Edward af Sillén

Edward af Sillén (born 25 September 1982 in Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil) is a Swedish screenwriter and director for stage, film and TV. He has translated and directed numerous successful theatre shows including Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, The Drowsy Chaperone, Bull and Cock by Mike Bartlett, Torch Song Trilogy by Harvey Fierstein, Shirley Valentine by Willy Russell, and Art by Yasmina Reza.

Af Sillén has worked on Melodifestivalen and the Eurovision Song Contest as a director, commentator and screenwriter, including in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 where he wrote and directed the interval act "Love Love Peace Peace" with Fredrik Kempe. Following on from writing his first film Medicinen, his second writing Holy Mess became the biggest Swedish film of 2015. In 2019, he directed A Piece of My Heart, a jukebox musical film based on the music of Tomas Ledin and starring Malin Akerman, which was nominated for an Audience Award at the Guldbagge Awards.

Career
Edward started his career as an actor. Performing both at the Lorensbergsteatern and Stockholm National Theatre. Aged 18, he did stand-up comedy. Hungry to work in the creative side of entertainment and theatre, he knew he could get his foot in the door as an actor.

Film
2014 saw Af Sillén write his first feature film Medicinen. Based on the 2009 book of the same name, written by Hans Koppel (pseudonym Petter Lidbeck). The book was reworked into a screenplay by Af Sillén and his writing partner Daniel Réhn. An all-star cast including Ewa Fröling and Maria Lundqvist, was led by Helena Bergström.

Af Sillén’s second film was the Swedish comedy Holy Mess, again written with Daniel Réhn and starring Robert Gustafsson, Maria Lundqvist and Helena Bergström. Seen by 77,736 people during its premiere weekend, it broke records with the biggest opening for a Swedish film in 2015. It went on to become the most popular Swedish film of 2015, and grossed over $8 million at the box office. The film won Film of the Year at the QX Gaygala 2016.

In December 2019, Af Sillén directed his third and biggest feature film, A Piece of My Heart, a jukebox musical based on the music of Tomas Ledin. The film stars Malin Akerman as Isabella, a lead business woman in the financial district of Stockholm, who returns home to celebrate her father's birthday.

Af Sillén is set to return to cinema direction in his upcoming film Ett sista race, which he also wrote the script for, working once again with Malin Akerman and David Hellenius. The film is based on the Norwegian film Børning.

Theatre
Af Sillén’s theatrical work includes Swedish translations of Steel Magnolias, Torch Song Trilogy by Harvey Fierstein, Rock of Ages and The Ladykillers. He directed Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, the play V.D. and the musical Hair at Stockholm’s National Theatre. His direction of Priscilla the Musical was followed by his translation and direction of the Tony Award winning musical The Drowsy Chaperone in 2015. That same year Af Sillén directed. as well as translated the plays Rumors and the Laurence Olivier Award winner Cock.

Af Sillén has written and directed national tours for major Swedish artists such as Tomas Ledin, Ola Salo and Peter Jöback. He teamed up with Alcazar to create their first full production concert. Disco Defenders was a greatest hits residency which début in the Rondo at Lisberg, Gothenburg Summer 2015. The production moved to Hamburger Börs, Stockholm in Winter 2015. After another sell out run, the group took the show on a national tour then returned to Hamburger Börs in 2016.

Television
2004 brought Af Sillén's screenwriting breakthrough with the script for host Maria Lundqvist at the Guldbagge Awards, the Swedish equivalent of the Academy Awards. He returned in 2007 not only as Sissela Kyle’s scriptwriter, but as director of the show live on SVT.

Af Sillén was recruited by Melodifestivalen supervisor Christer Björkman to write and direct the 2009 edition. His mix of humour, music and sparkle saw him return in 2010, 2012 and 2013. After a two-year break, he came back in 2016 to much acclaim. His parody sketch song "Här står jag", performed by Charlotte Perrelli, topped the Swedish iTunes chart. To boost declining viewer figures, Af Sillén was hired as a consultant for the 2019 edition. In 2024, he was inducted into the Melodifestivalen Hall of Fame by SVT.

A lifelong lover of the Eurovision Song Contest, Af Sillén became the Swedish commentator for SVT in 2009. The following year he wrote the script for his first contest in 2010. He has continued to serve as commentator since, with the exceptions of the 2013 and 2016 contests, held in Malmö and Stockholm respectively, for which he wrote the script. In 2015, the BBC hired him to co-write the script of Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits, a special show to commemorate the 60th edition of Eurovision. The interval act "Love Love Peace Peace", written by Af Sillén and performed by presenters Petra Mede and Måns Zelmerlöw during the final of the 2016 contest, became a highlight of the show. The Independent named it the "ultimate interval act, somehow even upstaging Justin Timberlake himself". Buzzfeed commented that the presenters were the "best thing about this year's contest". Af Sillén will write the script for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö.

In 2021, Af Sillén served as a judge on the 11th and 12th series of TV4's Talang, the Swedish version of the Got Talent franchise.

Personal life
Edward af Sillén is openly gay. Born in Brazil he was adopted by a Swedish father and an American mother.