Ingrid Bergman: poster girl once again

Film as dream, film as music. No art passes our conscience in the way film does, and goes directly to our feelings, deep down into the dark rooms of our souls.

 Ingrid Bergman

Is this a celebration of a mere centenary or an immortal star? A mere glance at the radiant face of Ingrid Bergman on the 68th Festival poster, smiling brightly as she glances back over her shoulder to greet the cream of cinemas finest from 13 to 24 May, is enough to dispel all doubt.

Little did she know, as she said toCary Grant in Notorious: "You’re afraid you’ll fall in love with me,"* that she would go on to inspire the greatest directors: Georges Cukor, Victor Flemming, Alfred Hitchcock, Roberto Rosselini, Jean Renoir,  andIngmar Bergman to name but a few, and also serve as Andy Warhol's muse for a series of portraits. Those countless films and posters from 1932 to 1978 were emblazoned with the picture of an actress who remains one of the greats of cinema history.

* To which Cary Grant replied: “That wouldn’t be hard…” (Notorious, Alfred Hitchcock, 1946)