Arild is a village situated in the municipality of Höganäs on the southern shores of Skälderviken at the foot of Kullaberg. In 1907, the then royal photographer Peter P. Lundh described it in the following terms: ‘With Kullaberg’s slopes as its backdrop and the sunny, rounded bay of Skälderviken ahead, the location of the town is unparalleled. Unlike most other seaside resorts, it has retained its idyllic, antiquated character and its old farms surrounded by lush greenery.’

With its pebbled beaches and sea stacks, the coastline at Arild represents a distinctive feature of the landscape. In between Arild in the west and Skäret in the east is the Nabben Nature Reserve. Well-known in Sweden as a tourist destination since the 19^th century, both Arild and its sister village Mölle were holiday resorts for the fashionable elite from the late 19^th century until the mid-20th century.

Nabben provided the setting for three of Ingmar Bergman’s films: To Joy, Sawdust and Tinsel and A Lesson in Love. During the time he was working at the Helsingborg City Theatre (1944-1946), it is easy to imagine him driving around the area committing to memory the locations that made a particularly strong impression on him – like this rocky little peninsula, with Kullen brooding in the background. For him, they represented an inhospitable form of nature which he could present as rather raw and unpleasant, a style which he later refined at Hovs Hallar and, ultimately, at Fårö.

One can speculate as to whether Bergman returned to the area because it was perfect for his needs or simply because he was running short of time – given how prolific he was during this period – and knew that it would work. In any case, he asked that his props and heavy equipment be dragged down here for every day of filming.

During the filming of Sawdust and Tinsel and A Lesson in Love in 1953 and 1954 respectively, Bergman and his team stayed at Julia Lundgren’s guesthouse (which had opened as a patisserie in 1911) on the south side of Arild’s bus station. Bergman, who was at the time in a relationship with Harriet Andersson, stayed in the tower room.