Essential Bergman: Selected by David Stratton

The Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) in association with Sydney Film Festival and National Film and Sound Archive of Australia is delighted to announce Essential Bergman: Selected by David Stratton, a retrospective season of works by Swedish master filmmaker Ingmar Bergman curated by David Stratton.

Showcasing ten Bergman titles hand-picked by Australia's renowned film critic and broadcaster, the program features some of cinema's most important and iconic titles, including The Seventh Seal, Persona, Wild Strawberries and Cries and Whispers. Each screening will be accompanied by an introduction from Stratton.

'Ingmar Bergman changed my life," wrote Stratton in his introduction to the program. 'When I saw Smiles of a Summer Night on October 31, 1957, at the Birmingham (UK) Film Society, my concept of cinema altered forever… I found in Bergman's film aspects of cinema I'd never experienced before - emotion, truth, pain, lust - all presented in the most elegant of wrappings."

Commenting on Essential Bergman, ACMI Director & CEO Katrina Sedgwick said: 'We're delighted to be collaborating with Sydney Film Festival and the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. It's wonderful to have David Stratton's exceptional eye curating this program of films from one of the world's greatest auteurs, and to be able to support the tour of stunning 35mm prints that will travel around the country through this partnership."