(hh/vis) It was in 2000, when INTERFILM, supported by Ylva Liljeholm and Karin Nyberg-Fleisher, organised a seminar in Örebro/Sweden. This year, INTERFILM returned to Sweden, inviting its members to the islands of Gotland and Fårö to take part in a seminar prepared again by Ylva Liljeholm meanwhile moving to Gotland’s main city Visby, and by Jes Nysten (Denmark), member of INTERFILM’s Steering Committee. The event was sponsored by the Cultural Department of the Swedish Church and took place in the framework of the Bergman Week on Fårö (www.bergmanveckan.se) where Sweden’s most famous director found his final resting place.
Bergman's grave on Fårö
Through a Glass Darkly – We See A Mystery
Considerable parts of the seminar took place in an old school house in Bygdegården on Fårö, beginning with a lecture of film critic and theologian Jes Nysten from Denmark. Using the "mirror scene" in Wild Strawberries as a starting point, he pondered Bergman’s use of the mirror as a symbol of man’s lack of understanding of both himself and others. The mirror, "the other’s gaze", offers a negative and false self-understanding. How can we see our true selves – face to face? This theme is also recurrent in the works of younger Nordic directors like Åke Sandgren and Simon Staho. Jes Nysten is a priest in Roskilde and a film critic for various publications.
Tomas Ericson and the others. Pastoral characters in Bergman’s film
Having regard to research and reflections for his dissertation Peter Ciaccio gave a lecture on Bergman’s pastoral characters who refer to
his childhood experience as a pastor’s son. However, Peter Ciaccio made a sharp distinction between Bergman’s biography and the func-tion of pastors in his films under-lining that they are shaped by his imagination and concepts and differ substantially from documents of his life. Even Bergman's autobiography contradicts other evidence in this respect. Peter Ciaccio himself serves as a pastor in a Valdensian commu-nity near Rome and is in charge of INTERFILM’s filial organisation in Italy, the Associazione protestante del cinema “Roberto Sbaffi”.
Hans Hodel and Peter Ciaccio at Bygdegården
August Strindberg and Ingmar Bergman: A Symbiotic Connection
Ingmar Bergman once said: „I’ve had a hard time with Strindberg“. Birgitta Steene, this year’s recipient oft he Strindberg Prize and contributing text editor of „The Ingmar Bergman Archives“ (winner of the August Book Award in 2008), lectured on Strindberg’s life-long impact on Bergman. It is an impact which, in Bergman’s own words, was based in both „repulsion and attraction“. To Bergman, Strindberg was established from early on as a kind of sibling soul whose presence made itself felt both in Bergman’s theatre work and in several of his films. Birgitta Steene is also author of the fundamental source for research on Bergman’s oeuvre, “Ingmar Bergman: A Reference Guide” (2006).
“Lighting is easy (turn on a lamp!) - the hard part is deciding where the shadows should be.“
In a personal recollection, illustrated by his own photos and clips from some Bergman films, Bo-Erik Gyberg talked about his experiences and impressions from working with Bergman’s favourite cinematographer, Sven Nykvist. Having worked closely with Nykvist on two Bergman feature films as a still photographer and assistant, Gyberg joined Nykvist on several international jobs in the 1970’s.They often talked about life, their profession and, above all, about light. The title oft he lecture is from one of their conversations.
Crisis (1946)
In one of Fårö’s rural cinema theatres, the “Bio”, the participants took the opportunity to watch Crisis, Ingmar Bergman’s directorial debut as a filmmaker. The stepdaughter of a piano teacher is courted by her real mother’s decadent lover. „Crisis is my first film. If someone had asked me to film the telephone directory I would have done it.“ (Ingmar Bergman).
The cinema "Bio" on Fårö
Bus Tour „Location Fårö“
On a bus tour the INTERFILM group followed the traces of films Ingmar Bergman shot on Fårö. During the guided tour, which spanned 3,5 hours they visited locations from Persona, Through a Glass Darkly, A Passion, Shame and Scenes from a Marriage. At the respective spots they could compare their impressions to a recently produced video with clips from the Fårö settings in the films. During the ride they also watched clips from the two documentaries Bergman had shot on Fårö.
Palermo Shooting by Wim Wenders
The seminar closed with the Swedish première of Wenders film Palermo Shooting, which was in competition of last year’s Cannes Film Festival. Photographer Finn (rock star Campino) leads a hectic but exciting life. When a nightly car crash almost claims his life, he finds himself face to face with life’s pointlessness. He travels to Palermo – the city of death – to regain his lust for life, but instead meets Death (Dennis Hopper). A philosophical thriller reminiscent of both Wild Strawberries and Seventh Seal – dedicated by Wenders to his favourite directors Bergman and Antonioni, who passed away on the same day in 2007. After the screening, Wim Wenders discussed with the audience. Wenders was honoured with the Special Award for his artistic achievements by the Ecumenical Jury on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of INTERFILM at the Locarno Film Festival 2005.
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