This year’s Leeds International Film Festival (LIFF) will feature a spotlight on legendary actress Smita Patil, a performer of acting prowess that made her the iconic face of Parallel Cinema, India’s first post-colonial art film movement (1968 – 1995).
This unique retrospective opens a door into the world of Smita Patil, celebrating her films, activism, and enduring stardom.
In Spice & Fire: The Films of Smita Patil, LIFF celebrates the work of legendary performer Smita Patil. Smita Patil was just 31 when she passed away in 1986. With her screen debut in 1975, Smita Patil forged one of the most superlative bodies of work that an actor has ever produced. Across the space of 11 years, Patil collaborated with many of the best filmmakers of her generation.
This exciting career retrospective includes a 4k restoration of The Churning, a landmark film that tells the story of a rural cooperative milk movement in Gujarat, India.
Chidambaram, Patil’s only collaboration with Keralan auteur Govindan Aravindan tells the story of Shankaran, a cowherd whose attraction to his friend’s wife, Shivagami (played by Patil), leads to tragic consequences.
Bengali director Utpalendu Chakrabarty’s Debshishu features a tour de force performance from Patil in one of her last roles, embodying the strength and despair of a woman forced to endure unimaginable hardship.
In Search of Famine explores the haunting legacy of the 1943 Bengal famine that resulted in the deaths of at least three million people.
Audiences can look forward to an introduction to Smita Patil on 2 November followed by a screening of Mirch Masala, featuring Patil in what was arguably her most iconic role of Sonbai, imbuing the film with a memorable feminist and anti-colonial power.
Established in 1987, Leeds International Film Festival is one of the largest annual film events in the UK and one of the longest, running for 17 days every November in venues across Leeds and West Yorkshire.
Presenting over 250 features and shorts every year, with annual submissions of over 5000 from more than 120 countries, LIFF principally showcases and supports films from new and diverse filmmaking talent, which may not receive profile in the UK otherwise. LIFF is supported by the BFI National Lottery Audience Projects Award.
The 38th edition of the Festival will run from 1 to 17 November 2024 at venues across the city including events and screenings at Everyman Leeds, Vue Leeds in the Light, Hyde Park Picture House and Howard Assembly Room. Tickets are now on sale for the full LIFF 2024 programme.