£3, concessions £2. In Bengali with English subtitles (unless stated)

For further details and to book a place please telephone 0207 323 8181 or email boxoffice@thebritishmuseum.ac.uk

The Goddess (Devi)
Saturday 16 September, 14.00
In 1860s Bengal a widowed feudal landlord decides his daughter in law Doya is an incarnation of the goddess Kali. His faith appears justified when a sick child ‘miraculously’ recovers after being laid at the feet of Doya. But tragedy follows when her own nephew falls seriously ill.

Utsav (Festival)
Friday 22 September, 18.30
Bhagabati, an elderly woman, has called her four adult daughters to her estate in Calcutta. There is a prospect of selling the estate and they start debating the pros and cons of making a profit at the expense of a century and a half old family legacy. Based on a story by Rabindranath Tagore. Introduced by Sangeeta Datta.

Tagore on film
Saturday 30 September, 11.00 – 17.00
Satyajit Ray was profoundly influenced by Rabindranath Tagore and based some of his key films on Tagore’s fiction. Andrew Robinson, biographer of both Tagore and Ray, gives an illustrated discussion on the two great Bengali artists. The day continues with screenings of the Ray’s documentary on Tagore, the short films The Postmaster and Samapti and the feature Charulata (to be confirmed) which Ray regarded as his most accomplished film.
£15, £10 concessions

36 Chowringhee Lane
Friday 20 October, 18.30
In post independence India, a lonely Anglo-English school teacher allows a former student to have romantic tryst in her apartment. But as the excitement vanishes she goes back to her lonely existence.

The Cloud-Capped Star ( Meghe Dhaka Tara)
Friday 27 October, 18.30
A dark melodrama set in late 1950s Calcutta about a refugee family from East Bengal and the struggle of their eldest daughter to keep them afloat. A bitter critique of the family and also the harsh conditions arising from the 1947 Partition of India – the trauma that defined Ghatak as an artist.

In Search of Famine (Akaler Sandhaney)
3 November, 18.30
Director: Mrinal Sen

Letter from an Ordinary Girl
Saturday 4 November, 13.00
With special guest Sangeeta Datta
Based on Tagore’s Sadharon Meye this short film revolves around a series of letters a young girl in Calcutta sends to a famous writer in England. Years later a young girl in London finds them and responds. Followed by discussion.
Admission free, no pre booking

Singing Pictures –Women Painters of Naya
Friday 10 November, 13.30
USA, 2005, 45 mins
Admission free, no pre booking

Devdas
Friday 10 November, 18.30
Dir: Bimal Roy, 1955, 159 mins
In Hindi with English subtitles

Chokher Bali
Friday 17 November
Dir Rituparno Ghosh, 167 mins, 2003

The Apu trilogy Dir: Satyajit Ray
Friday 24 November

Pather Panchali, 14.00
Aparajito, 16.15
The world of Apu, 19.00

Satyajit Ray’s most celebrated works.
These three films follow the fortunes of Apu,
A young boy in rural Bengal through to
Urban life in Calcutta and the tragic results
Of his marrying.

Bangladesh film day
Saturday 25 November, 14.00-18.00
Double bill of The Clay Bird (Matir Moina), 2002 and Ontorjatra, 2006.
With the directors Taraque Masud and Catherine Masud
£15, £10 concessions