Ingmar Bergman’s Persona is heading back to cinemas to celebrate its 60th Anniversary

Ingmar Bergman’s psychological masterpiece, a compelling excavation into womanhood and identity, starring Liv Ullmann and Bibi Andersson, with Margaretha Krook and Gunnar Björnstrand, is always a transformative experience on the big screen, where it returns on 11 December, to celebrate its 60th Anniversary.

When a celebrated stage actor falls mysteriously silent during a performance of Electra, she retreats to a remote seaside cottage, accompanied by her nurse. As their intimacy grows, the boundaries between them dissolve, blurring both their desires and their notions of self.

Shot in striking black and white, Bergman’s celebrated masterpiece makes full use of the possibilities of cinema to craft surreal imagery and dream sequences that explore the unnerving relationship between identity and performance. Without Persona, there would arguably be no Mulholland Drive. A hugely influential film, its impact continues to resonate across cinema, theatre and popular culture decades after its release (which include the National Theatre’s recent production Electra/Persona starring Cate Blanchett and Nina Hoss). Almost 60 years since its release, Bergman’s psycho-drama remains a provocative and essential work.

Persona is re-released in cinemas in the UK and Ireland on 11 December 2026.