SRFTI to screen restored Arundhati Devi's 'Chhuti', Tapan Sinha’s 'Aadmi Aur Aurat' and Mrinal Sen’s 'Oka Oori Katha'
Times of India | 14 March 2024
KOLKATA: Cannes-award winning directors Asghar Farhadi and Naomi Kawase have both consented to be a part of the Arcurea – the international colloquium at the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) that will be held between March 16 and 22. The added attractions are the centenary tribute screenings of restored films like Arundhati Devi’s “Chhuti”, Tapan Sinha’s “Aadmi Aur Aurat” and Mrinal Sen’s “Oka Oori Katha”.This was shared with TOI on Wednesday by the institute director Himanshu Khatua in the presence of the Arcurea’s artistic director and SRFTI dean Vipin Vijay and SRFTI’s HoD of department of direction and screenplay writing Anirban Datta.
Khatua told TOI that the festival will have specially curated live performances, an exhibition of film memorabilia and a public lecture to commemorate film archivist and film scholar PK Nair. Japanese film director Kawase will be the guest of honour for the closing ceremony. There will be 22 distinguished international and 21 national speakers addressing various sessions. International dignitaries include Thai Film Archive director Chalida Uabumrungjit, executive director of Asian Film Archive (Singapore) Karen Chan, Mohammad Arifuzzaman from Bangladesh Film Archive and Markus Ruff from Germany’s Arsenal Berlin, among others. Director Vidhu Vinod Chopra will also have an e-conversation session.
Farhadi, the Iranian-born writer-director whose ‘About Elly’, ‘A Separation’, ‘The Salesman’ and ‘A Hero’ has earned him worldwide acclaim, has never been to Kolkata. “Our interest is to look at his creative self through his rich tapestry of work. He has a large number of students from India who have been looking at his body of work. That is an interest that makes him look at SRFTI. He wanted to attend this colloquium in person but couldn’t because of some personal reasons. He will be joining us for an e-conversation. He has promised to come to SRFTI for a workshop or a masterclass,” Vijay said. Students have already started watching his films so that they can ask informed questions.
This festival will also screen cinematic masterpieces that have been restored by the NFDC-National Film Archive of India (NFDC-NFAI) as part of the National Film Heritage Mission (NFHM). Two films from early Indian cinema that will be screened are Himanshu Rau and Franz Osten’s ‘Prem Sanyas’ and Franz Osten’s ‘Nirmala’. In the ‘lost and found’ segment are PV Rao’s ‘Marthanda Varma’ and Barin Saha’s ‘Tero Nodir Parey’. “We are also screening Ramesh Sharma’s ‘New Delhi Times’, Ketan Mehta’s ‘Bhavni Bhavai’, G Aravindan’s ‘Kummatty, Satyadev Dubey’s ‘Shantata! Court Chalu Ahe’, Krishna Panju’s ‘Parashakthi’, John Abraham’s ‘Agraharathil Kazuthai’, Samarendra Narayan Deb’s ‘Aranya’, Pattabhirama Reddy’s ‘Samskara’, Aribam Syam Sharma’s ‘Ishanou’ and Krishna Panju’s ‘Parashakthi’. We also intend to showcase Kuman Sahani’s ‘Maya Darpan’ and SRFTI’s director ‘Shunya Swaroopa’. Both these films are in the process of restoration,” Datta said.
The event will also see the inauguration of the Pramod Pati Cinema Art and Technology Museum. “Pati, who is one of pioneering documentary filmmakers, was also part of the erstwhile Films Division that has provided SRFTI a repository of artefacts. This museum will provide a comprehensive historical understanding of the art and technology of filmmaking,” Khatua added.