Family, friends attend Bergman's funeral

A small group of family members, actors and local friends attended the funeral of Ingmar Bergman today on the small Swedish island of Faro where the internationally acclaimed filmmaker spent his final years in solitude.

Bergman, who died on July 30 aged 89 at his home on Faro, just north of the bigger Baltic Sea island of Gotland, wanted the funeral to be a low-key, private affair.

“There were about 75 people inside the church and the ceremony lasted about 40 minutes,” photographer Bengt Anselius said.

Outside, police and security guards cordoned off the area.

Bergman’s remains were buried after the ceremony on a site that he had chosen at the cemetry, the family said in a statement according to Swedish news agency TT.

“It’s a secluded place near the church wall and you can see the whole cemetry from his grave,” Anselius said.

“The casket was simple, made of pine and produced locally.”