Bharati Dubey (MID-DAY; April 25, 2015)

Satyajit Ray’s debut film Pather Panchali (1955), which forms the first part of his highly acclaimed Apu trilogy, will be screened at the 68th Cannes Film Festival in the classic section this year.

“Pather Panchali will be screened nearly 58 years later at the same festival. The film had won in the Best Human Document category in 1956 at Cannes,” says the master filmmaker’s son, Sandip Ray, who, however, won’t be present for the screening.

Barely two days ago, news had trickled in about the trilogy comprising Pather Panchali, Aparajito and Apur Sansar being digitally restored and ready for release in US theatres from May 8. Its restoration was long thought to be impossible, after a fire severely damaged the original negatives in 1993.

Meanwhile, the other India connect at the upcoming Festival de Cannes (May 13 to 24) are selection of two films in the UnCertain Regard section — Neeraj Ghaywan’s Masaan and Gurvinder Singh’s Chauthi Koot. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting will be hosting the India Pavillion on May 16 there along with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.