Remarks by Consul General Beth A. Payne at Kolkata Film Festival on Restored Films of Satyajit Ray

November 11, 2008

Mr. Nilanjan Chatterjee, Director, Kolkata Film Festival
Mr. Pradipta Sen, Calcutta Film Society
Mr. Josef Lindner, Film Preservationist, Motion Picture Academy
Mr. Peter Rainer, President, National Society of Film Critics

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today we are here to inaugurate a package of restored prints of films of one of the world’s greatest filmmakers, Mr. Satyajit Ray.  The prints of these films have been restored by the Academy of Motion Pictures in the United States.  And it is appropriate that these restored films be introduced back into India here in Kolkata, the canvas upon which Ray shot so many of his films.
 
Indeed, his films are so full of the feeling of this great city, this “Mohanagor” as he titled one of his most memorable films, that a walk down practically any street recalls scenes from his work.  As an American I am indeed proud that one of America’s leading film institutions has done this restoration work. 
 
Ray’s association with the U.S. and our association with Ray and his works have been extremely close.  In fact, Ray grew up watching, loving and admiring American movies.  Ray's first film, “Pather Panchali,” was actually released at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, even before it was released here in Kolkata.  It is also a very happy coincidence that Ray met his art director, Banshi Chandragupta, in the old USIS library when it was at Esplanade, and that both were regular visitors to our library there.  (As a reminder, our library is still here today serving any budding film-makers out there – it’s just shifted a bit down Chowringhee.)
 
Ray once visited the U.S. as part of a cultural exchange program sponsored by the U.S. Government.  And, just before the great filmmaker passed away in 1992, the Academy of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles conferred upon him its Lifetime Oscar Award.  The close ties that existed between Satyajit Ray and those he admired, and admired him, in the U.S. continue to link our two great countries. 
 
Before I end I would like to thank the Calcutta Film Society, and particularly Mr. Pradipta Sen for collaborating with us on this program.  I am also very thankful to Mr. Nilanjan Chatterjee, Director, Kolkata Film Festival, and all his colleagues for giving us this opportunity.  Thanks also to Mr. Peter Rainer for the extraordinary interest he has shown in explaining Ray’s work to the American audience.  
 
Finally, my heartfelt thanks go to Mr. Joseph Lindner, Preservation Officer, Academy of Motion Pictures, Los Angeles, who has personally come to Kolkata with these prints.  Mr. Lindner supervised the restoration of these films, and these new prints are now going to be screened for the first time ever, here in Kolkata at Nandan III.   Mr. Lindner tells me that it was a labor of love, and I am sure that is true.   Thank you all very much, and Happy Viewing!