by Alex Das

Gustav Högmo, '18

Gustav Högmo graduated from SBCC in 2018, burdened by the great weight of all his awards, and earning  Associate of the Arts degrees in both Theatre Arts and Film Production. In truth, his success stunned precious few of those of us who know him. The very same year, Hogmo’s short film “Stunning,” was screened in Armenia, Sweden, Australia and the United States. In February of 2019, “Stunning,” would be shown at the prestigious Santa Barbara International Film Festival. 

Högmo came to SBCC at age 22, having seen an advertisement for the college in study abroad pamphlet. He says of his experience in the program: “Best choice I ever made, without a doubt. Everything I know about acting, I learned at SBCC.” Armed with a demo reel made from clips of SBCC productions he performed in, he has gone on to act in more than 15 short films, and many stage plays. “All the experiences and productions I was a part of have given me a great, broad knowledge of how the industry works,” said Högmo.

Now, usually when people talk about a “Triple Threat,” in the context of actors, they mean an actor who can sing, dance and act. However, Högmo’s particular blend of skills renders that epithet obsolete, for he not only wrote, directed, and acted in “Stunning,” he also composed the score of the film himself. He graduated from SBCC as one of the Film Program’s most awarded students to date, boasting 11 awards including acting, directing, screenwriting, and original score.

In the years following his graduation, Högmo has found his way to VIS Productions, a Swedish production company where he is credited as the production company’s Writer, Director and Composer, and “Stunning,” is under development to become a feature film. He also is an actor represented by the Schultzberg Agency.

To prospective students of the arts, Högmo has a piece of advice: “If you’re in theatre or film, make sure you’re a part of as many productions as possible. Not only are they great fun and will give you friends for life but the productions made at SBCC are of great quality and will put you ahead of others when you graduate.”

To learn more about Gustav Högmo, you can find him on LinkedIn, IMDB, Filmfreeway and Backstage.