Yesterday was the last day of the fourth Bergman Week, the small and intimate festival, on the island of Fårö, co-arranged by Göteborg International Film Festival. Among this year’s guests were British actor and director Kenneth Branagh, Swedish Bergman actress Bibi Andersson and Swedish pianist Käbi Laretei. Branagh screened his film version of Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute and introduced his Bergman favourite Fanny and Alexander.
– My friends sometimes ask me if I am influenced by this film. My answer is: ”I am not only influenced – I have stolen from it!”, a satisfied Branagh said.
Next summer, the 14th of July, 2008, Ingmar Bergman will be celebrating his 90th birthday. Göteborg International Film Festival will honour the legenday director with a grand Bergman retrospective, during the 31:st festival, in January -February, 2008.
The retrospective will include around 50 of Ingmar Bergman’s feature films, the main part of his feature film production. The screenings will start already in the beginning of January, before the actual festival kick off.
– Ingmar Bergman has been the honourary president of the festival for many years and because of that it feels great to celebrate him in this way. His films are worth discovering and rediscovering over and over again. We are happy to be able to invite our audience to this grand Bergman fire works, says festival director Marit Kapla.
The festival’s new international competition – The Ingmar Bergman International Debut Award – will take place for the second time at the 31st festival. The award goes to a debutant "who in his or her film treats an existential theme with a dynamic or experimental approach to the cinematic means of expression". The award consists of a one week stay during the Bergman Week in the summer of 2008 and a beautiful stone from Bergman's own Fårö beach, with the director's name engraved. The international competition is now open for submission.