In 1978 Gunnar Carlsson founded Göteborg Film Festival and was the managing director and programer up to 1994 when he went to the Swedish Film Institute, were he became the Head of the International Department. He was then for many years SVT:s Commissioning Editor for Drama, Film and Documentaries. From 2013 he was the CEO of Anagram Sverige AB in Lund, a company he now serve as a Senior Adviser. He has been on the board of Eurimages and the Nordic Film and TV Fund.