Born in Limhamn, Skåne, Sweden. Former elementary school teacher who began collaborating on films with director Bo Widerberg in the early 1960s. Troell made his own feature directing debut in 1965 and went on to become one of his country's leading filmmakers. His best known work outside Sweden is the sweeping dyptich UTVANDRARNA / THE EMIGRANTS (1971) and NYBYGGARNA / THE NEW LAND (1972), based on novels by Vilhelm Moberg and starring Liv Ullmann and Max von Sydow. He has made two US films, the disappointing ZANDY'S BRIDE (1974) and HURRICANE (1979). Other notable writing/directing/shooting credits include INGENJÖR ANDRÉES LUFTFÄRD / THE FLIGHT OF THE EAGLE (1982), SAGOLANDET / LAND OF DREAMS (1988), IL CAPITANO (1991), HAMSUN (1996), EN FRUSEN DRÖM / A FROZEN DREAM (1997), FRÅN SVERIGE I TIDEN and 92.8 MHz - DRÖMMAR I SÖDER (both 2000), SÅ VIT SOM EN SNÖ / AS WHITE AS IN SNOW (2001), NÄRVARANDE / PRESENCE (2003), and MARIA LARSSONS EVIGA ÖGONBLICK / MARIA LARSSON'S EVERLASTING MOMENT (2008).  Nominated for Directing 1972: UTVANDRARNA (THE EMIGRANTS)  Nominated for Writing (Best Screenplay based on material from another medium) 1972: UTVANDRARNA (THE EMIGRANTS) (w. Bengt Forslund) 2 nominations