Most of the 2010s decade has been for me strongly linked to Ingmar Bergman. Firstly, I spent three years working on a television series and documentary film titled Trespassing Bergman. I travelled all over the world talking to filmmakers who have been inspired, terrified, redeemed or, for better or worse, astounded by him. […] During the last three years I have been talking to Bergman’s co-workers. From his stars such as Gunnel Lindblom, to his producer and script-girl Katinka Faragó, to sound technicians and assistant directors. They paint a multi-coloured image of a great artist who could be very inspiring, but also terrifying. A man who is super sensitive to sound, light, food, dreams, but not really to other people. A man who worked harder and faster than anyone else in the history of cinema.
Bergman lived a very long life and he was incredibly productive. My problem, then, was how to tell his story in less than two hours. It seemed impossible. However, during my research a single year kept popping up: 1957, Bergman’s most magical and productive year. February 16th is the day of the première of The Seventh Seal, while on March 8th his adaptation of Peer Gynt (five hours in total) opens at the National Theatre in Malmö. On April 18th, Swedish public television broadcasts his adaptation of Mr. Sleeman Is Coming. The following day, his radio adaptation of Proust’s The Prisoner is aired. On July 2nd, shooting for Wild Strawberries gets underway, and concludes on August 27th. On October 14th, Nattens Ljus (Night Light), co-written by Bergman, goes on general release. On November 16th, it’s the turn of his adaptation of Gogol’s The Gamblers, while just one month later his staging of The Misanthrope opens, once again at the National Theatre in Malmö. On December 26th, Wild Strawberries is released… One wife, two lovers, and six children from four different women. How was he able to manage his private life and what influence did it have on his work, and vice versa?
I thought – why hasn’t anyone made a film about this? Perhaps one can tell the story of Bergman by focusing on just this one year? This is what I set out to do. Now it is done.

Jane Magnusson