On this day, member organizations of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF), of which the Cinémathèque québécoise is part of, have to present a little-known or notable film from world cinema. This special screening of Béhula is brought to us by the Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé.
Accompanied on the piano by Gabriel Thibodeau
Behula (Camille Legrand) © 1921 - Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé Foundation
4K restoration carried out by the Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé Foundation in 2022 at the L’Immagine Ritrovata
Adapted from a Bengali legend taken from the Manasa Mangala, the film focuses on the rivalry between the goddesses Chandi, wife of the god Shiva, and Manasa, Shiva’s daughter. Their conflict centers on a wealthy merchant, Chand Sadagar—husband of Sanaka and a devoted follower of Chandi—whom Manasa tries to win over.
Camille Legrand
Camille Legrand was a cinematographer for Pathé from 1905 to 1920. Dubbed “the tireless cinematographer” by researcher and scholar Jitka de Préval, he left Pathé in 1921 to partner with J.F. Madan, owner of the theaters and studio of the same name, for whom he would direct at least five films in Calcutta, either on his own or in collaboration with Bengali filmmaker Jyotish Banerjee. At the time, Madan Theatres Ltd dominated the Indian film industry, combining production, distribution, and exhibition activities. Out of the prolific output of films made in India during the silent era, the vast majority of which have unfortunately been lost, Béhula (1921) is one of the few that has been miraculously restored.
Bio: Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé
Presented in collaboration with
