An Affair to Remember

Back in the 1960s when Indian cinema was dictating values in society, French filmmakers were experimenting with lower budgets,improvised dialogues,new camera techniques and small time actors. “This period is known as New Wave French cinema. It was when experienced film critics were becoming filmmakers and redefining classical cinema,” explains Sergie Toubiana,director general,Cinematheque Francaise,Paris,a non-government body which restores and preserves classical cinema. Toubiana was in town to launch a four-day film festival showcasing New Wave French cinema.

The festival opened with the screening of Jean-Luc Godard’s restored colour print version of Pierrot Le Fou (Pierre the Fool),which is regarded as a pioneering work in New Wave French cinema. “The film is a critique on the American way of life and the Vietnam war. We restored it only this year and managed to screen it at Cannes also. Godard’s work was poetic and non-conformist,” explains Toubiana. Godard’s Alphaville will also be screened alongside other filmmakers like Francois Truffaut’s Jules et Jim (Jules and Jim) and Agnes Varda’s Cleo de 5 a 7 will also be screened.

Even though Indian filmmakers did not inspire the French at the time,Toubiana is keen to screen Jean Renoir’s Bengali film The River ,in which filmmaker Satyajit Ray was the second assistant director. The festival will be held in eight Indian cities,including Mumbai,Pune,

Bangalore,Chennai,Trivandrum,Hyderabad and Kolkata till January. The films will be screened at PVR Plaza till December 7.

Passes are available at venue. Entry is free. For details log on to http://www.bonjour-india .com