CITY Screen, York, is running a season of Ingmar Bergman films, shown in chronological order, in a tribute to the influential Swedish filmmaker in the Vintage Sundays slot at midday.

"It's time to tick these World Cinema classics off your list," says marketing manager Dave Taylor. The season opened last weekend with Wild Strawberries

and still to come are: The Seventh Seal (PG) this Sunday; Persona (15), April 29; The Touch (15), May 6; Cries and Whispers (15), May 13, and The Magic Flute (U), May 20.

The Seventh Seal stars Max von Sydow as a knight trying to elude his own death after returning to Sweden from the Crusades. Vividly re-creating a medieval world tormented by the Black Death and superstition, Bergman’s epic, allegorical fantasy centres on the knight challenging the Grim Reaper (Bengt Ekerot) to a game of chess in order to postpone his demise.

Written and directed by Bergman in 1957, the film presents a fascinating and rather touching study of faith in crisis as a man seeks answers about life, death and the existence of God. Packed with powerful images, it punctuates its bleakness with moments of sardonic humour too.

Tickets can be booked on 0871 902 5726 or at picturehouses.com/cinema/info/York_Picturehouse