Harald Zwart was born in Leiden, Netherlands, and later relocated to Norway, where he spent his formative years. He began making films at the tender age of 8, initially experimenting with Super8 and stop motion animation. This early exposure to filmmaking would lay the groundwork for his future success.
Zwart's passion for the craft led him to pursue a four-year program at the prestigious Dutch Film Academy in Amsterdam, where he specialized in directing, scriptwriting, and editing. His exam film, "Garbriel's Surprise," a poignant tale about a young man granted a second chance by Gabriel to rectify past mistakes, was screened on all Scandinavian television stations and garnered significant attention.
This exposure led to Zwart being headhunted for commercial work in Norway, where he collaborated with his future wife and business partner, Veslemoey Ruud Zwart. Her management skills and entrepreneurial spirit played a crucial role in establishing their company, Zwart Arbeid A/S.
Over the years, Zwart and his wife produced and directed numerous award-winning commercials across Europe, before venturing into feature filmmaking with "Commander Hamilton." Their success in the commercial sphere did not go unnoticed, as they were invited to meet with Steven Spielberg, who was impressed by their concise storytelling and humor.
This meeting marked a turning point, as Zwart and his wife relocated to Los Angeles, where they founded Motion Blur, a commercial film production company. Their first feature film, "One Night At McCool's," boasted an impressive cast, including Michael Douglas, Liv Tyler, John Goodman, Matt Dillon, Paul Reiser, Reba McIntyre, and more.
Since then, Zwart has continued to produce and direct films under the Zwart Arbeid banner, while also establishing Motion Blur films and commercials in Norway. He has traveled extensively to direct commercials for various markets, and in the United States, he is perhaps best known for his work on the Capital One commercials featuring the Vikings.
Zwart's feature film credits include "The Karate Kid," produced by Will Smith and Overbrook/SONY, and "The 12th Man," which was produced under their own company, Zwart Arbeid, and distributed by Nordisk Film.
In recent years, Zwart's Norwegian film, "Lange Flate Ballær," debuted at number one and has become the highest-grossing Norwegian film of 2022.
