2009, 85cm x 60cm, oil on canvas
Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007), Swedish film- and stage director.
In 2001 I lived in Stockholm for half a year, learning how to paint under the strong tutelage of Irina Gebuhr among others, at Idun Lovén School of Art.
At the time there was a cinema in the city which for some reason showed a series of films for free, one every Wednesday. Having little money, and being Mr. lonely-boy, I went and saw every one of them by myself.
Ingmar Bergman’s “Cries and Whispers” (1972) was to be a turning-point in my life as a cineaste. On several occasions during the film I fell into tears without really understanding why. Where was the sad music? Where were the usual deceptions, broken hearts and the tears? Why was I trembling? The ways in which this drama affected me were new and overwhelming. Intensely and intimately it spoke to something deep within me. I loved it.
That day Hollywood left my life, and a new world of humanistic film entered.
