As Sweden celebrated its National Day on Saturday, a series of events to commemorate the 100th anniversary of that country's iconic actress Ingrid Bergman were held in Shanghai.

In partnership with the Shanghai Film Museum and the Shanghai International Film Festival, which is currently taking place in the city, the Swedish consulate in Shanghai has organized a number of seminars, movie screenings and exhibitions focusing on the achievements of the late, great Swedish actress.

Viktoria Li, Swedish Consul General in Shanghai, told the Global Times that the reason they chose the 100th anniversary of Ingrid Bergman's birth, in 1915, as the theme for this year's national day celebration is that the actress represented everything that the country still hopes to represent today.

"She represented integrity, independence, the emancipation of women and an international outlook, which are all the values of modern Sweden," she said.

Ingrid Bergman remains one of the world's greatest cinematic icons, starring in several classics of international cinema such as Casablanca (1942) and Notorious (1946). During the course of her career she won three Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and the Tony Award for Best Actress.

More than 30 years after Ingrid Bergman passed away, in 1982, Li said the woman's spirit is omnipresent not only in Sweden but worldwide. "She was a beautiful actress when she was young but she also showed professionalism by playing very strong characters as she got older. For her it was never just about being beautiful. She showed talent and integrity, which is very inspiring for young actors and actresses today," Li said.

On Sunday afternoon, at a seminar discussing the life of Ingrid Bergman, dozens of local and foreign fans - old and young, women and men alike - showed up. Ulrika Knutson, a journalist, movie critic and author from Sweden who is also an expert on the life of Ingrid Bergman, recapped the actress's life in a story-telling manner.

Knutson told the Global Times that an important legacy that the great actress has left for her country is that she made young Swedish actresses aware that it's possible to have an international career. "She showed that you can come from a small-language area and still make it in English on the international stage."

According to Knutson, Bergman also demonstrated that performing artists can have a long career after their looks and youth fade. "She encouraged movie and stage directors to give more parts to older women, which they don't do that much," she said.

For 50 years, Bergman played a wide variety of roles, from conniving duchess to forlorn lover. "Few actresses today can maintain a successful career as long as Bergman did," Knutson said.

Knutson traveled all the way to Shanghai from Sweden to share her stories about Bergman with local audiences. She said that she's impressed that even in today's Shanghai the Swedish actress continues to have so many loyal supporters and admirers.

"It's actually my first time in China, and it's amazing for me to find that Swedish culture is so popular here. Ingrid Bergman, Astrid Lindgren of the Pippi Longstocking series, pop band ABBA… these are all part of the Sweden's cultural heritage," she told the Global Times.

Local resident Grandpa Liu, who is in his early 70s, has been a devout supporter of Ingrid Bergman for decades. He showed up at the Sunday event because he said it's a rare opportunity to watch her older films like Journey to Italy (1954) on the big screen.

"I've seen all of her films on TV or computer, but it will be the first time for me to view these masterpieces in a cinema. The performance of Ingrid Bergman can never be matched," said Liu.

For fans of Ingrid Bergman who missed the first screenings of her old classics the past weekend, Shanghai Film Museum is preparing an encore screening of Journey to Italy this Friday evening, Casablanca on Saturday afternoon, Notorious on Saturday evening, and Autumn Sonata (Ingrid Bergman's last performance in a major theatrical feature film, in 1978) on Sunday evening.

A photo exhibition, The Sage of Ingrid Bergman, is also currently being displayed at the Shanghai Film Museum. The photographs were taken by famous photographers including Gordon Parks and Robert Capa and capture special moments from the Swedish actress's accomplished life.

Ulrika Knutson

 

Sweden's National Day celebration is held Friday in Shanghai.

Photos: Ni Dandan/GT and courtesy of the Swedish consulate