Bergman's Fårö
Juni 2 at 5 pm-7 pm. Målarsalen, Dramaten
Free admission
Language: Swedish
The screening of the 1969 documentary Fårö Document is followed by a panel discussion with Fårö spokeswoman Kerstin Kalström, Professor Emerita Birgitta Steene, who has studied Ingmar Bergman’s landscapes and the chairman of a recently founded foundation for the promotion of a Bergman Centre on Fårö. The discussion is led by Jannike Åhlund, project manager.
"If you want to be formal, you could say that I have found a home, a real home. If you want to be funny you could talk about love at first sight.”
Ingmar Bergman lived on Fårö for forty years. Apart from Through a Glass Darkly, Bergman was to make three feature films, one television series, two documentaries and a short film on the island. He built his house near the site where Persona was made.
The films in which the unique landscape of Fårö has been most exploited are Through a Glass Darkly, Persona, The Shame and A Passion. The harsh, rocky landscape against the background of the wide Baltic Sea has often been interpreted as a metaphor for the emotional lives of the characters. A bourgeois country idyll, (holiday) escape, war zone and Golgotha – Bergman has used the island to illustrate heaven and hell and it has been the background of anything from marriage problems to mental illness, fear of death and scenes of reconciliation. Not only has the Fårö been the scene of states of mind, it has been a very concrete topic of debate and regional politics.
Bergman became involved in island life from early on. In his Fårö Document (1969) and the sequel Fårö Document 1979, he described daily life on the island against the background of depopulation and changes in the economy with fishing and farming giving way to tourism. He alternated lambing scenes with interviews with old and young about their way of life and future on Fårö.
The Bergman the locals knew was far from the world-famous demon director. At the memorial service at the island’s community centre in August 2007, people remembered him as a neighbour, employer and builder.
Ingmar Bergman was buried at Fårö Church.
During the panel discussion, led by Jannike Åhlund, well-informed people will be discussing Bergman’s Fårö now and in the future;
-Professor Emerita Birgitta Steene is the author of Ingmar Bergman, A Reference Guide. She has studied landscape and meaning in Bergman’s films.
-Kerstin Kalström lives on Fårö and is the islanders’ spokeswoman. She is involved in the building plans for a Bergman Centre on the island.
Blogcomment