Meet Rolf Forsberg

We regret to report that Rolf Forsberg died peacefully in the hospital surrounded by family on Feb. 16, 2017. He was 93. DVD of Vol. 1 of the "Rolf Forsberg Legacy Collection has just been completed and will be released in the next few months. The final cut was on its way to Rolf, who expected to watch it on Feb. 18. He had viewed each individual film with the intros and was excited to see that his legacy was about to be rediscovered by the world.

Rolf  Forsberg is a fascinating, amazing writer/director of numerous independent short films since 1964. Many of his films are religious in nature, yet told with an avant-garde surrealism suggestive of Fellini and Bergman. THE ANTKEEPER (1966) depicts mankind as ants. ARK (1970), though made 45 years ago, warns of the dangers of man-made pollution and climate change destroying the world. ONE FRIDAY (1973) is about race warfare told through the eyes of a toddler.

Rolf's very first film is still his most famous -- PARABLE -- since it was made for and shown at the 1964 New York World's Fair as the main attraction in the Protestant and Orthodox Pavilion. It was highly controversial since it depicted Jesus as a circus clown clad all in white. PARABLE was added to the National Film Registry in 2012. In 2015-16 Rolf recorded comments about 9 of his films. These will serve to introduce the films when they are released on DVD. This excerpt will introduce you to the distinguished film director and these four films.



I am a member of "Team Forsberg" dedicated to restoring and reissuing Rolf's best films, and at the same time bringing awareness of him to the film community and rallying new fans. We plan three stages to achieve the goal. First is to release the four films discussed above in Rolf Forsberg Legacy Collection Vol. 1 on DVD, Blu-ray and Digital Download. Stage 2 will release four more films, probably PEACE CHILD, STALKED, KING OF THE HILL and JESUS ROAST. Eventually we plan to produce a world-class feature documentary about Rolf that will preserve his legacy for future generations.

This is a costly undertaking. So far we have been working on a zero budget. Extensive interviews of Rolf have already been shot. Films are being restored to higher quality than the current excerpts on the website. But we simply can't finish Stage 1 without some financial assistance. For that purpose an Indiegogo campaign began on Oct. 2. If it succeeds, then Volume 1 will be released in November of this year.

          "Most of the films I've made are very much products of the Sixties, as I am. I feel that the span between 1963 and 1971 was one of spiritual seeking, and of iconoclasm. Billy Graham was the leading evangelist throughout the entire world. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a Christian clergyman, led mass marches for justice and equality. Theologians made the covers of Time Magazine. And the Beatles sang poetry. We have nothing like it today." -- Rolf Forsberg, June 2015

If you are intrigued about the films of Rolf Forsberg in the two video clips on this page, you can help immensely by doing one of more of these:

• Visit the Rolf Forsberg website to learn more about Rolf and his filmography.
• Visit Rolf Forsberg on Facebook and "Like" him.
• Visit the Rolf Indiegogo campaign and purchase one of the inexpensive "Perks."
• Share posts from the Facebook page on your own timeline or other FB groups.
• Refer any friends who might be interested to this blog, FB, website or Indiegogo

Here is an excerpt from PARABLE (1964):



-- Ron Hall, for Team Forsberg