Released on: August 6, 2008, 2:57 pm

Press Release Author: Palador Pictures Pvt. Ltd.

Industry: Entertainment

Press Release Summary:
- A six-city, seven film festival tours the country || Launch of Ingmar Bergman
Collector's Edition 5 DVD box set || Workshops on the maestro by documentary
filmmaker and friend, Gunnar Bergdahl -

Press Release Body: New Delhi, August 6, 2008: Palador Pictures, the undisputed
leader in the World Cinema category in India with close to a 1,000 of the best and
most awarded films in association with the Embassy of Sweden brings Remembering
Bergman - A Retrospective, a tribute to Ingmar Bergman, one of the greatest
filmmakers of all times on his first death anniversary.

The Retrospective was inaugurated by the Ambassador of Sweden today with the
unveiling of the Ingmar Bergman Collector's Edition 5 DVD Box Set and the
announcement of the film festival.
The films which are available to audiences on the DVD Box Set are: 'Music in
Darkness', 'Summer With Monika', 'Through a Glass Darkly', 'Winter Light' and 'The
Silence', with 'Intermezzo' - a freewheeling interview with Ingmar Bergman - as a
special feature. The festival will showcase, in addition to some of the films on the
DVD box, 'Wild Strawberries', 'Summer Interlude' and 'Devil's Eye.'
Elaborating on the rationale behind the Bergman Retrospective, Gautam Shiknis,
Founder and Managing Director, Palador Pictures said, "Ingmar Bergman's films have
moved, inspired and influenced a host of filmmakers and audiences across the world.
It is no wonder that he is often called the greatest cinematic artist ever. It is
only just that the nation that makes the largest quantity of films in the world each
year, should also get the best quality films from across the world. On the first
death anniversary of Bergman, this festival and box set is this nation's tribute to
the great master."
"Bergman is easily one of the best-known Swedes in the world and it is very
heartening for me to be a part of the process to make sure that his work is
accessible to his fans and film enthusiasts in India," said H.E. Lars-Olof Lindgren,
Ambassador of Sweden to India. "What makes this Retrospective even more special for
me, is the fact that we are all gathered to pay tribute to Mr Bergman, the man who
has not just defined Swedish cinema for the world, but has contributed to shaping
cinema as the world knows it too.''
Another high point of the Retrospective is the presence of Gunnar Bergdahl, Director
of two documentaries made on Bergman - 'Intermezzo: Ingmar Bergman' and 'The Voices
of Bergman' as well as a close friend of the filmmaker. Intermezzo will be screened
for students of film and general public at workshops conducted by Mr Bergdahl in
Delhi and Mumbai.
Remembering Berman, Mr Bergdahl added, "I'm happy to have had the opportunity to
share some time with him. He might be gone now, but his passion for the
possibilities and challenges of filmmaking will be inspiring for ever. In fact, I
once asked, 'Mr Bergman, don't you ever tire of watching all these films?' He
laughed and said, 'Filmmaking is an expanding universe. The more you look, the more
you find!\"
Mohan Polamar, co-founder and Joint MD Palador Pictures said, "Bergman stormed into
the World Cinema scene with two masterpieces in the same year, 1957. Such was the
genius of this prolific director without whose name no discussion of cinema would
ever be complete. It hurt us to know that masterpieces made by him and other great
directors had never been available in this country to the masses. With this
festival, I personally feel a sense of satisfaction about the number of people it is
reaching out to across the country. When quality cinema as embodied by Bergman is
widely seen and appreciated, quality cinema would end up being made as well."
Supporting this endeavour, of making world cinema accessible to the Indian
audiences, are partners ICICI, iMint, Indiaplaza, Inox, People Magazine, Myntra and
Bright Advertising in India, and The Swedish Institute and the Swedish Film
Institute in Sweden.
About Ingmar Bergman: Ingmar Bergman is unquestionably among the best known Swedes
in the world. He is not only Sweden's foremost filmmaker of all time, but is
generally regarded as one of the foremost figures in the entire history of the
cinematic arts. In fact, Bergman is among a relatively small, exclusive group of
filmmakers-a Fellini, an Antonioni, a Tarkovsky-whose family names rarely need to be
accompanied by a given name: "Bergman" is a concept, a kind of "brand name" in
itself.

With nine personal Oscar nominations and three of his films winning the Best Foreign
Language Film Oscar, Ingmar Bergman won every conceivable and coveted film award on
the planet.

Festival Schedule:

Delhi - August 8-14
Kolkata - August 15-21
Chennai - August 22-28
Bangalore - August 29-September 4
Pune - September 5-11
Mumbai - September 12-18

About Palador: Palador began 4 years back as a movement to kick-start the tradition
of great cinema in the Indian subcontinent. Today Palador has the largest collection
of Foreign Language Cinema under one roof in Asia. Palador owns the most award
winning films from the greatest directors the world has ever seen - from masters of
yesteryears to today's: Kurosawa, Kieslowski, Godard, Bergman, Trauffaut,
Kiarostami, Lynch etc. - to cinema in all genre: action, comedy, drama, documentary,
short films etc. - to cinema from all movements: Italian Neo-Realism, French New
Wave, Iranian New-Wave etc. But Palador is not just about the content. It's about
programming them, to suit different needs of: TV Channels, Film Festivals,
Corporates, Colleges, Clubs, Theatres etc. and of different media: DVD, TV,
Internet, Theatre, Mobile etc. Palador was the first to focus on the short works of
aspiring film makers, helping to popularize the concept and adoption of short film
in the Indian media landscape. Palador is also the only in the world to program
short films of aspiring as well as rare films of established film makers in the DVD
movies of great directors. In short it is helping build a platform for freedom of
expression for creators of good and great content in this nation.
For more about the festival, visit: www.mypalador.com/festival
For more information, please contact:
Ms Saloni Zaver-Ahluwalia
Embassy of Sweden
New Delhi 110 001
+91 98995 75713
saloni.zaveri-ahluwalia@foreign.ministry.se

