Actress Ingrid Bergman shines in this compendium of her letters, movie clips, visits with family members, and – best of all – lots of beautiful home movies, mostly shot by the star herself.
A rich, generous-spirited portrait of a woman who, in her unapologetic pursuit of art, fame and personal growth, was far ahead of her time.
Screened as part of Autumn Events 2016
Ingrid Bergman – In Her Own Words 2015
Jag är Ingrid
Ingrid Bergman, the young Swedish actress who crossed the Atlantic to become the star of such classics as Casablanca and Notorious, always appeared strikingly natural amongst the glamourous stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Radiant on the Cannes poster in 2015, her directness still feels authentic and refreshing. No slave to studio artifice or public opinion, she abandoned stardom and her family to work with, then marry, the Italian neo-realist Roberto Rossellini. In due course Hollywood and Sweden too would welcome her back.
Daughter Isabella Rossellini suggested that Swedish filmmaker Stig Björkman draw on the vast trove of her mother’s never-before-seen home movies, personal letters and diary extracts. Björkman has added archive footage and frank interviews with the three Bergman-Rossellini children and Bergman’s eldest daughter, Pia Lindström, to create an extremely charming and revealing portrait. All recall a mother who was often absent, but, who, as the home movies attest, showed them a wonderful time whenever she was around.
“This remarkable material paints a portrait of a strong, liberated, opinionated and accomplished woman, but also someone with a great sense of fun… This film is a wonderful testament to her as a pioneer, mother and icon.” — Sarah Lutton, London International Film Festival