Summer's Tale (1941)

Arne Sucksdorff’s first film for Svensk Filmindustri, this lyrical short follows a fox cub through his playful explorations and predatory instincts in the Swedish forest. Blending moments of enchantment with unsentimental depictions of cruelty, the film captures the cycle of survival among animals with striking rhythmic editing and sensuous close-ups of fur, eyes, and forest textures. Rich in light and detail, Summer’s Tale became an enormously popular nature film and established Sucksdorff’s reputation for poetic documentary.