Ingmar Bergman
1995 Recipient
Ingmar Bergman was an acclaimed Swedish film writer-director; he is widely recognized as being among the most influential filmmakers of all time. Described as a “master filmmaker who found bleakness and despair as well as comedy and hope in his indelible explorations of the human condition”, Bergman made over 60 films in his life and directed over 170 plays. His work, often dealing with themes of death, faith, betrayal, vulnerability, loneliness and bleakness, is credited with bringing a new seriousness to filmmaking.
Known for his versatile camera work and for his fragmented narrative style, Bergman studied art and literature at Stockholm University where he wrote a number of plays and became an assistant director. He experienced an extremely successful career from the time his name first appeared on screen as the writer of Torment in 1944, and remained very connected to Sweden throughout his life, shooting several films on the island of Faro, where he spent much of his life.
Bergman’s first great international success was Smiles of A Summer Night (1995) and his acclaimed films include The Seventh Seal (1957), Wild Strawberries (1957), Through a Glass Darkly (1961), Winter Light (1961), The Silence (1963), Cries and Whispers (1972), and Fanny and Alexander (1983). His film, Through a Glass Darkly, won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. He also received Swedish Academy of Letters Great Cold Medal and the Swedish Film Institute established a prize for excellence in filmmaking in his name. Bergman died in 2007, leaving one of the greatest cinematic legacies in history.
