A restored 4K version of Oscar-winning filmmaker Satyajit Ray’s 1970 film Aranyer Din Ratri (Days and Nights in the Forest), starring Soumitra Chatterjee, Sharmila Tagore and Rabi Ghosh, is set to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival 2025, the Film Heritage Foundation announced on Wednesday.
“Satyajit Ray’s masterpiece ‘Aranyer Din Ratri’ (Days and Nights in the Forest, 1970) restored by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project at L’Immagine Ritrovata in collaboration with Film Heritage Foundation, Janus Films, and the The Criterion Collection,” Film Heritage Foundation wrote alongside a revamped poster of the film.
Adapted from Bengali author Sunil Gangopadhyay’s eponymous novel, the film follows a group of urban men from Calcutta — played by Soumitra Chatterjee, Subhendu Chatterjee, Samit Bhanja, and Rabi Ghosh — as they head out for a weekend in the wilderness.
Actress Sharmila Tagore and director Wes Anderson will be present at the Cannes screening.
Additionally, Purnima Dutta, the head of Piyali Films and producer of Aranyer Din Ratri, will attend the screening alongside Film Foundation Executive Director Margaret Bodde and Film Heritage Foundation member Shivendra Singh Dungarpur.
The film festival authorities have expressed special gratitude to Satyajit Ray’s son, director Sandip Ray.
“A month ago, we got the news that the film would be screened at the Cannes Film Festival. However, we were waiting for the official announcement from the film festival authorities. We are very happy. Satyajit Ray's films are screened at film festivals around the world. However, this time it is special. Because this time, Aranyer Dinratri is going to be screened in 4K resolution,” Purnima Dutta said in an interview earlier this month.
Aranyer Din Ratri was nominated for Best Film at the 20th Berlin International Film Festival in 1970. A sequel, Abar Aranye, directed by Goutam Ghose, was released in 2003. The film continued the story of the four friends and their families who return to the wilderness.
The 78th annual Cannes Film Festival is set to take place from May 13 to May 24.
