The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, in celebration of the restoration of 19 Satyajit Ray films by the Academy Film Archive, will present new prints of the prolific filmmaker’s renowned early work known as The Apu Trilogy. The two-evening screening series kicks off with a double feature of 1955’s “Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road)” and 1956’s “Aparajito (The Unvanquished)” on Friday, September 6, at 7 p.m., and concludes with 1959’s “Apur Sansar (The World of Apu)” on Monday, September 9, at 7:30 p.m., at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Special guests for Monday’s program include actress Sharmila Tagore, who made her film debut in “Apur Sansar,” and Dilip Basu, founding director of the Satyajit Ray Film and Study Center Collection at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
The Academy has also partnered with the British Film Institute (BFI), the American Cinematheque and the Austrian Film Museum to screen prints from the Academy Film Archive’s collection.
In London, the BFI Southbank will present “Satyajit Ray” from August 14 through October 5.
In Los Angeles, the American Cinematheque at the Aero Theatre, in partnership with the Academy, will present “Unlocking the Golden Fortress: Satyajit Ray Restored,” from September 12 through October 21, featuring all 19 of the Ray films that the Academy Film Archive has restored to date.
In Vienna, the Austrian Film Museum will present “Satyajit Ray: Early Works” from December 4 through January 8, 2014.
More than 100 screenings will take place between the Academy’s screenings and its partners’ during the months-long celebration.
In 1992, after a career spanning more than three decades, Ray received an Honorary Award (an Oscar® statuette) from the Academy “in recognition of his rare mastery of the art of motion pictures, and of his profound humanitarian outlook, which has had an indelible influence on filmmakers and audiences throughout the world.”
The Apu Trilogy was restored by the Satyajit Ray Preservation Project through a collaboration of the Academy Film Archive, the Merchant and Ivory Foundation, and The Film Foundation.
Tickets for each evening of The Apu Trilogy are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID. Tickets may be purchased online at www.oscars.org, in person at the Academy box office or by mail. Doors open one hour before each screening. The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. Ticketed seating is unreserved. For more information, call (310) 247-3600 or visit www.oscars.org.
