The Venice International Film Festival has officially announced that a newly restored 4K version of Dev Benegal’s landmark, award-winning film English, August (1994) will celebrate its world premiere at the prestigious Venice Classics Competition at the upcoming 83rd edition of the festival.
31 years later, English, August heads to Venice in a restored 4K incarnation; Details inside!
The selection marks the third consecutive year that the Film Heritage Foundation (FHF), the non-profit organization responsible for restoration, has been invited to showcase the world premiere of its cinematic restorations on the global stage in Venice, following Girish Kasaravalli’s Ghatashraddha in 2024 and Bimal Roy’s Do Bigha Zameen in 2025.
Based on the best-selling 1988 novel by Upamanyu Chatterjee, English, August is an irreverent, darkly comic exploration of post-colonial identity. It is the story of a young man from an elite, Western background adrift in the alien, bureaucratic landscape of small-town India.
This landmark film will be presented in Venice by director Dev Benegal, lead actor Rahul Bose, producer and production designer Anuradha Parikh and Film Heritage Foundation Director Shivendra Singh Dungarpur.
Director Dev Benegal says, “Films are fragile. They survive because people choose to preserve them. Restoration is more than preserving a film; it is the preservation of interactions between generations. I am very grateful to the Film Heritage Foundation and everyone involved for the restoration English, AugustMy first feature film with so much care, dedication and love. It is humbling and extremely gratifying to see the film return to the screens in the Venice Classics competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival. More than anything, it’s a reminder that stories continue to find new audiences long after they’re first told. The greatest reward of any restoration is the opportunity to find a new generation of viewers. English, August And find your own conversation with it.
Actor Rahul Bose says, “This is incredible news. Shivendra Dungarpur and his team at the Film Heritage Foundation have worked their magic! I can’t think of many films in recent history that have been remembered so many times by cinephiles.”English, August‘. To go to Venice and see it 31 years after that memorable evening at TIFF, where it all began, would be so surreal and so emotional in person. fantastic!”
Film Heritage Foundation Director Shivendra Singh Dungarpur says, “The Film Heritage Foundation decided to restore English, August In keeping with our policy of restoring unusual, artistically significant films that are in danger of being lost – either gradually deteriorating over time or surviving only as poor quality versions broadcast on small screens. Also of this film, no original camera and sound negatives survive. We had to work with two 35mm release prints – one preserved at NFDC – National Film Archive of India and the other in our Foundation Archive. We worked closely with Dev and cinematographer Anoop Jotwani to ensure that we stayed true to their original vision. We were fortunate that Dev had preserved digital audio tapes which helped Vikram Joglekar work on the sound restoration. I am very happy with it English, August Has been selected to premiere in Venice. The English August premiere will be the third consecutive world premiere of our restorations in Venice, following Girish Kasaravalli disbelief More Bimal Roy in 2024 two bigha land In 2025.”
Producer Anuradha Parikh says, “Especially when every bit of common sense (and the entire planet) told us it was a disastrous choice for our first film! But it had to be! An unruly child no doubt, but one that brought such hope and joy 3 decades later. English, August. Venice Film Festival 2026?! I am so exciting. And was deeply affected. Thank you, Venice. Thank you, Film Heritage Foundation. to give English, August A new lease of life and love. See you in Venice! And welcome to the outrageous and iridescent world of Agastya Sen!”
