Ingmar Bergman produced two films about his beloved Fårö, the island on which he made his longterm home and that served as the setting for seven of his films including Through a Glass Darkly, Scenes from a Marriage and Persona.
In 1969, troubled by the island's disappearing traditions and the exodus of its young people to the mainland, Bergman made a surprisingly direct and political document about Fårö's importance. Swedish critics hailed it as "one of his finest films." Ten years later, he decided to take a second look at situation, and made his second Fårö Document (a third was planned for 1989, but was never made). The update is surprisingly optimistic, with several remarkable "then and now" juxtapositions. The unhappy teenagers about to decamp for Stockholm in the first film turn out to have settled into the quiet, isolated Fårö life.
Interweaving scenes of extraordinary beauty with interviews and rigorous sequences depicting everyday chores, customs and rituals on Fårö, Bergman develops a complex, understated and loving portrait of his tiny island. Both documentaries will screen during the upcoming Ingmar Bergman Festival of Gotland in New York. Take a look below for more information:
November 2 2011
Directed by Ingmar Bergman (Sweden, 1969). 60 min.
Fårö Document 1979
November 4 2011
Directed by Ingmar Bergman (Sweden, 1979). 103 min.
For more information about Gotland in New York, please visit here.
Earlier this year, the 1969 version of Fåro Document was released on DVD for the first time ever and is available from The Bergman Center (run by the Fårö Bergman Center Foundation).
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