28/09/2023 - The project, entitled Another Persona, will be screened only once during the festival's 2024 edition, and will be followed by a discussion on acting and technology

In collaboration with SF Studios, Gothenburg Film Studios and The Ingmar Bergman Foundation, the Göteborg Film Festival is producing an AI-generated version of Persona, entitled Another Persona, with Alma Pöysti in Liv Ullmann's role as Elisabet Vogler. This cinematic experiment will be screened exclusively once at the 2024 Göteborg Film Festival, in the presence of Ullmann and Pöysti, and the screening will be followed by a discussion on acting and technology.

Ingmar Bergman's Persona is the most celebrated film in Swedish film history, and one of the most discussed and influential films in the world. It tells the story of nurse Alma (Bibi Andersson), who cares for actress Elisabet Vogler (Ullmann) in a remote summer house by the sea.

"The discussion about acting, masks and authenticity that has made Persona a classic has been urgently reactivated by technological advancements. Not least, the strike in Hollywood has sparked an important debate on production possibilities and labour-market threats in relation to AI. We want to add an artistic and existential dimension to the discussion, and we want to do so by engaging with Ingmar Bergman's incomparable film. Another Persona will be a uniquely thought-provoking and quite unsettling cinematic experience," says Jonas Holmberg, artistic director of the Göteborg Film Festival.

"As administrators of Bergman's artistry, we at The Ingmar Bergman Foundation and SF Studios think that Another Persona is a brilliant project. 'Every intonation is a lie; every gesture a forgery,' it is said in Bergman's 1966 film. This becomes even more true now, at a time when we outsource ourselves to machines and at the same time seek our authentic selves," says Jan Holmberg, CEO of The Ingmar Bergman Foundation.

Pöysti has most recently been seen in Aki Kaurismäki's Fallen Leaves [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]. During last year's edition of the Göteborg Film Festival, she was presented with the Dragon Award for Best Acting for her role in Four Little Adults [+see also:
film review
interview: Selma Vilhunen
film profile].

"With curiosity and trepidation, I embark on this incredibly insane experiment (typical of the Göteborg Film Festival!). The idea behind Another Persona is fascinating from an actor’s and existential standpoint, with philosophical, technical, moral and copyright dimensions... Bergman and Ullmann are idols, and Persona is a masterpiece. So, I approach the source material with great humility and respect. Venturing into the AI world is like setting out into unknown territory without a map. I look forward to the adventure," says Pöysti.

Another Persona is part of the focus on AI that will characterise the 2024 Göteborg Film Festival. In the section Focus: Another Intelligence, the gathering will deepen the discussion on artificial intelligence from both artistic and social perspectives, but also highlight and discuss the artistic applications of AI.