### Acclaimed Kannada Film "Ghatashraddha" by Girish Kasaravalli Selected for Premiere at Venice Film Festival 2024
Gopendra Nath Bhatt
Renowned filmmaker Girish Kasaravalli's historic Kannada film "Ghatashraddha" has been selected for the premiere show at the Venice Film Festival 2024. The Film Heritage Foundation has restored this 47-year-old film, making it suitable for international screening.
Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, the founder-director of the Film Heritage Foundation from the Dungarpur royal family of Rajasthan, announced that this is the third Indian film restored by the foundation this year. After the successful world premieres of the newly restored “Manthan” and “Maya Miriga” at the Cannes and Bologna Film Festivals, respectively, the foundation has brought another Indian classic, “Ghatashraddha,” to the global stage for the Venice Film Festival this year. Venice, being the oldest film festival in the world, is an esteemed platform for this film’s presentation.
Director Girish Kasaravalli expressed his delight, saying, "I am thrilled that the restored version of my first feature film ‘Ghatashraddha’ will have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival this year, 47 years after its release on an international platform. It is a matter of great pride for me to be in Venice to present the film. I deeply appreciate the tireless efforts of Shivendra Singh Dungarpur and the Film Heritage Foundation in preserving and restoring India’s film heritage. I also thank Martin Scorsese, the World Cinema Project of The Film Foundation, and George Lucas and Melody Hobson for supporting the restoration of ‘Ghatashraddha’."
Shivendra Singh Dungarpur remarked, "It is incredible that this award-winning Kannada film ‘Ghatashraddha,’ directed by Girish Kasaravalli, has been selected for the premiere at the Venice Film Festival. We are proud to have restored films like Aravindan Govindan’s Malayalam films ‘Kummatty’ and ‘Thamp,’ Aribam Syam Sharma’s Manipuri film ‘Ishanou,’ Shyam Benegal’s Hindi film ‘Manthan,’ and Nirad Mohapatra’s Odia film ‘Maya Miriga,’ giving them a new lease of life. Working on the restoration of these films and bringing them back to the global map brings immense joy. We are grateful to Martin Scorsese and the World Cinema Project of The Film Foundation for partnering with us in restoring these remarkable Indian films over the years. We also extend our gratitude to George Lucas and his wife, Melody Hobson, for the financial support provided by the Hobson Lucas Family Foundation."
He added that the decision to restore "Ghatashraddha" aligns with the Film Heritage Foundation’s mission to revive and present forgotten Indian cinema classics to contemporary audiences.
### Synopsis of "Ghatashraddha"
Based on a short story by renowned Kannada author Dr. U.R. Ananthamurthy, "Ghatashraddha" is an award-winning Kannada film and the first film directed by Girish Kasaravalli. It portrays the social ostracism faced by a young woman for violating the strict sexual norms of a conservative Brahmin society in South India. The film follows Yamuna, a child widow living in a Vedic school run by her father. She gets impregnated by a local school teacher, attempts suicide, but is saved by Nani, a young student of her father. Despite surviving the ordeal, she faces severe social repercussions, including symbolic funeral rites performed by her father.
### About the Film Heritage Foundation
Established in 2014, the Film Heritage Foundation is a Mumbai-based non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation, restoration, and promotion of films and cinematic heritage in India. It is the only NGO in the country working in the field of film conservation and has a collection of approximately 700 films on celluloid. The foundation is a member of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) since 2015 and is involved in various preservation activities, training programs, children’s workshops, oral history projects, exhibitions, festival curations, and publications.
The foundation has achieved international recognition for its work and has restored numerous forgotten gems of Indian cinema, showcased at festivals, museums, and universities worldwide. Their annual film preservation workshops, conducted in collaboration with FIAF, have trained nearly 400 participants, fostering a global community of film archivists dedicated to preserving the cinematic heritage of the subcontinent.
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