Satyen K. Bordoloi
Palador Pictures Pvt. Ltd.
Mumbai
+91 9967970320
satyen@mypalador.com

Abhinav K. Srivastava
Comma Consulting
Mumbai
+91 9892323750
abhinav.srivastava@comma.in
Appendix:
Synopsis of Bergman Films (On Box Set as well as the DVD):

Wild Strawberries: Shaken by a foreboding dream, Professor Borg decides to drive,
rather than fly to his felicitation function. His daughter-in-law accompanies him
and makes no attempt to hide her dislike for his selfishness, despite his apparently
amicable personality. On the way they give a ride to a young girl and her two
suitors. These factors, and a visit to his mother, rekindle old memories and through
sleep and waking dream, he becomes a spectator to his own past, through the wild
strawberry patch of his youth.
Summer Interlude: On an idyllic summer vacation, Marie falls in love with Henrik.
But a tragic accident cuts short Henrik's life. Ten years later, at the height of
her career as a successful Opera dancer, Marie remembers the ways in which that
tragic summer changes her forever. She realizes that first love never dies, but
something dies with first love.
Music In Darkness: Rich and handsome Bengt loses hope after an accident leaves him
blind. The darkness threatens his remaining impressions of sight, challenges his
beliefs, and brings about a deafening silence. Even well intentioned relationships
cause him self pity. Will Bengt drift away or will he find new music in his life?
Bergman paints this man\'s fiery quest for sanity and survival with expressionist
shades and challenges our convention of a gift we all take for granted, sight.
Summer With Monika: Harry and Monika spend an innocent summer filled with
uninhibited passions that leaves Monika pregnant. Harry struggles to give his family
a good life but Monika\'s constant yearning for excitement, leaves her unfulfilled as
a wife and mother. She forsakes them for an adventurous life. Left alone with their
son, Harry treasures the memory of that summer, despite the pain it brings. This
Naturalist film is Bergman\'s most sensual creation.
Through A Glass Darkly: In the first installment of what later became famous as the
'faith trilogy', Ingmar Bergman profiles a fragile family on the verge of
disintegration. The focal point is schizophrenic Karin who believes she\'ll have a
vision of god. Her father has been using her for his book, the husband has tried to
commit suicide, and her brother makes sexual overtones to her even as she slips into
the abyss of her madness. This film won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in
1962.
Winter Light: The second part of Bergman\'s Faith Trilogy has a small town pastor
Tomas go about his duties mechanically. While trying to help a troubled fisherman,
his own crisis of faith comes to light and he realizes that he has nothing but
uncertainty to offer. Bergman profiles man\'s hunger for faith in a world where the
existence of God itself is in question.
The Silence: In the third installment of Ingmar Bergman\'s \'faith trilogy\', two
sisters - the sick, intellectual Ester and the promiscuous, pragmatic Anna - while
travelling with Anna\'s son Johan, find themselves in a foreign town. Language
prevents them from talking to townsfolk, and their own emotional barrier brings
about a silence between them. Young Johan is their only connecting link in a film
where Bergman offers a disturbing view of emotional isolation in a faithless world.
The Devil\'s Eye: A rare Bergman comedy, \'The Devil\'s Eye\' shows his penchant for
humour. Resurrected from hell by the Devil, the legendary lover Don Juan\'s job is to
seduce an innocent 20 year old Britt-Marie and rob her of her virginity and belief
in love. However, Marie proves to be strong and successfully resists Don Juan, whose
fate is finally sealed when he ends up falling helplessly in love with her.
Intermezzo (An interview of Ingmar Bergman by Gunnar Bergdahl part of all the DVDs
Above): One of the best known and most personal interviews of Bergman, it catches
the master director speaking uninhibited about life, films and dreams... \"Creativity
is an extraordinary help against destructive demons,\" says Bergman in the interview.
Interviewer Gunnar Bergdahl is a writer, film critic, festival curator and
founder-editor of the Swedish cinema magazine \'Filmkonst\'. This is his second
Bergman interview.

Ingmar Bergman, Remembering Bergman: A Retrospective, Gunnar Bergdhal, Intermezzo,
Lars-Olof Lindgren, Embassy of Sweden in India, World Cinema, Palador Pictures, Film
Festival, Gautam Shiknis, Mohan Polamar, ICICI, iMint, Indiaplaza, Inox, People
Magazine, Myntra, Bright Advertising, The Swedish Institute, Swedish Film Institute


Web Site: http://www.mypalador.com/festival

Contact Details:
Satyen K. Bordoloi
Palador Pictures Pvt. Ltd.
Mumbai
+91 9967970320
satyen@mypalador.com