Parama: A Journey with Aparna Sen

Year Of The Film: 2023

Language: English

Length: 1 hour 22 minutes

Premiere status: East Coast Premiere

Synopsis:

Aparna Sen is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actress of international renown who started her career with Satyajit Ray's 'Teen Kanya'. This is the first ever attempt on film to take stock of her six decades in cinema, as an actress and as a director. The film draws Sen into a conversation about her life and work, her intellectual and artistic influences, and her own subsequent forays into acting and direction. Sen has made 17 films and is the only woman to have ever won the National Award for Best Director, twice for her debut 36 Chowringhee Lane (1981) and Mr and Mrs Iyer (2002). In 2021 she received the prestigious Kim Jiseok Award at the 26th Busan International Film Festival for her film “The Rapist”.

The structure of the film is such that the director Suman Ghosh, himself a Busan veteran with 5 of his films having been screened in the festival, takes Aparna Sen on a walk down memory lane to visit the locations where she had shot some of her iconic films. She reminisces about the days of her shoot and in the process the documentary delves into her films and the impact it created in the history of Indian cinema.

The film also draws some of Sen's most influential colleagues and collaborators into conversation about her life and work to situate her and her work in a historical context.

The film also pays tribute to a witness of Indian cinema in a time of exceptional ferment who still champions religious and other ethnic minorities, champions pluralism, and diversity.

Director's Biography:

Suman Ghosh

Suman Ghosh is a National Award-winning Indian filmmaker. He has made 8 feature films and one documentary film. He had his film training at Cornell University in New York. His first feature film "Footsteps", starring Soumitra Chatterjee and Nandita Das won 2 National Awards in 2008. It was shown at numerous film festivals including Vancouver, Karlovy Vary and IAAC New York. His second feature film "Dwando", also starring Soumitra Chatterjee, was a part of the Indian Panorama at IFFI Goa in 2009. His next feature film "Nobel Thief", starring the Indian megastar Mithun Chakraborty was world premiered at the Busan IFF and was an official selection at the BFI, London Film festival. The film received the "Best Indian Film" award at the Bengaluru International Film Festival in 2012. His next feature film "Shyamal Uncle Turns off the Lights" has had a warm reception from critics and audiences all over the world. It was world premiered at the Busan Film Festival in South Korea and had its North American Premiere at the MoMA, NY. It won the "Outstanding International Feature Award" at the ReelWorld Film festival in Toronto. It is being distributed in North America by Global Film Initiative. His next feature film "Kadambari" starring Konkona SenSharma and Parambrata Chatterjee. It is based on the life of Rabindranath Tagore and his controversial relationship with his sister-in-law Kadambari Devi. It was screened at several film festivals worldwide and received the Best Feature Film Award and the Best Actress for Konkona Sensharma at the Washington DC South Asian Film Festival in 2015. His next film “Peace Haven” world premiered at Busan IFF and was an official selection at MAMI and NYIFF. His latest film is titled “Aadhaar” which World premiered at the Busan IFF in 2019 and is awaiting an all India release later this year.

Host or Publisher Indo-American Arts Council