The 4K restored version of the 1986 Malayalam classic Amma Ariyan was screened at the 79th edition of the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday. Restored by the Film Heritage Foundation, it was the only Indian title featured in the Restored Classics section.
Directed by avant-garde filmmaker John Abraham, the story revolves around the incidents following the death of a young Naxalite. Upon his death, his friends travel to the village where his mother lives to inform her of the death of her only son.
Produced by the Odessa Collective — a group of film enthusiasts co-founded by Abraham — the film is set against the political unrest of 1970s Kerala.
The film's 4K restoration, which began in 2023, faced significant challenges due to the lack of any original camera negative.
After locating surviving members of the Odessa Collective and securing their permission, a global search through the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) yielded just two 35mm prints at the National Film Archive of India — subtitled and unsubtitled, as per a PTI report.
The unsubtitled print served as the primary source, with the subtitled version used to fill gaps. The restoration required extensive manual work, particularly in sound, with over 4,000 interventions to address noise, dropouts and inconsistencies.
Film Heritage Foundation's previous restorations such as Thamp (Aravindan Govindan), Ishanou (Aribam Syam Sharma), Manthan (Shyam Benegal), Aranyer Din Ratri (Satyajit Ray) and Gehenu Lamai (Sumitra Peries) had all premiered at Cannes between 2022 and 2025.