Restored ‘English, August’ to Premiere at Venice After Decades-Long Rescue
The Film Heritage Foundation has completed a full restoration of Dev Benegal’s 1994 cult classic “English, August,” which will debut at the Venice Film Festival.
Dev Benegal’s “English, August,” once thought unsalvageable after its camera negative melted and the duplicate vanished, has been painstakingly restored by the Film Heritage Foundation. Only two 35mm release prints and a set of DAT tapes survived, allowing restorers to reconstruct both picture and sound. Working at L’Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna, the team collaborated with original sound recordist Vikram Joglekar, sound engineer Satish P.M., and cinematographer Anoop Jotwani on color grading, while Benegal, based in New York, provided English subtitles and daily feedback.
Lead actor Rahul Bose also observed part of the process. The restored film will premiere at the Venice Film Festival, continuing the foundation’s streak of festival restorations after “Ghatashraddha” (2024) and “Do Bigha Zamin” (2025).
Why it matters
The restoration revives a landmark Indian film, making it accessible to new audiences and preserving cultural heritage.
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