Three features, 2 documentaries to mark special year for industry.
By American Bazaar Staff
NEW YORK: Five classic Indian films spanning different time periods, which have recently been restored, and are considered by critics as some of the greatest films made in India, will be screened at the 13th Annual New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF), in the “100 Years of Indian Cinema” series presented by Incredible India!
Ever since pioneer filmmaker D.G Phalke released his first feature film Raja Harishchandra on May 3, 1913, India has continued to be the most prolific and diverse film industry in the world. The lineup at NYIFF includes three rarely seen masterpieces from different time periods, as well as two world-premiere documentaries that explore different facets of Indian filmmaking.
These classic films will celebrate recent efforts at film restoration, which are bringing some of India’s greatest cinematic treasures to an international audience. According to NYIFF Director Aseem Chhabra, “In the recent years, many scholars, film programmers and archivists have expressed deep concerns about the state of old Indian films.” However, he states that recently, “there have been some valiant people who have stepped forward to restore some of the films.”
The three feature films to be screened include M.S. Sathyu’s Garam Hawa, which underwent a restoration and was recently screened at the International Film Festival in Goa. In its time it was hailed as a landmark must-see film and credited with being at the forefront of a new wave of art cinema.
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