13/03/2003

Svensk Filmindustri AB (SF) has just sold Ingmar Bergman’s highly anticipated Saraband [+see also:
trailer
film profile] to Sony Pictures Classics (SPC) for North America and Australia.
“The name Ingmar Bergman speaks volume,” commented SPC ‘s Michael Barker, Tom Bernard, Dylan Leiner and Marcie Bloom in a joint statement. “To be involved with one of his works has been an unrealised passion for us since we began in this business. We look forward to serving him and his film and it also gives us great pleasure to be working again with Ann-Kristin Westerberg (Head of sales) and Svensk”.
Currently in post-production, Saraband is a loose sequel to Bergman’s 1973 classic, Scenes From a Marriage and it reunites Liv Ullmann and Erland Josephson. Ullmann plays a lawyer and Josephson’s ex-wife who decides to visit her former spouse at his summerhouse after 32 years of separation. She soon becomes embroiled in the dramatic tension between her ex-husband, his son and his grand-daughter who is a gifted young cellist.
The legendary filmmaker’s return to the big screen has already been pre-sold by SF to other territories including the UK (Metro Tartan ), Greece (Rosebud), Argentina (Cine3) and Brazil (Art Films). Produced by SVT/Fiction in association with Svensk Filmindustri, ZDF, Arte, NRK, RAI and YLE, Saraband is a hot contender for the next Cannes Film Festival.