independent documentary producer using investigative and human-centered filmmaking to connect personal stories with global systems.

• 2023

  Breaking Social premieres

  [1]WG Filmen.wikipedia.org

  The documentary premieres at CPH:DOX and examines corruption, kleptocracy, inequality, and the social contract.

• 2019

  PUSH is released

  [1]WG Filmen.wikipedia.org

  The documentary explores the global housing crisis and the treatment of housing as a financial investment.

• 2015

  Bikes vs Cars is released

  [1]WG Filmen.wikipedia.org

  The film investigates cycling, car-oriented urban planning, and the automobile industry's influence on cities.

• 2012

  Big Boys Gone Bananas!* follows the legal dispute

  [1]WG Filmen.wikipedia.org

  The sequel examines Dole's lawsuit against Fredrik Gertten, WG Film, and producer Margarete Jangård.

• 2009

  Bananas!* is released

  [1]WG Filmen.wikipedia.org

  The documentary addresses a conflict involving Dole Food Company and banana plantation workers in Nicaragua.

• 2008

  Burma VJ is produced as a co-production

  [1]WG Filmen.wikipedia.org

  WG Film is associated with the international documentary co-production Burma VJ.

• 1994

  WG Film is founded in Malmö

  [1]WG Filmen.wikipedia.org

  Lars Westman and Fredrik Gertten establish the company, originally known as Westman & Gertten AB.

An independent, socially engaged documentary producer that develops local stories with international relevance and focuses on power, inequality, labor, cities, environmental issues, and democratic accountability.

• Feature documentary · 2009

  Bananas!*

  A documentary about banana plantation workers in Nicaragua and their conflict with Dole Food Company. The film became one of WG Film's defining works on labor rights, corporate accountability, and the risks faced by filmmakers investigating powerful commercial interests.

• Feature documentary · 2012

  Big Boys Gone Bananas!*

  A sequel centered on the legal and public-relations conflict that followed Bananas!*. It examines Dole's lawsuit against filmmaker Fredrik Gertten, WG Film, and producer Margarete Jangård, turning the controversy surrounding the first film into its principal subject.

• Feature documentary · 2015

  Bikes vs Cars

  An environmental and urban-policy documentary exploring the conflict between bicycle-based mobility and automobile-centered city planning. It considers how transport systems shape public space and how the car industry influences decisions about urban development.

• Sports documentary · 2016

  Becoming Zlatan

  A documentary about Zlatan Ibrahimovic's formative years and development as a footballer. The film follows the personal and professional experiences that shaped his early career and public identity.

• Feature documentary · 2017

  Dead Donkeys Fear No Hyenas

  A documentary examining land investment in Ethiopia and the consequences of large-scale land deals for communities, farmers, and national development. It reflects WG Film's interest in the relationship between global capital and local rights.

• Feature documentary · 2019

  PUSH

  A documentary investigating the global housing crisis and the financialization of housing. The film asks why ordinary residents are increasingly unable to access secure homes and examines the role of investors, landlords, governments, and international capital.

• Feature documentary · 2023

  Breaking Social

  A documentary about global patterns of corruption and kleptocracy. It uses the idea of the social contract to examine how concentrated wealth and political power have weakened public trust, while also considering ways to establish a new social contract.

• 2012

  Dole lawsuit examined in Big Boys Gone Bananas!*

  Dole Food Company sued filmmaker Fredrik Gertten, WG Film, and producer Margarete Jangård in connection with Bananas!*. Big Boys Gone Bananas!* documented the dispute and its implications for documentary freedom and corporate pressure.

  Source

• 2009

  Controversy surrounding Bananas!*

  Bananas!* became the focus of a dispute involving Dole Food Company, the documentary's treatment of banana plantation workers in Nicaragua, and the company's response to the film.

  Source

Read more

• 2019

  Release PUSHProduct launch

  Background

  Housing affordability and the transformation of homes into financial assets had become major international political issues.

  Action taken

  WG Film produced and released PUSH, an international documentary investigation into the global housing crisis.

  Aftermath

  The film received festival awards and nominations, including a European Film Academy documentary shortlist placement.

  Source

• 2012

  Produce a sequel focused on the Bananas!* legal conflictOther

  Background

  The legal dispute surrounding Bananas!* created a new story about corporate power, litigation, and the vulnerability of independent documentary production.

  Action taken

  WG Film produced Big Boys Gone Bananas!*, using the lawsuit and its wider consequences as the subject of a follow-up documentary.

  Aftermath

  The sequel extended the company's public examination of corporate accountability and documentary freedom and received recognition at documentary festivals.

  Source

1. 1WG Filmen.wikipedia.org