Ingrid Bergman's Centennial Month

August 29th will mark Ingrid Bergman's 100th birthday as well as the 33rd anniversary of her death. Cannes hosted her face on their billboards and programs this year, a gorgeous photo of her from the 1950s that was fresh, sleek and a perfect celebration of someone who contributed to that festival specifically.

Other institutions are also celebrating the genius, style and choices of Ms. Bergman. The New Yorker just posted an article by Richard Brody called "A Life of Her Own: Celebrating Ingrid Bergman’s centenary onscreen"  In which Ingrid is referred to as a "genius" and  someone who "excelled at playing strong-willed, independent-minded women; she herself was one, and she paid a higher price for her artistic ambition and personal freedom than did any other movie star." The article goes further into her history and the parts she played, but also lets us know that Ingrid will be celebrated at a few venues, which is the news I would like to share with everyone today.

Here are some events happening, celebrating the life and films of Ingrid Bergman. If you can attend any of these, please tweet any photos, videos or links to me @alexis_morrell on Twitter. I will retweet and post here, hashtag #IngridBergman and/or #IngridBergmanFilms. You can also share them on the Facebook Page: Ingrid Bergman Life and Films .


Retrospective at MOMA NYC Aug. 29-Sept. 10 called: Ingrid Bergman: A Centennial Celebration. "August 29 marks the 100th anniversary of Ingrid Bergman’s birth, an occasion MoMA will observe with a selection of films from her 50-year career—as chosen and, where possible, introduced by her children Pia Lindstrom, Roberto Rossellini, Jr., Isabella Rossellini, and Isotta Ingrid Rossellini..." To learn more about the exhibit and events, please visit: https://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/films/1592

BAMcinématek retrospective from September 12—29, 2015: BAM presents a stage and screen salute

to one of the most iconic actresses of the 20th century. For more information, please visit: http://www.bam.org/film/2015/ingrid-bergman

AFI Cultural Center Screenings: Throughout the months of August and September, AFI Cinemas in Silver Spring Maryland will be having screenings of Ingrid Bergman films. Check out showtimes and where to get tickets here: https://silver.afi.com/Browsing/EventsAndExperiences/EventDetails/0000000004

I will post more as I hear of them! 

Happy Birthday Ingrid Bergman!

Today marks the 99th birthday for our beloved Ingrid Bergman! It also is the 32nd anniversary of her death. That's right, if this is your first time reading one of my birthday posts, fun fact: Ingrid Bergman died on her 67th birthday.

Ingrid's life was one filled with as much drama as the parts she played on the screen. Her mother died when she was 3, her father died when she was 12 and her aunt died in Ingrid's arms 6 months following. She worked hard for her dreams. She studied theater, piano and singing and acting was always her calling. She was a beauty who knew how to work the system.

The drama didn't end there. She had a baby when she was 23 and was married to a dentist who followed her to Hollywood when her career took off and made her a star. She had affairs with powerful men, including Victor Fleming (75 years ago... You know, the guy who directed "The Wizard of Oz" and "Gone with the Wind" in the same year), Robert Capa (the guy who took those famous WWII Normandy photos and later died because he stepped on a land mine) and later she would end her marriage with Peter Lindstrom by fleeing the states for Italy with Roberto Rossellini.

She was declared "Persona Non Grata" on the US Senate floor and wouldn't return to the States until after a decade.

Her work spoke for itself and for her. It lives on, thankfully, and though her full-circle time on this earth expired, her films immortalized those beautiful moments on screen.

Personally, I feel Ingrid Bergman has been a humanized star. She is someone I've watched time and again bring life to the screen and she has always inspired me to follow my ambitions and dreams.

Today, I celebrate the life and work of Ingrid Bergman, though I carry her in my head and heart everyday to utilize part of her path to guide my own.

The world made a better place thanks to Ingrid's work, especially the cinematic world.

Happy Birthday, Ingrid!