Ingmar Bergman

Who is Ingmar Bergman?

Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish film and theatre director and screenwriter widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in cinema history. Born in Uppsala to a strict Lutheran clergyman father, he explored themes of faith, mortality, isolation and human relationships throughout his work. He directed more than sixty films and documentaries and staged numerous theatrical productions, many at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm. His acclaimed films include The Seventh Seal (1957), with its iconic image of a knight playing chess with Death, Wild Strawberries (1957), Persona (1966), Cries and Whispers (1972), and Fanny and Alexander (1982). He worked repeatedly with a company of trusted actors and with cinematographer Sven Nykvist. Bergman received numerous international honours, including multiple Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, and his introspective, psychologically intense style profoundly shaped modern art cinema.

Sources: Ingmar Bergman, The Seventh Seal (film, 1957) · Ingmar Bergman, The Magic Lantern (autobiography, 1987)