Sean Connery narrates a Swedish cinematographer's dad's colonial guilt trip in 30 minutes.
Sven Nykvist, best known as Ingmar Bergman cinematographer, made this film as a tribute to his father who was a missionary in Kongo in the early 20th century. The story of his father Gustav Natanael Nykvist is told through his own photos, letters, and films. Director & cinematographer: Sven Nykvist. Narrators in the English dubbed version: Liv Ullmann & Sean Connery. Produced by Ingmar Bergman (Cinematograph AB). Digitally restored in 2022.
Cinematography
Nykvist ghost-directs his father's ghost through old footage.
Direction
Bergman produced, but this is pure paternal elegy.
Director
Sven Nykvist
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Nykvist shot 21 Bergman films; this was his only directorial work. Bergman bankrolled it as a favor.
The Congo footage was shot during Belgian colonial rule—decades before Lumumba's assassination and Zaire's birth.
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