With more than 25 years of experience as a writer, producer, and director, Dorsay Alavi is well-acquainted with compelling narratives. Her most recent project, a three-part documentary film series titled Wayne Shorter: Zero Gravity, offers an intimate portrayal of the life and music of jazz icon Wayne Shorter. The series, released on Amazon Prime last year, showcases Alavi's ability to capture the essence of a singular musician.
Over the years, one film in particular has left a profound impact on Alavi and her storytelling approach. Ingmar Bergman's 1982 classic, Fanny and Alexander, stands out among her favorites and has significantly shaped her understanding and portrayal of the human experience. Alavi attributes the film's influence to its exploration of the human condition through well-developed characters and a transformative tragedy. Alavi considers it a more spiritual exploration than Bergman’s previous films.
More: Filmmaker Dorsay Alavi on the curiosity of jazz great Wayne Shorter
This segment has been edited for length and clarity.
One of my favorite films that had such an impact on me was Ingmar Bergman's Fanny and Alexander.
So Bergman, for me, was a master of exploring the human condition on the screen. And he keeps you mesmerized without using plot or overt conflicts. He was able to keep you engaged by creating rich characters. And the story would emanate from how they cope with moral and ethical dilemmas.
It's visually stunning, and you're immediately immersed into the world he's created. It's joyful, it's humorous, it's emotional, it's dark, and mystical at the same time.
It is a childhood story, but more importantly, it shows how a tragedy can change the course of an entire family's life.
Fanny and Alexander (1982) Original Trailer [FHD]
You know his childhood, I mean, just having the father that he did and the life that he did, he was always writing about that in some manner. And this particularly, just actually making it about a young boy. And I saw that boy as young Bergman, and that family, the bourgeois family. I love the mystical moments in that because, to me, I know that Bergman had a love-hate relationship with religion because of his father, but the film is very spiritual. And most people like to focus on the dark aspects of that, but there's transformation that happened with that family after that tragedy. And I, as an audience member, wanted to continue that dialogue after I watched it.
And I think it was the time period of his life where maybe he was questioning and he was looking at things from a more positive and more evolved point of view, and that was reflected in that film. Certainly was reflected in that film.
