Jessica Chastain

Jessica Michelle Chastain (born March 24, 1977) is an American actress and producer. Known for primarily starring in projects with feminist themes, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe, in addition to nominations for two Tony Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2012.

Chastain developed an interest in acting from an early age and made her professional stage debut in 1998 as Shakespeare's Juliet. After studying acting at the Juilliard School, she was signed to a talent holding deal with the television producer John Wells. She was a recurring guest star in several television series, and took on roles in several stage productions. After making her film debut at age 31 in the drama Jolene (2008), Chastain had her breakthrough in 2011 with six film releases, including the dramas Take Shelter (2011) and The Tree of Life (2011). She received Academy Award nominations for playing an aspiring socialite in the period drama The Help (2011) and a CIA analyst in the thriller Zero Dark Thirty (2012).

Greater commercial success came with the science fiction films Interstellar (2014) and The Martian (2015), and the horror film It Chapter Two (2019). Chastain received further acclaim for playing strong-willed women in the dramas A Most Violent Year (2014), Miss Sloane (2016), and Molly's Game (2017), and the television miniseries Scenes from a Marriage (2021). She went on to portray Tammy Faye Bakker in the biopic The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021), winning the Academy Award for Best Actress, and Tammy Wynette in the miniseries George & Tammy (2022).

On Broadway, Chastain has starred in revivals of The Heiress (2012) and A Doll's House (2023). The latter earned her a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. She is the founder of the production company Freckle Films, which was created to promote diversity in film, and is an investor in the soccer club Angel City FC. She is vocal about mental health issues, as well as gender and racial equality. She is married to fashion executive Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo, with whom she has two children.

## Early life and education

Jessica Michelle Chastain was born on March 24, 1977, in Sacramento, California, to Jerri Renee Hastey (née Chastain) and rock musician Michael Monasterio. Her parents were both teenagers when she was born. Chastain is reluctant to publicly discuss her family background; she was estranged from Monasterio, who died in 2013, and has stated that no father is listed on her birth certificate. She has two sisters and two brothers. Her younger sister, Juliet, died by suicide in 2003 following years of drug addiction. Chastain was raised in Sacramento by her mother and stepfather, Michael Hastey, a firefighter. Her family struggled financially. She has said that her stepfather was the first person to make her feel secure. She shares a close bond with her maternal grandmother, Marilyn, whom she credits as someone who "always believed in me".

Chastain developed an interest in acting at age seven, after her grandmother took her to a production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. She would regularly put on amateur shows with other children, and considered herself to be their artistic director. As a student at the El Camino Fundamental High School in Sacramento, Chastain struggled academically. She was a loner and considered herself a misfit in school, eventually finding an outlet in the performing arts. She has described how she used to miss school to read Shakespeare, whose plays she became enamored with after attending the Oregon Shakespeare Festival with her classmates. With too many absences during her senior year in school, Chastain did not qualify for graduation, but later obtained an adult diploma. She later attended Sacramento City College from 1996 to 1997, during which she was a member of the institution's debate team. Describing her early childhood, she recalled:

> I [grew up] with a single mother who worked very hard to put food on our table. We did not have money. There were many nights when we had to go to sleep without eating. It was a very difficult upbringing. Things weren't easy for me growing up.

In 1998, Chastain finished her education at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and made her professional stage debut as Juliet in a production of Romeo and Juliet staged by TheatreWorks, a company in the San Francisco Bay Area. The production led her to audition for the Juilliard School in New York City, where she was soon accepted and granted a scholarship funded by actor Robin Williams. In her first year at the school, Chastain suffered from anxiety and was worried about being dropped from the program, spending most of her time reading and watching films. She later remarked that her participation in a successful production of The Seagull during her second year helped build her confidence. She graduated from the school with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2003.

