Cellphone film festival salutes Ingmar Bergman

The third Cellflix Festival, a competition for video films made on mobile phones, is now underway on the website Metroer.com to pay homage to renowned Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman.

Jointly sponsored by the Shanghai-based dotcom and Swedish organizations including its consulate in Shanghai, the Swedish Institute and VisitSweden, the festival started in January and will continue until April 30.

On the occasion of the 90th anniversary of Bergman's birth, the festival's theme is ambitious - exploring the relationship between men and women in a bid to show respect to the Swedish director, who is considered an innovator in his portrayal of marriage and family life, motifs in many of his films and dramas.

Hailed as a cinematic master, Bergman has contributed significantly to shaping the filming landscape. His thought-provoking works including The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries and Fanny and Alexander, which "seem to spring from a storehouse of personal insights and experiences", as a biographer Maaret Koskinen says, are branded with the distinctive Bergman style.

The tension between sexes is eternal, and continues to be theme of today's screen culture. It is expected to find a keen audience among netizens nationwide.

The first national festival of its kind in the country, Cellflix has attracted a great number of participants since the annual event began in 2006.

Contestants in the project do not need professional skills, as it is targeted at ordinary people.

"The only thing you need is a creative mind and a mobile phone," organizers say.

The winners' list will be announced at a grand finale gala to be held in Shanghai at the end of May.

For more information, please visit cellflix2008.metroer.com or www.metroer.com

(China Daily 04/14/2008 page15)