LETTERS FROM FÅRÖ
When Ingmar Bergman was shooting Shame on Fårö in summer and fall of 1967, Fårö girl Kerstin Blomberg was working as a volonteer in Germany. Meanwhile, back at the farm on Fårö, her mother Kally du Rietz, was sending her daughter letters with news from the farm and from the island. She writes about the potato harvest, birthdays and cases of bad health in the family and news of people visiting. One important event on the island that summer was the shooting of Ingmar Bergman’s new film Shame.
AUGUST 14, 1967
”Here on Gotland and particularly on Fårö there are a lot of things going on just about every day, sometimes it’s about Palme, other times it’s Bergman, so we are sending you the newpapers, if you get some time to read about Sweden.”
AUGUST 27
”September 11 they will start shooting the film on Fårö, they are busy building old houses, walls etc for the film. Lennart Broberg told me that some days there are 175 men that will eat (at the guest house). Holger Hammarström is supposed to be out at sea with his motor boat during the shooting.”
SEPTEMBER 8
”Right now there’s a lot of people from the film here on Fårö. On Monday they will be starting for real. Most cars you see on the road are connected to the film, one way or the other.”
OCTOBER 18
”The film shooting is now in top gear. Last Friday Stig Jonsson asked Dad if he wanted to be in the film om Monday. He was supposed to bring an old costume. So on Saturday he was down there and was measured and listed. Siv and Tomas wanted to be part of it, too. But then it was already filled up.
Many Fåröese participate in various ways. Everyone compliments Bergman for being so uncomplicated and straightforward.”
UNDATED LETTER, NOVEMBER 1967
”The filming on Fårö has now come to an end, and in the paper I read that Ingmar Bergman
was happy when he bid all his collaborators farewell and said that this was his best shoot ever of his 30. They praised the Fåröese to extol. Everyone from the theatre company took off for the mainland except Ingmar Bergman who hit the sack with a nasty bronchitis. According to the papers.”