As one of the most highlighted events, IFFI is paying a rich tribute to legendary film, stage, and opera Swedish-director Ingmar Bergman. After directing 62 films, most of which he wrote, and directing over 170 plays, Ingmar at age 89 took his last breath this July.

In a presentation before screening Bergman’s movie, a small documentary was presented about his life, character, passion for movies, and bag of controversies he had been through during his 60 years in the entertainment industry.

IFFI has hand picked four of his most successful and internationally acclaimed movies. I am here to witness Smiles of a Summer Night. This 1955 (hard to believe) classic international award winning movie is a beautifully made love story. Starring in the lead roles are three Swedish divas: Ulla Jacobsson, Eva Dahlbeck, and Harriet Andersson.

This love-comedy has everything what Bergman was (and will be) famous for. I consider this is one of the most sophisticated love movies ever filmed, and a pure pleasure. It is a smart and witty romance based on the classic elements of French shambles. Simply engaging and wonderful. A must see!!!!

I just can’t wait. Soon after finishing my quick lunch, I am back to enjoy the second movie directed and written by mastermind Bergman. It’s another classic, a 1957 film Wild Stawberries, about an old man recalling his past.

This movie follows an elderly medical professor who drives with his daughter-in-law from the Swedish capital to the southern city of Lund to accept an honorary university degree. During the journey, he is unnaturally forced by nightmares, daydreams, his age, and his looming death, to go over his life. He meets a selection of people on the road, from Sara, a female hitcher traveling with her fiancé and guide, to an in-conflict married couple who remind him of his own life and marriage. The cast includes Bergman regulars Bibi Andersson, Ingrid Thulin, and Gunnar Bjornstrand.

Until today, Bergman is one of just a few celebrities, who has won the most famous and prestigious awards of the movie industry worldwide, from Oscar to BAFTA to Cesar, just a few to mention here. Many filmmakers worldwide, including Americans, Europeans, Polish, Indian have cited the work of Bergman as a major persuader on their own work. Here’s what Woody Allen had to say, [Bergman is] "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera."

Bergman’s loss is the loss of movie intellect.