## Career

### 2004–2010: Early work

Shortly before graduating from Juilliard, Chastain attended an event for final-year students in Los Angeles, where she was signed to a talent holding deal by the television producer John Wells. She relocated to Los Angeles and started auditioning for jobs. She initially found the process difficult, which she believed was due to other people finding her difficult to categorize as a redhead with an unconventional look. In her television debut, The WB network's 2004 pilot remake of the 1960s gothic soap opera Dark Shadows, she was cast as Carolyn Stoddard. The pilot was directed by P. J. Hogan, but the series was never picked up for broadcast. Later that year, she appeared as a guest performer on the medical drama series ER playing a woman she described as "psychotic", which led to her getting more unusual parts such as accident victims or characters with mental illness. She went on to appear in such roles in a few other television series from 2004 to 2007, including Veronica Mars (2004), Close to Home (2006), Blackbeard (2006), and Law & Order: Trial by Jury (2005–06).

In 2004, Chastain took on the role of Anya, a virtuous young woman, in a Williamstown Theatre Festival production of Anton Chekhov's play The Cherry Orchard in Massachusetts, starring with Michelle Williams. Also that year, she worked with Playwrights Horizons on a production of Richard Nelson's Rodney's Wife as the daughter of a troubled middle-aged film actor. Her performance was not well received by the critic Ben Brantley of The New York Times, who thought that she "somehow seems to keep losing color as the evening progresses". While working on the play, she was recommended by Nelson to Al Pacino, who was looking for an actress to star in his production of Oscar Wilde's tragedy Salome. The play tells the tragic story of its titular character's sexual exploration. In the play, Salome is a 16-year-old, but Chastain, aged 29 then, was cast for the part. The play was staged in 2006 at the Wadsworth Theatre in Los Angeles, and Chastain later remarked that it helped bring her to the attention of several casting directors. Writing for Variety, the critic Steven Oxman criticized her portrayal in the play: "Chastain is so ill-at-ease with Salome, not quite certain whether she's a capable seductress or a whiny, wealthy brat; she doesn't flesh out either choice".

Chastain made her film debut in 2008 as the titular character in Dan Ireland's drama Jolene, based on a short story by E. L. Doctorow inspired by Dolly Parton's song "Jolene". It follows the life of a sexually abused teenager over the course of a decade. Chastain's performance was praised by a reviewer for the New York Observer, who considered her as the only notable aspect of the production. She won a Best Actress award at the Seattle International Film Festival. In 2009, she had a minor role in Stolen (2009), a mystery-thriller film with a limited theatrical release. Also in 2009, she played the part of Desdemona in The Public Theatre production of Shakespeare's tragedy Othello, co-starring John Ortiz as the title character and Philip Seymour Hoffman as Iago. Writing for The New Yorker, Hilton Als commended Chastain for finding "a beautiful maternal depth" in her role.

In 2010, Chastain starred in John Madden's dramatic thriller The Debt, portraying a young Mossad agent sent to East Berlin in the 1960s to capture a former Nazi doctor who carried out medical experiments in concentration camps. She shared her role with Helen Mirren, with the two actresses portraying the character at different phases of her life. They worked together before filming to perfect the voice and mannerisms of the character and make them consistent. Chastain took classes in German and Krav Maga, and studied books about the Nazi doctor Josef Mengele and Mossad history. William Thomas of Empire termed the film a "smart, tense, well-acted thriller", and noted that Chastain "pulses with strength and vulnerability" in her part. She also appeared as Mary Debenham in an episode of the British television series Agatha Christie's Poirot, based on Agatha Christie's 1934 novel Murder on the Orient Express.

