Aparna Sen, one of India’s most eminent film stars and filmmakers, will be the guest of honor at two Santa Cruz film screenings hosted by UCSC’s Satyajit Ray Film & Study Center (Ray FASC), April 21 and 22.
The acclaimed actress, scriptwriter, and director is the winner of three India National Film Awards, as well as eight international film festival awards.
On April 21, Sen will appear at a screening of the Satyajit Ray film Samapti, beginning at 5 p.m. in the Media Theater on the UCSC campus.
She made her acting debut in that 1961 film at the age of 16, and has played roles in three other Satyajit Ray film classics.
Samapti is based on a short story by Bengali philosopher, poet, and Nobel Prize winner Rabindranath Tagore.
The film was recently restored by The Academy Film Archives in Los Angeles.
Following the screening, Sen will speak about the Tagore cultural and literary heritage and field questions from the audience.
On April 22, Sen’s recent film The Japanese Wife--a long distance romantic drama--will be screened at the Nickelodeon in downtown Santa Cruz, followed by a Q&A session with the director.
Sen made her directorial debut with the film 36 Chowringhee Lane in 1981. She has since directed nearly a dozen films, including the award-winning Mr. & Mrs. Iyer (2002), and Paroma (1985), a landmark feminist film.
Sen has also appeared in Merchant-Ivory’s Guru and Bombay Talkie, and a number of other English language films.
Admission to the April 21 event at UCSC’s Media Theater is free. The April 22 screening at Nickelodeon will be ticketed at the usual price.
For more information, call (831) 459-4012.
