India To Be The Official Country Of Honour At The Cannes Film Festival

India will be the honorary guest of honor at this year's Cannes Film Festival, which will run from May 17 to May 25. A stunning new restoration of Indian cinema legend Satyajit Ray's rare film Pratidwandi will be shown in an exclusive screening at the movie gala as the country commemorates its 75th anniversary of independence at the same time as Cannes Film Festival celebrates its 75th anniversary.

Pratidwandi has been restored by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, according to a press release from the festival.

 

Prime Focus Technologies in Mumbai handled the restoration, and acclaimed Indian cinematographer Sudeep Chatterjee oversaw the grading. The National Film Archive of India is presenting the newly restored version of this classic work of art (NFDC).

In addition to Pratidwandi, a fresh new 4K restoration of the Hollywood classic Singin' In The Rain will be shown. Films depicting the transition from silent to talking pictures will be shown on the Boulevard de la Croisette at Cannes.

The restoration of Aravindan Govindan's 1978 film Thamp (The Circus Tent) will be shown at the cinema gala, where it will receive its world premiere.

Actress-filmmaker Rebecca Hall and Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi have already been named on the competition jury for the 2019 edition of the festival, together with Bollywood sensation Deepika Padukone.

This year's Palme d'Or will be awarded to one of the 21 films in competition at the Cannes Film Festival's closing ceremony on May 28. Ms. Padukone, best known for her films Piku, Padmaavat and Gehraiyaan, and Hollywood project xXx: The Return of Xander Cage, is a juror on the eight-member panel.