### 2011–2013: Breakthrough and rise to prominence

After struggling for a breakthrough in film, Chastain had six releases in 2011 and received wide recognition for several of them. The first of the roles was as the wife of Michael Shannon's character in Jeff Nichols' Take Shelter, a drama about a troubled father who tries to protect his family from what he believes is an impending storm. The film was screened at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, and critic Tim Robey of The Daily Telegraph noted how much Chastain's supporting part aided the narrative. In Coriolanus, an adaptation of the Shakespearean tragedy from actor-director Ralph Fiennes, she played Virgilia. Her next role was opposite Brad Pitt, as the loving mother of three children in Terrence Malick's experimental drama The Tree of Life, which she had filmed in 2008. Chastain signed on to the film without receiving a traditional screenplay from Malick, and she improvised several scenes and dialogues with Pitt. She considered her part to be "the embodiment of grace and the spirit world"; in preparation, she practiced meditation, studied paintings of the Madonna, and read poems by Thomas Aquinas. The film premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival to a polarized reception from the audience, though it was praised by critics and won the Palme d'Or. The critic Justin Chang termed the film a "hymn to the glory of creation, an exploratory, often mystifying [...] poem" and credited Chastain for playing her part with "heartrending vulnerability".

Chastain's biggest success of the year came with the drama The Help, co-starring Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer and Emma Stone, which was based on Kathryn Stockett's novel of the same name. She played Celia Foote, an aspiring socialite in 1960s Jackson, Mississippi, who develops a friendship with her Black maid (played by Spencer). Chastain was drawn to Foote's antiracist stand, and connected with her energy and enthusiasm; in preparation, she watched the films of Marilyn Monroe and researched the history of Tunica, Mississippi, where her character was raised. The Help grossed \$216 million at the box office to become her most widely seen film to that point. Manohla Dargis of The New York Times praised the chemistry between Chastain and Spencer, and Roger Ebert credited her for being "unaffected and infectious". The ensemble of The Help won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Cast, and Chastain received Academy, BAFTA, Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress, all of which she lost to Spencer.

Chastain's final two roles of the year were in Wilde Salomé, a documentary based on her 2006 production of Salome, and the critically panned crime-thriller Texas Killing Fields. Her film roles in 2011, particularly in The Help, Take Shelter and The Tree of Life, won her awards from several critics' organizations. Two of Chastain's films in 2012 premiered at the 65th Cannes Film Festival — the animated comedy Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted and the crime drama Lawless. In the former, which marked the third installment in the Madagascar series, she voiced Gia the Jaguar with an Italian accent. With global revenues of \$747 million, the film ranks as her highest-grossing release. In Lawless, based on Matt Bondurant's Prohibition-era novel The Wettest County in the World, she played a dancer who becomes embroiled in a conflict between three bootlegging brothers (played by Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, and Jason Clarke). The film received generally positive reviews, with Richard Corliss finding Chastain to be filled with "poised, seductive gravity". In an experimental biopic of the author C. K. Williams, entitled The Color of Time (2012), directed by the New York University students of actor James Franco, she played the mother of the young Williams.

A short part Chastain had filmed for Terrence Malick's To the Wonder (2012) was edited out of the final film, and due to scheduling conflicts, she dropped out of the action films Oblivion and Iron Man 3 (both 2013). She instead made her Broadway debut in a revival of the 1947 play The Heiress, playing the role of Catherine Sloper, a naïve young girl who transforms into a powerful woman. Chastain was reluctant to take the role, fearing the anxiety she had faced during her early stage performances. She ultimately agreed after finding a connection to Sloper, explaining: "she's painfully uncomfortable and I used to be that". The production was staged at the Walter Kerr Theatre from November 2012 to February 2013. Ben Brantley of The New York Times was disappointed in Chastain's performance, writing that she was "oversignaling the thoughts within" and that her delivery of dialogue was sometimes flat. The Heiress emerged as a sleeper hit at the box office.

