Curating a Satyajit Ray film retrospective is a kind of high point of my curating career. Among other things, I’m learning to pronounce his name Show-tto-jit Rai, Bengali-style. The Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) Cinematheque has invited me to be Curator of Satyajit Ray, His Contemporaries and Legacy, that runs from August 4-27 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, Toronto. I’m due to personally introduce the series in Toronto next week as well, visa gods willing. 

In fact, this is the fourth time I’m collaborating as Curator/Consultant with TIFF Cinematheque, the year-round programming home of the festival, since 11 years. The first time was for ‘Raj Kapoor and the Golden Age of Indian Cinema’ (where I was Consultant; curated by Noah Cowan, 2011), ‘Indian Expressionism’ exploring the influence of German Expressionism on Indian cinema over half a century (I was Curator, 2012), Musicals! The Movies that Moved Us (I was Consultant; curated by Cameron Bailey, CEO TIFF, 2021-2022), and Satyajit Ray, His Contemporaries and Legacy (I’m Curator, 2022).