Satyajit Ray exhibition begins at Academy Museum

A two-part retrospective hosted by the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, California, began yesterday to celebrate the birth centenary of legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray. The first part of the exhibition, focusing on the auteur’s initial decade from 1955 to 1968, will run till 29 December.

Ray won an honorary Oscar for Lifetime Achievement in 1992; he received the statue in a hospital bed due to his ill health. The museum will focus on the filmmaker’s groundbreaking debut with Pather Panchali (1955) and his Apu trilogy before moving on to other landmark films like Parash Pathar (1958), Jalsaghar (1958), Devi (1960), Teen Kanya (1961), his first colour film Kanchanjungha (1962), Abhijaan (1962), Mahanagar (1963), Charulata (1964), the double bill Kapurush (1965) and Mahapurush (1965), and satirical musical Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne (1969).

This week, the museum will screen the Apu trilogy, along with Parash Pathar and Jalsaghar.

Around 15 features will be screened as preserved 35 mm prints from the Academy Film Archive. This includes the noteworthy restoration of the Apu trilogy from camera negatives that were nearly lost in a fire. The second part of the retrospective will be held in 2022.