Kathryn Bigelow's thriller Zero Dark Thirty was Chastain's final film release of 2012. It is a partly fictionalized account of the nearly decade-long manhunt for Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden after the September 11 attacks in 2001. She played Maya Harris, a CIA intelligence analyst who helps kill bin Laden. Chastain was unable to meet the intelligence analyst on whom her character was based, so she relied on the research done by the film's screenwriter Mark Boal. The difficult subject matter made it unpleasant for her to film; she suffered from depression during production, and once walked off the set in tears because she was unable to continue. Zero Dark Thirty was critically acclaimed, albeit controversial for its scenes of torture that were shown providing useful intelligence in the search for bin Laden. Roger Ebert took note of Chastain's versatility, and likened her ability and range to that of Meryl Streep. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote, "Chastain is a marvel. She plays Maya like a gathering storm in an indelible, implosive performance that cuts so deep we can feel her nerve endings." She won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama and received Academy, BAFTA and SAG nominations for Best Actress.

Chastain took on the lead role of a musician who is forced to care for her boyfriend's troubled nieces in the horror film Mama (2013), directed by Andy Muschietti. She was drawn to the idea of playing a woman drastically different from the "perfect mother" roles she had previously played, and she based her character's look on the singer Alice Glass. The critic Richard Roeper considered her performance to be proof of her being one of the finest actors of her generation. During the film's opening weekend in North America, Chastain became the first performer in fifteen years to have leading roles in the top two films (Mama and Zero Dark Thirty) at the box office. She then starred as the titular character of a depressed woman who separates from her husband (played by James McAvoy) following a tragic incident in the drama The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby (2013), which she also produced. The writer-director Ned Benson initially wrote the story from the perspective of Rigby's husband, then wrote a separate version from Rigby's perspective at the insistence of Chastain. Three versions of the film — Him, Her, and Them — were released. It did not find a wide audience, but the critic A. O. Scott praised Chastain for "short-circuit[ing] conventional distinctions between tough and vulnerable, showing exquisite control even when her character is losing it, and keeping her balance even when the movie pitches and rolls toward melodrama".

### 2014–2020: Career expansion and fluctuations

Chastain appeared in three films in 2014. She played the titular character in Miss Julie, a film adaptation of August Strindberg's 1888 play of the same name, from director Liv Ullmann. It tells the tragic tale of a sexually repressed Anglo-Irish aristocrat who wishes to sleep with her father's valet (Colin Farrell). She was drawn to Ullmann's feminist take on the subject. The film only received a limited theatrical release. While filming Miss Julie in Ireland, she received the script for Christopher Nolan's science fiction film Interstellar (2014). With a budget of \$165 million, the high-profile production, co-starring Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway, was filmed mostly using IMAX cameras. Chastain played the adult daughter of McConaughey's character; she was drawn to the project for the emotional heft she found in the father-daughter pair. Drew McWeeny of HitFix took note of how much Chastain had stood out in her supporting role. Interstellar grossed over \$701 million worldwide to rank as her highest-grossing live-action film to date.

In her final release of 2014, Chastain starred in the J. C. Chandor-directed crime drama A Most Violent Year. Set in New York City in 1981, the year in which the city had the highest crime rate, the film tells the story of a heating-oil company owner (Oscar Isaac) and his ruthless wife (Chastain). In preparation, she researched the period and worked with a dialect coach to speak in a Brooklyn accent. She collaborated with the film's costume designer to work on her character's wardrobe, and contacted Armani which provided her with clothing of the period. Mark Kermode of The Observer found Chastain to be "terrific" in a part inspired by Lady Macbeth's character, and Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle described her portrayal as "the embodiment of a nouveau riche New York woman of the era". She received a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress nomination for it. For her work in 2014, the Broadcast Film Critics Association honored Chastain with a special achievement award.

In 2015, Chastain took on the part of a commander in Ridley Scott's science fiction film The Martian. Starring Matt Damon as a botanist who is stranded on Mars by a team of astronauts commanded by Chastain's character, the film is based on Andy Weir's novel of the same name. Chastain met with astronauts at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Johnson Space Center, and modeled her role on Tracy Caldwell Dyson, with whom she spent time in Houston. The Martian became her second film to gross over \$600 million in two consecutive years. Chastain next starred as a woman who plots with her brother (Tom Hiddleston) to terrorize his new bride (Mia Wasikowska) in Guillermo del Toro's gothic romance Crimson Peak. She approached the villainous part with empathy, and in preparation read graveyard poetry and watched the films Rebecca (1940) and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962). Del Toro cast Chastain to lend accessibility to a part he considered "psychopathic", but Peter Debruge of Variety found her "alarmingly miscast" and criticized her for failing to effectively convey her character's insecurity and ruthlessness. Conversely, David Sims of Slate praised her for portraying her character's "jealous intensity to the hilt".

