February 25, 2002 Major retrospective features films from UCSC's Ray Film and Study Collection By Ann Gibb A deathbed promise to internationally acclaimed filmmaker Satyajit Ray has led to the first comprehensive American retrospective of Ray's films. The archives of the late Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray are at UCSC. The Complete Satyajit Ray: Cinema Through the Inner Eye, which includes more than 35 feature films and documentaries produced from 1955 to 1991, opens in Washington, D.C., on March 1. Renowned director Martin Scorsese will be the keynote speaker at the retrospective's inaugural event. Ray was fatally ill with heart disease and hospitalized in his hometown of Calcutta, India, in January of 1992 when he received a visitor from America, longtime family friend and UC Santa Cruz associate professor of history Dilip Basu. Basu was shocked to discover how ill Ray had become. "He could see the sadness on my face," said Basu, "and I think out of kindness, to distract me, he said, 'Dilip, you remember you talked about making an archive of my work? I want you to do that.' Of course I promised I would." Basu had first considered creating an archive when he decided to use several Ray films in an Indian history class. "There were no videos available," said Basu, "and I had to borrow some 35 mm prints which were almost unviewable." The absence of quality prints and videos was disturbing, especially given Ray's influence on filmmakers and the number of international accolades he had received, including an achievement award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. After Ray's death in April 1992, Basu established the Ray Film and Study Collection (Ray FASC) at UC Santa Cruz. Backed by an international advisory council which includes Scorsese and Ray's son Sandip Ray, Basu began to assemble Ray's archive, currently comprising more than 10,000 items, including Ray's notes and sketchbooks for his films, stills, posters, and articles about Ray. The archive resides in McHenry Library at UC Santa Cruz. A prolific writer, Ray authored 75 novels. But he is best known internationally as an auteur-style filmmaker. Ray wrote, produced, directed, and edited his movies; acted as director of photography for his films; scored music for those made from 1962 on; laid out the films scene-by-scene in his own storyboard drawings; and even designed publicity posters. Collecting and restoring Ray's film negatives--the originals were found to be in critical condition--is painstaking and costly work. Basu has received grants in support of the project, including one from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. "Nobody believed it could all be done," says Basu, who has been directing Ray FASC while maintaining his teaching schedule. He has found himself working weekends in Los Angeles at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences labs and studios, translating dialogue to create new subtitles, then rushing back to Santa Cruz to teach during the week. After nearly a decade of work, Ray FASC has completed restoration of 11 films. The Academy's Board of Governors has recently announced it will fund restoration of the remainder of Ray's films. Both restored and unrestored Ray films will be shown at The Complete Satyajit Ray: Cinema Through the Inner Eye. "We wanted to show everything," says Basu, "and also to make a point about the need for restoration." Because of the number of films, the retrospective screenings will be held at several venues, including the Freer Gallery of Art, the National Gallery of Art, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Two major stars of Ray's films--Soumitra Chatterjee and Sharmila Tagore--will be featured speakers during the retrospective. Other speakers include distinguished Indian film directors Shyam Benegal and Mira Nair and American director Gregory Nava. From March 30 to April 28, 20 films from the retrospective will be shown at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Sharmila Tagore will also be a featured speaker at selected screenings in Los Angeles. Return to Front Page