Bergman, (Ernst) Ingmar (1918–2007)

Swedish stage and film director, regarded by many as a unique auteur and one of the masters of modern cinema. His work dealt with complex moral, psychological, and metaphysical problems and was often strongly pessimistic. Bergman gained an international reputation with Det sjunde inseglet/The Seventh Seal (1957) and Smultronstället/Wild Strawberries (1957).

His understanding portrayal of women was already evident in his early films, including Sommarnattens Leende/Smiles of a Summer Night (1955). His tormented search for spiritual truth was given increasingly stark expression. He also directed Junfrukällan/The Virgin Spring (1959), Tystnaden/The Silence (1963), Persona (1966), Viskningar och rop/Cries and Whispers (1972), and Fanny och Alexander/Fanny and Alexander (1982). The dramatic intensity and striking imagery of his films had a profound influence on many subsequent film-makers. From the late 1990s he directed several films for television, including Larmar och gör sig till/In the Presence of a Clown (1997), Bildmakarna/The Picture Makers (2000), and Saraband (2003).

From 1944 Bergman had a parallel film and theatrical career, being successively director of the municipal theatres in Helsingborg, Göteborg, and Malmö, and finally of the Royal Dramatic Theatre, Stockholm.