Niclas Goldberg: interview by Ana Maria Haddad Baptista and Márcia Fusaro

EccoS Journal: Could you summarize your personal and professional journey? Niclas Goldberg: I was born and raised in Stockholm, Sweden — a city where long winters practically demand a love of cinema. In my twenties, I drifted between Sweden and France, living periodically in Paris and Nantes, before formalizing my passion with a Master’s degree in Cinema History and Theory from Stockholm University.  Over the years, I’ve written hundreds of articles about film. Most regularly for Dagens Nyheter, Sweden’s leading daily newspaper, and for Filmrutan, the country’s oldest and most respected film magazine. My work has brought me face-to-face with some extraordinary figures in cinema - from Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Idris Elba and Willem Dafoe to Isabelle Huppert, Julia Roberts and Ellen Burstyn; from Quentin Tarantino and Steve McQueen to Béla Tarr, Jim Jarmusch, Claire Denis, Barry Jenkins, Luca Guadagnino, and Ryûsuke Hamaguchi. Beyond this, I’ve spent many years as a film programmer for the Göteborg Film Festival — Scandinavia’s leading festival and one of the largest in the world. I spent many years in New York, a city whose restless energy reshapes your sense of rhythm and whose film culture is intensely alive. From there and elsewhere, I’ve covered major international festivals including New York, Sundance, Tribeca, Toronto, São Paulo, always in search of new cinematic discoveries. Along the way, I’ve served on international festival juries and collaborated with international film and media organizations such as CinemaDailyUS and Film Forum. Parallel to my film work, I have created several books combining poetry and photography and directed three short films. EccoS Journal: What impresses you most about Brazil? Niclas Goldberg: What impresses me most is the people. I have never encountered such warmth and kindness, such natural generosity and emotional intelligence. There is something in the way people look at you, speak to you, sit quietly with you, stand beside you — it creates a sense of comfort and belonging. I’m drawn to the unpredictability, to the contradictions, to the constant movement. But also to what happens in between: the warmth in a glance, the ease of a smile, the unspoken understanding. EccoS Journal: How do you rate contemporary film productions? Niclas Goldberg: I remain hopeful about cinema. It’s alive — charged, inventive, and seething with new energy. Watching hundreds of films each year, mostly at festivals and outside the mainstream, I continually encounter filmmakers of striking artistic courage and integrity — emerging voices as well as established talents who continue to evolve and surprise. Cinema from all corners of the world: from Brazil to the Philippines, from Bolivia to Montenegro, from Senegal to Lithuania. The frustration lies not in a lack of vision, but in a lack of visibility. Too many remarkable films go unseen or vanish before reaching the audiences they deserve. Yet they are out there. If you seek, you’ll find. EccoS Journal: What places have you visited that impressed you the most, and why? Niclas Goldberg: In Minas, the cheese and food are as remarkable as the kindness of the people — thoughtful, generous, observant, with a calm intelligence and a subtle sense of humor. The state has many layers beyond what first meets the eye. It does not try to impress; it reveals itself slowly. The beauty of the landscape feels infinite — the mountains, the waterfalls, the red earth, the old mines, and the endless sky — all of it strikingly real and singular.  In Bahia, the rhythm, the warmth, and the colors moved me deeply — the strength of Afro-Brazilian roots, the faith, the smiles, the sea breeze. I would love to explore this state more fully. In both places, there is more poetry in the small things — in everyday life, in simple glances — than in most places I have ever known. They have different energies, yet both feel deeply alive. EccoS Journal: In terms of literature, which classic and modern authors impress you the most? Could you explain why? Niclas Goldberg: I’ll mention some of my favorite poets. I love how Federico García Lorca writes with deep emotion and vivid imagery, how his words carry both beauty and tragedy. The great Carlos Drummond de Andrade finds meaning in everyday life; his poetry is thoughtful, ironic, and deeply human. The genius Tomas Tranströmer has a rare gift for illuminating quiet moments, creating calm poems filled with depth. It’s fascinating how Fernando Pessoa explores different sides of himself through multiple voices — reflective, philosophical, searching. Jack Kerouac impresses with work that feels spontaneous and alive, while Paulo Leminski blends humor, intelligence, and clarity so beautifully in his sharp, concise poems. William Carlos Williams has a remarkable ability to make ordinary things luminous through simple, precise language.