Sollefteå cult investigated in new SVT documentary series

SVT has released the first two episodes of the documentary series ‘Hövdingen’, which investigates a cult that established a camp near Sollefteå, Sweden, approximately 35 years ago. The group was led by a figure claiming to be from a Canadian indigenous community, promising to save the world through magical powers and a return to nature.

While the movement initially attracted followers from vegan and hippie circles in Sweden, Denmark, and France, the documentary reveals that the utopian dream devolved into a closed world characterized by starvation, lies, and control. The series highlights the dark consequences for members, including deaths and the impact on children who were born into or raised within the cult without access to formal schooling or the outside world.

Producer Eva Lövroth noted that the project involved over a year of work and interviews with approximately 40 people. The documentary aims to bring attention to the experiences of the children involved and the reality of the group's internal dynamics.