David F Sandberg

David Fredrik Sandberg (born 21 January 1981) is a Swedish filmmaker. He came to prominence for writing, directing, producing, editing, and scoring no-budget short horror films, which he released online under the pseudonym "ponysmasher". The most popular of these, Lights Out (2013), received a feature film adaptation in 2016, marking his feature-length directorial debut. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_F._Sandberg (indie)

In his late teens, Sandberg began working as an intern at Film i Jönköping, a local film center in Jönköping. He learned more about filmmaking from Svante Rosberg, the film commissioner who ran Film i Jönköping when he started, and whom Sandberg considers his mentor. Starting in 2006, Sandberg found moderate online success making animated short films

Vad Tyst Det Blev, the latter of which garnered 1.7 million views on YouTube. As a result of his increased visibility, he began to receive offers for animation work; his first job was working as a consultant on the TV show Myggan on the Swedish Channel 5.

He continued working at Film i Jönköping, primarily working on documentary projects

In 2013, he began to shift his focus away from animation and documentary works and towards short horror films. According to Sandberg, his original goal with filmmaking had been to make horror and sci-fi films, and he felt he needed to have some existing work in that field in order to get funding for future work. Lacking any funding of his own, his shorts were made with no budget: his equipment and props consisted mostly of items he already had or could buy very cheaply, and his only cast and crew were himself and Lotta Losten, his wife. He released his films on both Vimeo and YouTube, using his alias "ponysmasher". He then released his second horror short, Lights Out (2013), which centered around a monster that only exists when the lights are turned out. The film was a viral success, and quickly garnered millions of views. According to Sandberg, his life changed "in every way imaginable" after Lights Out; he began receiving tons of messages from film industry people who wanted to work with him.

One of these contacts was Lawrence Grey, a producer who wanted to adapt Lights Out into a feature-length film. Grey brought screenwriter Eric Heisserer and producer James Wan on board to collaborate and produce a script with Sandberg, who would also direct the new feature

In 2019, Sandberg directed the DC Extended Universe superhero film Shazam!, based on the DC Comics character of the same name. The film received positive reviews

In 2023, after the release of Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Sandberg stated he was "done" with the superhero genre and expressed a desire to return to horror. He then directed and produced the 2025 film adaptation of the video game Until Dawn.

Sandberg is set to direct and produce the horror film The Culling with his wife Lotta Losten through their production company Mångata. The film will be distributed by Lionsgate. He is set to direct the film adaptation of Cullen Bunn and Jack T. Cole's graphic novel The Unsound and thriller Below, both for Netflix.