SIFF Tribute To Masters | The Ingmar Bergman 100-Year Jubilee

Poster for The Ingmar Bergman 100-Year Jubilee

The year 2018 marks 100 years since the birth of Ingmar Bergman. An ambitious program of exhibitions, theatrical performances, film screenings, timed to celebrate in 2018 the centenary of the famous Swedish Director Ingmar Bergman, presented recently in London, on which occasion the cities and institutions to participate the program were also announced. As one of the stops, the Shanghai International Film Festival will join hands with the Ingmar Bergman Foundation, Swedish Film Institute and Consulate General of Sweden in Shanghai to hold the Special Panorama for the 100th Anniversary of Ingmar Bergman’s Birth during the 21st SIFF scheduled in next June, to screen the masterpieces of the great cinematographic artist.

Ingmar Bergman

Ingmar Bergman was not only the national director of Sweden, but also one of the most prestigious film artists in the history of cinema. Born in Uppsala, Sweden on 14 July, 1918, he had directed over sixty films (including features and short films), winning the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for four times and multiple honors at the three major film festivals in Europe. His most renowned films include THE SEVENTH SEAL (1957), WILD STRAWBERRIES (1957), PERSONA (1966), CRIES AND WHISPERS (1972) and FANNY AND ALEXANDER (1982). 

THE SEVENTH SEAL (1957)

Besides his extraordinary achievements in the field of films, Bergman was also an active and productive stage director and TV producer all his life. He had taken up the position as a director at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Sweden, Gothenburg city theatre and Helsingborg City Theatre successively, producing over 170 plays.

PERSONA (1966)

One of the most important motifs in the artistic creation of Bergman, is the questioning on faith and emotions. He poured serious mental enquires and profound philosophic thoughts into his images and footages, pushing the audience to ponder over the situations the modern people are facing in his self-reflection. Bergman used his distinctive and acute moving stokes to probe into the innermost of human natures, and then re-interpret the pains of the masses. Therefore, his works are regarded the icon of modern artistic films, inspiring his numerous successors in a fundamental way, including established directors Woody Allen and Ang Lee.

Ang Lee and Ingmar Bergman

On 30 July, 2007, Bergman passed away of illness on the island where he spent his afterlife – Fårö, at the age of 89. By coincidence, another great film maker, Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni died on the same day. The leaving of the two masters makes 30 July the most melancholy day in the history of modern films.

CRIES AND WHISPERS (1972)

In memory of the eternal contributions made by Ingmar Bergman to the contemporary film culture, the program tour associated with the centenary of Bergman will start in the autumn of 2017, which is to showcase all the remarkable artistic traits of this filmmaker, dramatist and writer, paying homage to him while inspiring others in the fields of films, stagings, books, dance performances ，musical compositions，etc.

Ingmar Bergman and Liv Ullmann

Sweden famous film actress Liv Ullmann also attended the press conference. She has starred in many films and dramas directed by Ingmar Bergman, such as CRIES AND WHISPERS and AUTUMN SONATA, known as the muse of Bergman.“Ingmar Bergman not only enriched my life through films, literature and plays, but also enlightened the whole world. The commemoration will make people realize that he was one of the most influential and creative figures in the movie history. I firmly believe, his great heritage will continue to glow on the international stage,” Liv Ullmann also said at the conference.

LOGO for The Ingmar Bergman 100-Year Jubilee

As an important stop of the global program, the 21st Shanghai International Film Festival in June 2018 will share the classic film productions and documentaries of Bergman at the Tribute To Masters program, and the audience will also have the chance to participate in the thematic activities to pay their tribute in the Ingmar Bergman Panorama specially created for the fans in Shanghai.