A compelling, intense report from the streets of Stockholm – and in one tragic sequence, the city of Visby, where a murder in 2022 shook the political establishment during a summer week where politicians every year gather to meet voters.

Whenever a protest is scheduled in Stockholm, a special group of cops are invaluable. Established after the disastrous 2001 Gothenburg riots, these men and women are plain-clothes police officers specially trained to serve as a liaison between riot police and protesters. Their job: to keep heads cool and make sure things don’t get out of hand.

The film convincingly shows what a great job they do, dealing with aggressive people all the time, including notorious Quran burner Rasmus Paludan.

2025-Sweden. 90 min. Color. Directed by Susanna Edwards. Screenplay: Martin Bengtsson, Susanna Edwards. Editing: Stefan Sundstöm, Magnus Svensson. 

Trivia: Original title: Dialogpolisen.

Guldbagge Award: Best Editing.

Last word: “I was moved by how much effort they put into treating everyone equally. It’s not easy, but it’s their goal. I saw how they tried to make space for all voices, regardless of the message. And several of the dialogue officers spoke out openly and criticized their own agency when it didn’t follow the law or didn’t treat everyone equally. So there are tensions. Sometimes the incident commander has different ideas than the dialogue officers about how to handle a demonstration. In those cases, the dialogue officers have no say and must adapt to the police leadership.” (Edwards, Doxumentale)