SYNOPSIS OF THE FILM

For the Indian people, Amrita Sher-Gil is a legendary figure. Born in Budapest during the early years of the First World War, this artist, who initiated contemporary Indian painting, passed away in the winter of 1941 at the young age of 28. From Delhi to Bombay, and for artists of the Indian diaspora worldwide, she remains a symbol and a memory. Her charisma is often compared to that of the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. In her domain, she brought a sense of modernity to the Indian subcontinent.

Shot in New Delhi, Bombay, Simla, Budapest, and Paris, the film presents a fragmented life story, drawing on Amrita Sher-Gil’s letters to her loved ones. It explores her commitment to painting and her extraordinary life, which has made her as legendary as iconic Indian movie stars like Smita Patil or Raj Kapoor.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Patrick Cazals has been directing documentary films and artist, writer, and filmmaker portraits since 1977, with a filmography of around fifty works. Before becoming a filmmaker, he worked as a journalist, collaborating with Libération, Cahiers du Cinéma, and France Culture. In addition to his filmmaking career, he is the author of several books, including Musidora, la dixième muse (Veyrier Editions), Sergueï Paradjanov (Cahiers du Cinéma Editions), Léon Moussinac (Ensad Editions), and Charles Boyer, l’ardeur et l’élégance (Horla Editions). In 1987, he founded his own production company, Les Films du Horla, followed by Les Editions du Horla in 2018. His notable films include Doisneau des villes, Doisneau des champs (1993), Sergueï Paradjanov, le rebelle (2004), L’Ouragan Kalatozov (2009), and Musidora, la dixième muse (2013).