There are several great actors inextricably associated with Ingmar Bergman’s art, but none has been more impactful than Liv Ullmann. Born in Tokyo of Norwegian parents, she began her theatrical career in Norway in the late 1950s and entered Ingmar Bergman’s life in 1965, when he cast her in Persona.
Ullmann and Bergman lived together for five years and had a daughter (Linn Ullmann, now a noted Norwegian novelist and journalist). Over the course of their relationship, followed by an extended friendship parallel to her years in Hol- lywood and on Broadway, Liv Ullmann acted in 10 of Bergman’s films, and she assumed the director’s chair herself for two screenplays he wrote after he had essentially retired from film direction. Ullmann has been a strong advocate for humanitarian causes and is also the author of two elegant memoirs, Changing and Choices.
Along with our colleagues at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (where she appears February 1 and 3), we extend a warm welcome to Liv Ullmann on her visit to the Bay Area to celebrate Bergman 100.
2018 marks the centenary of Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007), the Swedish writer and director widely recognized as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. Bergman 100 is the encompassing title for numerous programs around the world, hon- oring his enormous contributions to film, theater and literature. At the California Film Institute, we are excited to participate with special programs and events taking place at the Smith Rafael Film Center.
LIV & INGMAR
FRIDAY, FEB. 2 • 5:00
In this recent documentary, Liv Ullmann (speaking in English) recalls her intense relationship and lasting friendship with Ingmar Bergman. Her eloquent commentary and visits to Bergman’s home on the Swedish island of Fårö are artfully interspersed with scenes from their films together. Director: Dheeraj Akolkar (Sweden 2012) 83 min.
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AN EVENING WITH LIV ULLMANN
FRIDAY, FEB. 2 • 7:30 SOLD OUT
Liv Ullmann will participate in an onstage interview and discussion about her work with Ingmar Bergman, illustrated with film clips from films they made together. “To work with Ingmar,” she has written, “is to go on a journey of discovery within my own self.” Program approximately 100 minutes.
ADMISSION TO THIS PROGRAM: $20 General | $15 CFI Members
SOLD OUT
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SHAME
SATURDAY, FEB 3 • 2:00
Ingmar Bergman’s powerful war allegory stars Liv Ullmann and Max von Sydow as a couple who ignore a distant conflict until blind destruction shatters their rural community. Ullmann considers this masterpiece to be urgently relevant. In Swedish with English subtitles. With Gunnar Björnstrand. Writer/Director: Ingmar Bergman. (Sweden 1968) 103 min.
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PERSONA
SATURDAY, FEB 3 • 4:15
In Liv Ullmann’s first collaboration with Bergman, she plays an actress who lapses into total silence. Bibi Andersson (another great Bergman muse) is the nurse who tends to her on an isolated island. Communication, confession and identity are at the heart of this daring, complex and magnificent film. In Swedish with English subtitles. Camera: Sven Nykvist. Writer/Director: Ingmar Bergman. (Sweden 1966) 85 min.
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HOUR OF THE WOLF
SATURDAY, FEB 3 • 6:30
After the disappearance of an artist (Max von Sydow), his young wife (Liv Ullmann) recalls his sleepless nights haunted by darkness and demons of his imagination. This great (and underrated) tale of psychological horror features extraordinary surrealist imagery. In Swedish with English subtitles. With Erland Josephson, Ingrid Thulin. Camera: Sven Nykvist. Writer/Director: Ingmar Bergman. (Sweden 1968) 89 min.
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AUTUMN SONATA
LIV ULLMAN IN PERSON
SUNDAY, FEB 4 • 3:00 SOLD OUT
Liv Ullmann will participate in a discussion following the screening of this beautiful chamber drama, one of the final projects for Ingrid Bergman, who plays a concert pianist who has neglected family for career. Now comes a reckoning with her daughter (Liv Ullmann), who hasn’t seen her in many years. In Swedish with English subtitles. With Lena Nyman, Erland Josephson, Gunnar Björnstrand. Camera: Sven Nykvist. Writer/Director: Ingmar Bergman.
ADMISSION TO THIS PROGRAM: $15 General | $12 CFI Members
SOLD OUT
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FAITHLESS
INTRO. BY LIV ULLMANN
SUNDAY, FEB 4 • 6:30
Screened in a 35mm print, this second film that Liv Ullmann directed from an Ingmar Bergman screenplay stars Erland Josephson as an isolated, elderly dramatist named Bergman, whose conscience conjures his muse (Lena Endre), an actress who relates her powerful story of adultery, jealousy and guilt. 35mm print from SF Studios and the Swedish Film Institute. Rated R. In Swedish with English subtitles. Writer: Ingmar Bergman. Director: Liv Ullmann. (Sweden 2000) 155 min.
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Support for this series has been provided by the Consulate General of Sweden, San Francisco, the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation and Norway House Foundation. We also thank the Swedish Film Institute, SF Studios, Janus Films and our programming partner BAMPFA (Susan Oxtoby, Senior Film Curator).