After playing a series of intense roles, Chastain actively looked for a light-hearted part. She found it in the ensemble fantasy film The Huntsman: Winter's War (2016), which served as both a sequel and a prequel to the 2012 film Snow White and the Huntsman. She was drawn to the idea of playing a warrior whose abilities were on par with those of the male lead, but the film flopped both critically and commercially. Chastain next starred as the titular character, a lobbyist, in the political thriller Miss Sloane, which reunited her with John Madden. She read the novel Capitol Punishment by disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff to research the practice of lobbying in America, and met with female lobbyists to study their mannerisms and sense of style. Hailing her as "one of the best actresses on the planet", Peter Travers commended Chastain for successfully drawing the audience into Sloane's life, and Justin Chang termed her performance "a tour de force of rhetorical precision and tightly coiled emotional intensity". She received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Drama. Also in 2016, Chastain launched the production company Freckle Films, headed by a team of female executives.

Chastain began 2017 by serving as the executive producer and providing the narration for I Am Jane Doe, a documentary on sex trafficking. In an effort to work with more female filmmakers, Chastain starred in two projects directed by women — Niki Caro's The Zookeeper's Wife and Susanna White's Woman Walks Ahead. In the former, an adaptation of Diane Ackerman's non-fiction book of the same name, she co-starred with Johan Heldenbergh as the real-life Polish zookeepers Jan and Antonina Żabiński who saved many human and animal lives during World War II. The film received mixed reviews, but Stephen Holden took note of how Chastain's "watchful, layered performance" empowered the film. Woman Walks Ahead tells the story of the 19th-century activist Catherine Weldon, who served as an adviser to the Sioux chieftain Sitting Bull prior to the Wounded Knee Massacre. She was interested in portraying a role that young girls could look up to for inspiration, and provided off-screen inputs to avoid a white savior narrative.

Chastain portrayed Molly Bloom, a former skier who ran a high-profile gambling operation that led to her arrest by the FBI, in Aaron Sorkin's directorial debut, Molly's Game (2017). She took the part due to her desire to work with Sorkin, whose writing she admired. Instead of relying on Bloom's public persona, she met Bloom personally to explore her character's flaws and vulnerabilities. She also researched the world of underground poker and interviewed some of Bloom's customers. Peter Debruge hailed her role as "one of the screen's great female parts", and credited its success to both Sorkin's script and Chastain's "stratospheric talent." She received her fifth Golden Globe nomination for it. In 2018, she hosted an episode of the television sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live and voiced the virtual reality production Spheres: Songs of Spacetime. She had filmed a part in Xavier Dolan's ensemble drama The Death & Life of John F. Donovan, but her scenes were deleted from the final cut as Dolan found her role incompatible to the story.

In the superhero film Dark Phoenix (2019), which marked the twelfth installment in the X-Men series, Chastain took on the role of an evil alien due to its focus on female characters. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian considered it to be "a waste of her talents", and the film registered poor box office returns. She reteamed with Andy Muschietti in It Chapter Two, the sequel to his 2017 horror film It, based on Stephen King's novel. She played the adult Beverly Marsh (a woman in an abusive marriage), sharing the role with Sophia Lillis. Filming proved challenging for Chastain, as Muschietti preferred the usage of practical effects to computer-generated imagery; one particular scene required her to be covered in 4,500 U.S. gallons (17,000 liters) of fake blood. The film received favorable reviews, with Charlotte O'Sullivan of the Evening Standard finding Chastain to be "suitably sad and sepulchral" in her role. It grossed over \$470 million worldwide.

