Bergman In Dallas
Type/Status
Documentary Feature
Development
Director
Keith Maitland
Producer
Megan Gilbride
Executive Producer
Daniel Laabs
In 1981, legendary filmmaker Ingmar Bergman traveled to Dallas, Texas, for a rare and intimate three-day Masterclass with students at Southern Methodist University—just weeks before filming his final cinematic masterpiece FANNY AND ALEXANDER. BERGMAN IN DALLAS brings this forgotten moment to light through never-before-seen archival footage, revealing the artist as we’ve never seen him: candid, reflective, and utterly human.Synopsis: BERGMAN IN DALLAS uncovers a little-known chapter in film history: Ingmar Bergman’s 1981 visit to Southern Methodist University, where he led a private three-day Masterclass with a group of eleven film and theater students. The visit, timed around his acceptance of the inaugural Meadows Award for Excellence in the Arts, was recorded in full—resulting in over 42 hours of pristine, never-before-seen footage. The documentary centers on this candid Q&A as its emotional and structural core. We experience Bergman not as an untouchable icon, but as a vulnerable, thoughtful artist reflecting on faith, failure, fame, and the lifelong challenge of making meaningful work. Woven through the archival material are personal recollections from the original attendees, commentary from filmmakers influenced by Bergman, and visual interpretations of the poetic fable he read aloud in his acceptance speech. Set against the backdrop of Bergman’s pre-production for FANNY AND ALEXANDER and punctuated by scenes from previous work, the film is an immersive portrait of one of cinema’s most elusive and revered figures.
Director: KEITH MAITLAND is a writer/director/producer of fiction and non-fiction. Named one of Variety’s “10 Documakers to Watch,” in 2016 he released TOWER, an emotional and action-packed retelling of America’s first mass shooting. TOWER took three awards at SXSW, was nominated for Gotham, PGA and Peabody awards, was short-listed for the Academy Award, and won the Emmy for Best Historical Documentary — as well as the first-ever Critics Choice Award for Most Innovative Documentary. Keith’s latest doc, DEAR MR. BRODY — a psychedelic journey into the heart (and bank account) of Michael Brody, Jr, the hippie-millionaire who offered the world peace for the price of a postage stamp — was an official selection of Telluride and Tribeca in both 2020 and 2021 (weird times) and SXSW 2021. The doc was released theatrically in March 2022 and found its streaming home on Discovery Plus.
Producer: MEGAN GILBRIDE is a two-time Emmy-winning and Independent Spirit Award-nominated producer. She produced Maitland’s TOWER and Dear Mr. Brody. Her documentaries have been broadcast on Independent Lens, POV, Apple TV+, Netflix, and Max. Her fiction feature, LOVERS OF HATE, premiered in Sundance’s US Dramatic Competition, was released by IFC, and nominated for a FIND Spirit Award. A sought-after guest speaker and adviser, Megan has been a producing mentor for the Sundance Institute, Film Independent, the Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund, and Austin Film Society. She’s appeared on dozens of film festival and artist support organization panels for DOC NYC Pro, SXSW, Dear Producer, and numerous others. For the past five years, Megan has served in leadership of the Documentary Producers Alliance, including terms on the Board of Directors, Executive Committee, and Advisory Board. In 2022, Megan was one of four recipients of the inaugural Dear Producer Award, an honor recognizing independent producers’ creative vision and leadership in the field.
Executive Producer: DANIEL LAABS is a filmmaker whose work has screened at festivals worldwide. His short film work earned him a Grand Jury Prize at SXSW in 2011, and his debut feature, JULES OF LIGHT AND DARK, won the Grand Jury Prize at both Outfest and NewFest before being released on Showtime in 2020. He has received support from La Biennale di Venezia College – Cinema, Austin Film Society, and The Gotham.