Interview with Ingmar Bergman Foundation

Ingmar Bergman won four Academy Awards.

The Ingmar Bergman Foundation administres the Ingmar Bergman Archives, as well as spread information about Ingmar Bergman and his works. It organizes theatrical performances taken from his works, staged in Los Angeles, London, Washington.

Q. How does the Ingmar Bergman Foundation work?

A. The Ingmar Bergman Foundation was founded in 2002 by the Swedish Film Institute, the film production company Svensk Filmindustri, the broadcaster Sveriges Television and the Royal Dramatic Theatre. It was created as a reply to the initiative of Ingmar Bergman to donate his private archive. The administration of this archive is the main objective of the Ingmar Bergman Foundation.

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Ingmar Bergman Foundation

Q. Many films are transposed to theater, as “After the Rehearsal”, “The Serpent's Egg”, “Scenes from a Marriage”. How does the audience react?

A. Ingmar Bergman wrote his screenplays as classic drama. They are eminently adaptable to the stage, and each year about sixty new productions are being made in theaters all over the world. Many of the productions are great successes. Scenes From a Marriage alone has been staged over a hundred times.

Q. I recently revisited “Through a Glass Darkly”, and I was struck by the philosophical rigor of the movie, the fact that love is the only way to save the disease. Do you agree?

A. Well, I do agree with your assessment of the rigor of the film. As for the philosophical questions (and perhaps answers) it implies, I think it is best to leave the interpretations to the audience.

Q. How was Bergman's life on Fårö island?

A. Bergman’s life on Fårö island was strictly bound by certain almost ritualistic habits. Breakfast at 8. Writing between 9 and 12. Lunch at noon. Other kind of work between 1 and 5. Dinner. The screening of a film at 6pm. Then television, often accompanied by ice-cream.

Q. What is your favourite movie?

A. My own favorites change! But Wild Strawberries, The Silence, Persona and Fanny and Alexander keep coming back. If I had to choose one personal favorite, though, it would be Winter Light. It is Bergman at his most uncompromising, but still so deeply moving. I love that film.