Under Freckle Films, Chastain produced and starred in the action film Ava (2020), written and initially set to be directed by Matthew Newton, who has been accused of domestic violence. Following backlash against her for agreeing to work with him, Newton was replaced with Tate Taylor. Boyd van Hoeij of The Hollywood Reporter bemoaned that Chastain's talents as an action star had been wasted in an underwhelming film. Released theatrically during the COVID-19 pandemic, it performed poorly at the box office but gained success on video on demand.

### 2021–present: Awards success

Andrew Garfield and Chastain starred as the televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker in the biopic The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021). She acquired the rights to Faye's life in 2012, and produced the film under her company Freckle Films. To look like Bakker, Chastain wore prosthetic makeup which took 4–7 hours to apply. The role also required her to sing, which she has said made her nervous. She worked with the music producer Dave Cobb to record seven songs for the film's soundtrack. David Fear of Rolling Stone found Chastain to be the "only reason to see this curiously tepid biopic" and praised her for rising above the script to humanize Bakker. Kevin Maher of The Times considered it to be a "riveting, unleashed and award-worthy performance" and compared it to Joaquin Phoenix's performance in Joker (2019). She won the Academy Award for Best Actress, Critics Choice Award and SAG Award, in addition to a Golden Globe nomination.

Also in 2021, Chastain agreed to Scenes from a Marriage, a gender-switched remake of Ingmar Bergman's 1973 Swedish miniseries of the same name for HBO, for its subversion of stereotypical portrayal of women. Lucy Mangan of The Guardian took note of the chemistry between Chastain and her co-star Oscar Isaac, as did Carol Midgley of The Times who praised them for "delivering crackling, wounding dialogue faultlessly". She received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries; her second nomination at that year's ceremony. She also reteamed with Ralph Fiennes in The Forgiven, an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Lawrence Osborne.

For The 355 (2022), a female-led spy film, Chastain and her team of female co-stars pitched the idea to prospective buyers at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, where it was picked up by Universal Pictures. Critics dismissed the film as generic and unremarkable, and it failed commercially. Chastain then took on a brief role as Maryanne Trump in James Gray's period film Armageddon Time. In The Good Nurse, she played night nurse Amy Loughren who discovers that her co-worker Charles Cullen (played by Eddie Redmayne) is a serial killer. She worked closely with Loughren and attended nursing school to prepare for the part. Kate Erbland of IndieWire found hers to be "an effective performance in a very quiet package".

Chastain executive produced the Showtime biographical miniseries George & Tammy, in which she played the country singer Tammy Wynette opposite Michael Shannon's George Jones. In preparation, Chastain and Shannon trained with a vocal coach to sing several of their character's songs. She also lost weight to play Wynette toward the end of her life. Emma Fraser of The Playlist was appreciate of the chemistry between the actors, and took note of the "fragility and toughness" in Chastain's portrayal. The series had strong viewership across various platforms. She won a SAG Award, received another Golden Globe nomination, and earned her first nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series.

Chastain returned to Broadway theatre, playing Nora Helmer, an unhappy housewife, in Jamie Lloyd's 2023 revival of Henrik Ibsen's play A Doll's House, which ran for 16 weeks at the Hudson Theatre. Initially set for West End theatre in 2020, the production was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and later relocated to New York on Chastain's insistence. The production was extended one week due to the strong box office sales of the preview performances. Gloria Oladipo of The Guardian deemed Chastain's performance "enthralling" and "captivating", adding that "a fuller, infinite portrait is painted of the long-time heroine through Chastain’s work". She won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play and received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play.

Chastain will next star in Michel Franco's drama film Memory alongside Peter Sarsgaard, and will produce and star alongside Anne Hathaway in Mothers’ Instinct, a remake of the Belgian psychological thriller of the same name.

