india

Updated: Aug 13, 2019 23:14 IST

Aruna Vasudev, leading film scholar, editor and painter, was on Tuesday presented the Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters), one of France’s highest cultural honours, for her contribution to cinema and arts.

French ambassador Alexandre Ziegler conferred the award on Vasudev at a ceremony. He said, “Aruna Vasudev’s lifetime of achievements as film critic, scholar, jury, filmmaker, administrator and painter is near impossible to sum up.

“She has created so many events, forged so many partnerships, established so many platforms to promote Asian films across the world that she has carved a path that continues to guide the young generation today.”

Vasudev has had a long connection with France. After enrolling at the Institut des hautes études cinématographiques (IDHEC or Institute for Advanced Film Studies), she obtained a PhD in cinema from the University of Paris, Sorbonne. She has worked alongside New Wave masters such as Alain Resnais and Claude Chabrol.

She launched the Asian film quarterly Cinemaya in 1988 and founded the internationally renowned Netpac, a worldwide organisation to popularise Asian films, 29 years ago. She has directed or produced around 20 documentaries and edited many books.

The Order of Arts and Letters is a French government honour conferred on those who have distinguished themselves by their creativity in art, culture and literature or for their contributions to the influence of arts in France and across the world.

Other Indian recipients of this honour are Shahrukh Khan, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Aishwarya Rai, Raghu Rai, Ebrahim Alkazi, Habib Tanveer and Upamanyu Chatterjee.