Beyond an ‘Act of Faith’: An Inquiry into Saving Ray’s Films

Engaging with a video uploaded to the Academy Originals’ YouTube channel, An Act of Faith: Saving the Apu Trilogy (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, A.M.P.A.S., 2015), this article foregrounds the institutional narratives surrounding the restoration of Indian director Satyajit Ray’s films. It subsequently analyzes the YouTube video, in conjunction with archival documents, to underline the ellipses in the publicized narratives. Contextualizing the archival materials with interviews affords a re-interpretation of the institutional gesture of saving Ray’s films. This aids to critically position the need for restitution that the India-based producer of Ray’s films— Aparajito ( The Unvanquished , part of the Apu Trilogy , 1956) and Jalsaghar ( The Music Room , 1958)—demanded. The article argues that the act of faith is also an act of artefact acquisition which eventually enables institutions to position themselves as value-generators—converting sacred value into heritage value by mobilizing diverse resources.