## Advocacy

Chastain identifies as a feminist, and has often spoken out against the discrimination faced by women and minorities in Hollywood. She penned an essay on gender imbalance in the industry for a December 2015 issue of The Hollywood Reporter. At the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, where she served as a jury member, Chastain bemoaned the passive portrayal of women in most films. She has complained about a lack of female film critics, which she believes hinders a gender-neutral perspective on film. She advocates for greater gender balance on sets, including more representation of women on film crews and in positions of power. On social media, Chastain aims to "amplify the voices" of victims of sexual harassment in the industry. In 2018, she collaborated with 300 women in Hollywood to set up the Time's Up initiative to protect women from harassment and discrimination. In the same year, she appeared alongside several actresses in This Changes Everything, a documentary about the poor representation of women in Hollywood films.

Chastain is a vocal advocate for equal pay in the workplace, and turns down offers of work whose salaries she finds unfair. She spoke out in support of actress Michelle Williams, who was paid less than her co-star Mark Wahlberg for the 2017 film All the Money in the World; a gesture which Williams said led to greater awareness of the issue and a donation worth \$2 million to the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund. In 2013, Chastain lent her support to the Got Your 6 campaign, to help empower veterans of the United States Army, and in 2016, she became an advisory-board member to the organization We Do It Together, which produces films and television shows to promote women empowerment. In 2017, she featured alongside several Hollywood celebrities in a theatrical production of The Children's Monologues, in which she performed a monologue as a thirteen-year-old girl who is raped by her uncle. The event raised funds for Dramatic Need, a charity that helps African children pursue a career in the arts. In 2020, Chastain became an investor in a Los Angeles-based franchise for the National Women's Soccer League. The new team has since been named Angel City FC.

Chastain supports charitable organizations that promote mental health, and is involved with the nonprofit organization To Write Love on Her Arms. Teased as a child for having red hair and freckles, she takes a stand against body-shaming and bullying. Chastain has campaigned for access to affordable reproductive health care for women, and in 2017, Variety honored her for her work with Planned Parenthood. In response to abortion bans in certain American states, she joined several actors in refusing to work in those regions. In 2022, Chastain traveled to Kyiv in Ukraine during Russia's invasion of the country. She visited a children's hospital and met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and head of the Presidential Administration Andrii Yermak.

## Reception and acting style

Describing Chastain's off-screen persona, Roy Porter of InStyle magazine wrote in 2015 that "she's an adult, which isn't always a given in Hollywood. Unconsciously candid with her answers, she retains a sense of perspective uncommon among her peers, and has real opinions"; Porter also credited her for being the rare actress who is "all about the craft". Evgenia Peretz, an editor at Vanity Fair, finds Chastain "the most sensitive and empathetic actor" she has interviewed.

Chastain specializes in portraying emotionally grueling roles and is drawn to parts of strong but flawed women. The journalist Sanjiv Bhattacharya has identified a theme of characters who "subvert gender expectations in some way". David Ehrlich of IndieWire credits her for being the sole American actress to consistently play roles that "champion feminist ideals". She believes in extensive preparations for a role: "[I] fill myself up with as much history of the character as I can." The film critics Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper have praised Chastain's versatility, and W magazine credits her for avoiding typecasting.

Guillermo del Toro, who directed Chastain in Crimson Peak, believes that she is "interested in being chameleonic", and that she brings authenticity even to bizarre situations. Sophie Heawood of The Guardian believes that Chastain's ability to bring very little ego to her roles renders her unrecognisable to the audience. Sarah Karmali of Harper's Bazaar opines that "she goes for total immersion, sinking so deep into character that her face seems to change shape with each one". Lea Goldman of Marie Claire has compared her craft to that of Meryl Streep and Cate Blanchett, and writes that she values her craft over her looks. Describing her film career in 2017, Ben Dickinson of Elle wrote:

> With her often haunted-looking eyes, pale complexion, and gorgeous red mane [...] she can project everything from icy hauteur (The Martian, Miss Sloane) to loving warmth (The Tree of Life, The Zookeeper's Wife) or an unstable equilibrium and high intelligence in between (Zero Dark Thirty and A Most Violent Year).

