The 21st edition of Bergman Week will be inaugurated in traditional fashion at Fårö Church. The Swedish Film Institute’s CEO, Anna Croneman, will deliver the opening address. The ceremony will also feature a performance by Sunnan, whose Fårö-inspired musical elements are heard in the hit song “My Love to You,” as well as a guest appearance by Ukrainian pianist Ivetta Irkha, who was awarded the King’s Medal last week “for significant contributions as a musician and music educator.”
The opening film is The Home, a Swedish horror film directed by Mattias J. Skoglund and based on the bestselling novel by Mats Strandberg. The film will have its Swedish premiere at Bergman Week.
This year’s Guest of Honour is Noomi Rapace, an internationally acclaimed actor known for seamlessly moving between major theatre roles, Hollywood productions, and arthouse cinema. As part of this year’s horror theme, we will screen the Icelandic film Lamb, and in the conversation titled From Lisbeth Salander to Mother Teresa, Rapace will speak with Jonas Pedersen Hardebrant, the new chair of the Guldbagge Awards jury, about her remarkable career.
The festival will also welcome two luminous Nordic talents.
Young Norwegian director Emilie Blichfeldt will present her much-discussed and highly praised debut film The Ugly Stepsister – a feminist, body-horror reimagining of the Cinderella tale.
Rúnar Rúnarsson was awarded the Nordic Film Prize at the Göteborg Film Festival this winter for When the Light Breaks – a vibrating and emotionally intense drama set over a half-day between sunset and sunrise, capturing a lifetime in a few hours. Rúnar is also one of the recipients of this summer’s artist residencies at the Bergman Estate.
Denise Fernandes’ sun-drenched family drama Hanami, set in Cape Verde, won The International Ingmar Bergman Debut Award at this year’s Göteborg Film Festival. As part of the award, she will now spend several weeks at the Bergman Estate’s artist residency.
This year’s Bergman Week theme, Between Night and Dawn, explores horror cinema in general – and Bergman’s horror-infused elements in particular.
BETWEEN NIGHT AND DAWN The festival takes place on Fårö, June 23–27.