Stig Bjorkman 1972, 50 minutes.
Part 2 of a series of Docs on Auteurs.
Join us for this rare, beautifully made documentary about legendary Swedish film and theater director Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007). Originally made for Swedish television, this film was made during the preparation and shooting of Bergman’s film, The Touch, and gives a unique and penetrating portrait of this shy and interesting artist. The film also contains a long interview with Bergman during which he analyzes and defines the practical and ethical sides of film direction. Stig Bjorkman, famous as a critic and editor of the Swedish cinema journal Chaplin, has put together the most satisfactory kind of documentary, for, luckily, Bergman is more at ease before the camera than he would be before a live audience. Since Bjorkman himself became a film director (I Love, You Love; Georgia, Georgia) he presents the material in a very interesting way. For instance, Bergman talks about a difficult sequence in The Touch and we see him directing Bibi Anderson in that particular scene. We also hear her views on acting this scene, then, finally, we see it as it is upon completion. Other works discussed by Bergman are The Silence, Shame, and Persona, with illustrative sequences from these films to bolster his observations. Members of Bergman’s acting repertory are also interviewed (Bibi Andersson, Elliott Gould, Max von Sydow, Liv Ullman), by then end one feels like he knows the director on an intimate level.
As a special treat before the documentary, we will be showing the rare Bergman documentary short Karin’s Face (1984, 14 minutes), which is a film compiled mostly from photos of Bergman’s mother Karin.
This screening was curated with Cullen Gallagher, film and literary critic, who is a regular contributor for The L Magazine, Not Coming to a Theater Near You, Hammer to Nail, as well as other publications.
Special thanks to the American-Scandinavian Foundation and the Swedish Consulate.
