Margarethe von Trotta launched her career as an actress. She directed her first feature, “The Second Awakening of Christa Klages,” in 1978. The next year marked the release of “Sisters, or the Balance of Happiness,” the beginning of her trilogy completed by “Marianne and Juliane” and “Love and Fear.” Her film “Rosa Luxemburg” was presented in Competition at Cannes Film Festival. In 2012, von Trotta completed her exploration of women’s destinies with “Hannah Arendt.”
“Searching for Ingmar Bergman” will premiere at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival on May 15.
W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.
MT: Like the title suggests, I tried to meet Ingmar Bergman [who died in 2007]. Many years had passed since my first seeing his masterpiece “The Seventh Seal” in the ’60s in Paris. I asked certain colleagues of mine, some Bergman family members, and some of his collaborators and actresses who are still alive [to help show me the way].
Overall, we created a portrait of Bergman which gives us an inside view of him but also of ourselves.
W&H: What drew you to this story?
MT: It was my producers’ idea. I wouldn’t have dared touch my master without the help of producers who trusted me. I had the feeling that I owed Bergman my path to becoming a film director.
W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?
MT: I would like [for them to] run and buy all Bergman’s films on DVD, and maybe to not miss the next retrospective of him in a theater or a film museum.
W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?
MT: To overcome my own fears.
W&H: What does it mean for you to have your film play at Cannes?
MT: It’s fantastic, and a great recompense after all the doubts I had while making the film.
W&H: What’s the best advice you’ve received?
MT: The best advice came from the Ingmar Bergman Foundation of Stockholm. I asked them what I could add to all of what has already been said and written and filmed about such a genius. They [told me to] make a very personal film, to [approach it as the] research of a filmmaker about another filmmaker, and since I knew Bergman personally during his time in Munich, to speak about his time in Germany, which is not yet so well known even by his admirers.
W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?
MT: Perseverance. Have confidence in your ideas, your talent, and your capacities even if nobody follows you. Stay patient and persevere.
W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.
MT: It’s perhaps not my favorite, but my first: “Wanda” by Barbara Loden. I was still an actress when I saw the film but I dreamed already of becoming a director. She was an actress before, wife of Elia Kazan — like I was the wife of Volker Schlöndorff. She gave me the courage to go on with my dream until it came true. Perseverance!
W&H: Hollywood and the global film industry are in the midst of undergoing a major transformation. Many women – and some men – in the industry are speaking publicly about their experiences being assaulted and harassed. What are your thoughts on the #TimesUp movement and the push for equality in the film business?
MT: I’ve fought for the equality of women in the film business since I started to make films.
