Fr. Gaston Roberge (27 May 1935 – August 26, 2020) was a French Canadian Jesuit priest; film theorist; pioneer of the film appreciation movement in India; founder, with full support of Satyajit Ray, of Chitrabani (1970),[1] the oldest media training institute of Eastern India; founder of the Media Research Centre (EMRC) of St. Xavier's College, Kolkata (1986); former president of Unda/OCIC-India; and author of over 35 books on cinema, communication, and spirituality.[2] He made India his home and won an Indian National Film Award Special Mention for Best Writing on Cinema for the year 1998.[3][4][5][6][7] The ceremony took place on 15 February 2000 and the awards were given by then President of India, K. R. Narayanan. Gaston Roberge was a close friend of Satyajit Ray[8]
Education and early days
editRoberge[9][10] was born in Montreal, Quebec. He graduated from the University of Montreal, and did his Masters at UCLA. He joined the Society of Jesus (Jesuit Fathers) in 1956 and was sent to India on his request. He was the Executive Secretary for Social Communication, Headquarters of the Society of Jesus, Rome, till 1999.
Books
edit- Chitra Bani
- Mass Communication and Man
- Films for an Ecology of Mind
- The Theory of Indian cinema
- Mediation: The Action of the Media in Our Society
- The Ways of Film Studies: Film Theory & the Interpretation of Films
- Satyajit Ray: Essays 1970-2005
- The Subject of Cinema
- Another cinema for another society
- Communication, Cinema, Development: From Morosity to Hope
- Les aventures de Kat Mandou
- Woman of Light To View Movies the Indian Way
- The Indian Film Theory: Flames of Sholay, Notes and Beyond
- The Compassionate Face of Meaning: Fragments for a Mosaic
- Cyberbani
Awards and accolades
edit- National Film Award Special Mention for Best Writing on Cinema
- Lifetime Achievement Award by Bimal Roy Memorial & Film Society | "For establishing the unique enabling institution of Chitrabani and thus pioneering film academia in India as well as cultivating and nurturing several generations of cineastes and filmmakers."[11][12]
Documentary on Fr. Gaston Roberge
edit- Master Preacher of Film Theory by National Award-winning filmmaker KG Das[13]
References
edit- ^ Joshi, Ruchir (2 May 2020). "The priest and the maverick". The Hindu. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
- ^ Robinson, Andrew. "Satyajit Ray: Essays (1970–2005). By Gaston Roberge. pp. 280. New Delhi, Manohar, 2007". Cambridge. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
- ^ "46th National Film Awards". International Film Festival of India. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
- ^ "46th National Film Awards (PDF)" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
- ^ "46th National Film Awards (PIB - Feature films)". Press Information Bureau (PIB), India. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
- ^ "46th National Film Awards (PIB - Non-Feature films)". Press Information Bureau (PIB), India. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
- ^ "46th National Film Awards (PIB - Writing)". Press Information Bureau (PIB), India. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
- ^ Chattopadhyay, Suhrid Sankar (11 August 2006). "Unlikely colleagues". The Hindu.
- ^ Jothi, Irudaya (26 August 2020). "Jesuit who dreamt films dies". Matters India. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
- ^ Veda, SB. "On the Collar and the Camera: Gaston Roberge's Life in Film". The Global Calcuttan. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
- ^ "Communications honour Jesuit missionary at World Congress". Jesuits in Britain. Retrieved 26 August 2020.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Fr. Gaston Roberge Honoured in Mumbai". Signis. 1 December 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ A Chatterji, Shoma (11 February 2011). "Father Gaston Roberge – A Master Teacher of Film Theories". Learning and Creativity.