Rutger Bergman

In the late 1940s, the incandescent Hollywood star Ingrid Bergman found herself so stirred by the revolutionary neorealist films of Roberto Rossellini that she sent the director a letter, introducing herself and offering her talents. The resulting collaboration produced a series of films that are works of both sociopolitical concern and metaphysical melodrama, each starring Bergman as a woman experiencing physical dislocation and psychic torment in postwar Italy. It also famously led to a scandalous affair and eventual marriage between filmmaker and star, and the focus on their personal lives in the press unfortunately overshadowed the extraordinary films they made together. Stromboli, Europe ’51, and Journey to Italy are intensely moving portraits that reveal the director at his most emotional and the glamorous actress at her most anguished, and that capture them and the world around them in transition.

Alan Bergman, along with his wife and partner Marilyn, have written the lyrics to some of the best-loved songs in popular music history. "The Windmills of Your Mind" and "The Way We Were" were awarded both the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Song and the latter also won 2 GRAMMY Awards. Their score for Yentl also won an Oscar and their work has received a staggering total of 16 nominations. Lyrically finds Alan in the company of top-notch musicians from the world of jazz, as he turns his Chet Baker-like vocal stylings to a number of his signature tunes including "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?" and "You Don't Bring Me Flowers."