One of the master artists of world cinema, Ingmar Bergman was born July 14, 1918, in Uppsala, Sweden, the son of the royal chaplain. His strict moral upbringing was a major influence on the melancholy films he would later direct.

Bergman first excelled in theater at the University of Stockholm; he then entered the film industry in the 1940s. His directing efforts for The Devil's Wanton (1949), Monika, Sawdust and Tinsel, and Smiles of a Summer Night (1955) gained notice from international critics; 1957's The Seventh Seal (starring Bergman regular Max von Sydow) was a breakthrough and Cannes award winner.

Bergman went on to win Oscars for The Virgin Spring (1960) and Through a Glass Darkly (1961) and nominations for Wild Strawberries, Cries and Whispers, Autumn Sonata and Fanny & Alexander. In 2003, he directed his last work, the TV movie Saraband, before his death on July 30, 2007.