The Last Observers
A Swedish couple’s 36-year commitment to watching the skies.
Since 1987, they did not miss one of their now over 100,000 observations—through the births of their four children, snowstorms or illness. All this time they’ve also remained committed to what originally led them to the station by the lighthouse in Falsterbo, Sweden—their mutual love for birds.
Every third hour. Day and night, seven days a week, every day of the year. Karin and Lennart, a couple deeply in love for over 40 years, have dedicated their lives to a unique cause. When they first met, there were over 200 manual weather stations in Sweden and thousands worldwide, run by observers who diligently watched and registered the conditions every third hour of each day. In the last decades, automated stations have replaced the observers one by one, but Karin and Lennart remained steadfast.
In a world constantly pulled toward efficiency that corrupts experience, Karin and Lennart’s story shines as a beacon of rarity and necessity. Told through the eyes of their daughter Maja, we’re invited into an extraordinary and heartwarming love story, where lasting happiness is found in birds, everyday rhythms and a profound connection with nature. And we’re reminded that one can land “a lousy salary, and a fantastic life.”
Filmmaker
Maja K Mikkelsen is a Sweden-based filmmaker and artist with a background in marine biology. Her work aims to inspire change in an uplifting, relatable way. In a world filled with pressure and guilt-tripping, Maja’s belief is that the biggest changes happen when people feel strong and capable, which happens when they see the good in the world. Her quest for finding grand stories in everyday life can be found in both documentary as well as scripted filmmaking.
Maja K Mikkelsen is a Sweden-based filmmaker and artist with a background in marine biology. Her work aims to inspire change in an uplifting, relatable way. In a world filled with pressure and guilt-tripping, Maja’s belief is that the biggest changes happen when people feel strong and capable, which happens when they see the good in the world. Her quest for finding grand stories in everyday life can be found in both documentary as well as scripted filmmaking.
