 | The Conclusion from Teen Kanya (Two Daughters) & The Tree |
| The Conclusion from Teen Kanya (Two Daughters) & The Tree |
Based on two short stories by Rabindranath Tagore, TWO DAUGHTERS is really two separate stories, "The Post-master," and "The Conclusion." Each exemplifies the quiet wisdom and subtle craftmanship of director Satyjajit Ray's films.
This screening will feature "The Conclusion," starring Soumitra Chatterjee, a favorite actor of director Satyajit Ray, followed by THE TREE, a documentary on Chatterjee, directed by French director Catherine Berge, and produced by Ismail Merchant.
(Due to delay in production schedule on latest film) (5/7/98)
Berge's documentary, THE TREE, (GAACH) traces the career of Indian actor Soumitra Chatterjee, who is best known in the West for his frequent work with director Satyajit Ray. The film profiles the reminiscences of Chatterjee's fellow performers and other associates.For the past 34 years, producer Ismail Merchant's partnership with director James Ivory in Merchant Ivory Productions has been one of the most productive collaborations in world cinema. Together they have made such films as "The Bostonians" (1984), "A Room With a View" (1986), which won three Academy Awards, "Slaves of New York" (1989), "Howard'd End" (1992), which also won three Academy Awards, "The Remains of the Day" (1993), and most recently, "Jefferson in Paris (1995) and "Surviving Picasso" (1996). In addition to producing, Merchant has directed two television feature films, "In Custody" (1993), which received the Best Picture award at the National Film Awards of India, and "The Proprietor" (1996).
Frenchwoman Catherine Berge directed the documentary, "Fortune Cookie" (1993) about novelist William Kennedy, which aired on French and Canadian television. She also wrote a documentary that same year about American story-tellers, including Eudora Welty, Shelby Foote, Harry Crews and Richard Ford. Ms. Berge has also written musicals, including "Collections Personelles," about the history of twentieth century woman as preserved in the collective memory of cinema, and "De L'Autre Cote de la Lune," presented in honor of actress Lillian Gish's eighty-seventh birthday. She received an Advanced Certificate of International Reporting from the Columbia University School of Journalism in 1992, and taught seminars on French theater at Emory University in Atlanta in 1985-6.