SVT reporter probes unanswered questions about Staffan Hildebrand

Journalist Negra Efendić says many questions remained about filmmaker Staffan Hildebrand’s past as she began investigating him for SVT’s documentary series Dokument inifrån.

Hildebrand became known in the 1970s and 1980s for films about teenage boys and for his close relationships with young people. Rumours also circulated about his interest in young boys, SVT reported.

The 2021 book G som i Gärningsman revealed that Hildebrand had sexual relationships with two teenage boys in the 1970s and 1980s, the youngest of whom was 13. The offence was time-barred by 2021. In an interview with Expressen that year, Hildebrand admitted to the acts. He later left Sweden and moved to Cambodia, where he has lived since.

Efendić said she started looking into the case because she felt that not everything had come to light. She eventually contacted Hildebrand and interviewed him at his home in Cambodia over nearly two weeks.

She said she caught him lying several times. Although he was open and said he wanted everything revealed, the two often clashed, she told SVT’s Morgonstudion.

Dokument inifrån: Pojkarna – regissören och sanningen will air on SVT1 on Tuesday at 9pm and is available on SVT Play.