Killing Gävle

In the small city of Gävle in northern Sweden, there is an annual fight between local custodians and mischievous pagans for the spirit of Christmas.
Each year since 1966, local business owners have paid for a 40ft (13 metre) effigy of a goat to be made of straw and displayed in the city’s central square from the first day of Advent. In 37 of those years, the goat has been burned down or damaged by shadowy outsiders, sometimes within a few hours of going up. In this film, residents from both sides of the goat conflict explain their hopes and motivations as Advent ticks down to Christmas

Key credits
Director and producer: Joe Fletcher
Director of photography and editor: Bernat Mestres
Soundtrack by GOAT – https://www.facebook.com/goatsweden
Executive producers for the Guardian: Charlie Phillips and Lindsay Poulton
Commissioned by the Guardian and Docsville

How’s the Gävle goat doing this year? Is it in flames or still standing? Check on the goat’s status on the Gävle city council webcam – http://visitgavle.se/sv/gavlebocken

Sign up to our documentaries newsletter ► https://www.theguardian.com/info/2016/sep/02/sign-up-for-the-guardian-documentaries-update

Subscribe to The Guardian ► http://is.gd/subscribeguardian

Support the Guardian ► https://theguardian.com/supportus

The Guardian ► https://www.theguardian.com

Playlists:
Guardian documentaries ► http://bit.ly/GDNdocs
Guardian VR ► http://bit.ly/GDNVR
Guardian Features ► http://bit.ly/GDNfeatures
Anywhere but Westminster ► http://bit.ly/ABWseries
Anywhere but Washington ► http://bit.ly/ABWUSseries
Owen Jones meets ► http://bit.ly/CorbynJones
Guardian Animations & Explanations ►http://is.gd/explainers
Guardian Investigations ► http://is.gd/guardianinvestigations

The Guardian’s YouTube channels:
Guardian News ► http://is.gd/guardianwires
Owen Jones talks ► http://bit.ly/subsowenjones
Guardian Football ► http://is.gd/guardianfootball
Guardian Science and Tech ► http://is.gd/guardiantech
Guardian Culture ► http://is.gd/guardianculture