Lasse Hallström

Lars Sven "Lasse" Hallström (born June 2, 1946) is a Swedish film director. He has received three Academy Award nominations: two for *My Life as a Dog* (*Mitt liv som hund*) (1985) in the categories of Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, and one for *The Cider House Rules* (1999) in the Best Director category. Hallström honed his skills by directing music videos, particularly for the group ABBA. Following the international success of *My Life as a Dog* (1985), Hallström transitioned to working in American cinema. His first major success in the United States was *What's Eating Gilbert Grape* (1993). He achieved his greatest level of recognition with *The Cider House Rules* (1999) and *Chocolat* (2000), both of which were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. His 2012 film *The Hypnotist* was submitted as Sweden's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 85th Academy Awards, though it did not advance to the final shortlist.