Shadow of a Doubt ( Click here to watch ) 

(108 min; 1943; b/w; English) 

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

With Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotton, Macdonald Carey

Recipient of the NBR Award for Best Actress, National Board of Review, USA 1943; and Winner of the National Film Registry, National Film Preservation Board, US 1991

Alfred Hitchcock directed this first-class psychological thriller while living in America. Based on a story by Gordon McDowell and inspired by the real-life “Merry Widow” murderer Earle Leonard Nelson who was hanged in 1928. This darkly cynical film proved to be one of Hitch’s favourite films, and is also one of his most personal. The character of Emma Newton was based on Hitchcock’s mother. Complex in characterization, Shadow of a Doubt concerns a young woman and her growing concerns that her favourite uncle just may be a murderer.

A four – part series. Historian Michael Wood travels the globe seeking evidence of four of the world's most famous myths. He begins his quest in Jerusalem, travelling to Egypt and Africa as he hunts for evidence of the fabled Queen of Sheba. His search for the lost kingdom of Shangri-La takes him through India, Nepal and Tibet. He roams the Celtic world from Cornwall to Wales, Ireland and Scotland in search of the legendary King Arthur. And finally, he heads to Greece, Turkey and Georgia as he tracks the legend of Jason and the Golden Fleece.

Episode 2: The Search for Shangri-la ( Click here to watch )

(60 min; 2005; English)

Wood's search for Shangri-La takes him on a thrilling trek through India, Nepal and Tibet. The tale of the magical hidden valley of Shangri-La was popularized in the 1930s by James Hilton in his novel, Lost Horizon. But, the story of a lost kingdom behind the Himalayas free from war and suffering is descended from a much older Indian myth. When Europeans first caught wind of the tale back in the 16^th Century, they set about trying to discover it.

Live video recording of a concert held at the Salle Cortot, Paris on 21^st January 2021

Renowned pianists Clément Lefebvre and Philippe Bianconi presented works by Wagner, Liszt, Chopin and Schumann. The concert closed with extracts from Schumann’s Images d’Orient for four hands.

Act of Dishonour ( here Click to watch ) 

(90 min; 2010; Dari with English subtitles)

Written & Directed by Nelofer Pazira

Winner, Special Mention, Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival 2020

In a land beset by endless strife, nothing must get in the way of the preservation of honour - even if that means sacrificing a loved one. Mena, a young, beautiful bride-to-be, lives in a small, remote village in northern Afghanistan, a harsh landscape that still shimmers with breath taking colours. Respecting the deeply conservative local customs, she and her fiancé, Rahmat, have little contact yet cherish a special bond. The arrival of a Canadian film crew briefly opens a window on a new world for Mena, a foray beyond the boundaries of convention that leads her inexorably down a dangerous road. This eloquent, nuanced portrait of life in Afghanistan is part lament against injustice, part testament to the spirit of a people who have survived decades of war.

(60 min; 2011; English)

Director: Katina Dunn

Recipient of the Audience Award, Madrid International Film Festival 2021; and Jury Award for Best Documentary, Memphis International Film Festival 2012

The film explores the Romani origins of flamenco in 17^th century Spain and juxtaposes it with the flamenco culture in contemporary Spain. The documentary also focuses on a group of flamenco dancers, singers and guitarists based in Los Angeles who are dedicated to preserving the art in its original form. "Kumpanía" is a Romani word meaning "people who travel the same territory"

(52 min; 2003; English)

Written, Produced & Directed by Gary Glassman

Narrated by Sigourney Weaver

On April 25, 1953, the science journal Nature announced that James Watson and Francis Crick had discovered the double helix structure of DNA, the molecule that is fundamental to life. But absent from most accounts of their Nobel Prize-winning work is the contribution made by a scientist—molecular biologist and crystallographer Rosalind Franklin—who would never know that Watson and Crick had seen a key piece of her data without her permission and that it would lead them to the double helix.

The Long Game: How the Chinese Negotiate with India

By Vijay Gokhale (Penguin India, New Delhi: 2021)

Discussants: Shri Jayadeva Ranade, former Additional Secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India, former Member, National Security Advisory Board and President, Centre for China Analysis and Strategy; Amb. Neelam D. Sabharwal, former Indian Ambassador to The Netherlands; Dr. Hemant Adlakha, Associate Professor, Centre for Chinese and South East Asian Studies, School of Language, Literature and Culture Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University; and Shri Vijay Gokhale, former Indian Foreign Secretary and former Indian Ambassador to China and author of the book

Chair: Amb. Vijay K. Nambiar, former Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan, Malaysia, China, High Commissioner to Pakistan, Permanent Representative to the UN and Honorary Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies

The New Challenges to India from Pak-Af under the Taliban

Coordinator: Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Ashok K. Mehta

Panelists: Dr. Radha Kumar, writer, former Director General, Delhi Policy Group; Ms Jyoti Malhotra, Senior Consulting Editor, The Print; and Dr. Shanthie Mariet D’Souza, Professor, Kautilya School of Public Policy, Hyderabad

Chair: Maj. Gen. Ashok K. Mehta, Convenor, Regional Group on Afghanistan

The Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh has said that a rethink in India’s Afghanistan policy is needed. Forty-five days on, what are the contours of change to meet the new threats to redeem India’s isolation.