The journalist Tom Shone describes Chastain as being "excessively luscious [with] pale Botticelli features wrapped around a bone structure that has a touch of the masculine, right down to the cleft in her chin." She was named the sexiest vegetarian actress in a poll conducted by PETA in 2012. From 2012 to 2014, she was featured in AskMen's listing of the most desirable women, and in 2015, Glamour magazine ranked her as one of the best-dressed women.

Time magazine named Chastain one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2012. That same year, she was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and she endorsed an Yves Saint Laurent fragrance called Manifesto. In 2015, she became the global ambassador for the Swiss jewelry and watchmaking company Piaget, and in 2017, she was made the face of Ralph Lauren's fragrance campaign, named Woman. For the latter, she led an initiative called Lead Like A Woman, and featured in a short film named Leading with Intensity (2019) made by an all-female cast and crew.

## Personal life

Despite significant media attention, Chastain remains guarded about her personal life, and chooses not to attend red carpet events with a partner. She considers herself to be a "shy" person, and in 2011 said that she enjoys domestic routines like dog-walking and playing ukulele, rather than partying. She has cited the actress Isabelle Huppert as an influence, for managing a family, while also playing "out-there roles" on screen.

Chastain is an animal lover, and has adopted a rescue dog. She was a pescatarian for much of her life; following health troubles she began practicing veganism. She is an investor in Beyond Meat, a meat substitutes company.

In the 2000s, Chastain was in a long-term relationship with writer-director Ned Benson that ended in 2010. In 2012, she began dating Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo, an Italian count of the Passi de Preposulo noble family, who is an executive for the fashion brand Moncler. On June 10, 2017, she married Preposulo at his family's estate in Carbonera, Italy. In 2018, the couple had a daughter through surrogacy. They later had a second daughter. They reside in New York City.

## Acting credits and awards

According to the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes and the box-office site Box Office Mojo, Chastain's most critically acclaimed and commercially successful films are Take Shelter (2011), Coriolanus (2011), The Tree of Life (2011), The Help (2011), Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012), Zero Dark Thirty (2012), Mama (2013), Interstellar (2014), A Most Violent Year (2014), The Martian (2015), Miss Sloane (2016), Molly's Game (2017), and It Chapter Two (2019). Among her stage roles, she has appeared in a Broadway revivals of The Heiress in 2012 and A Doll's House in 2023. Her television roles include the miniseries Scenes from a Marriage (2021) and George & Tammy (2022).

Chastain won an Academy Award in the Best Actress category for The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021), and has been nominated two more times: Best Supporting Actress for The Help and Best Actress for Zero Dark Thirty. She won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama for Zero Dark Thirty, and has been nominated seven more times: Best Actress in a Drama for Miss Sloane, Molly's Game, and The Eyes of Tammy Faye; Best Supporting Actress for The Help and A Most Violent Year; and Best Actress for a Miniseries or Television Film for Scenes from a Marriage and George & Tammy. Chastain was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for A Doll's House. Chastain earned her first nomination for the Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for George & Tammy.

American actress and producer (born 1977)

American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni

Best Drama Actress Golden Globe (film) winners

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Screen Actors Guild Award winners

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie Screen Actors Guild Award winners


Jason Sendwe

Jason Sendwe (1917 – 19 June 1964) was a Congolese politician and a leader of the Association Générale des Baluba du Katanga (BALUBAKAT) party. He served as Second Deputy Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then Republic of the Congo) from August 1961 until January 1963, and as President of the Province of North Katanga from September 1963 until his death, with a brief interruption.

Sendwe was born in 1917 in Mwanya, Kabongo Territory, Belgian Congo, to a Baluba family. He was educated in Methodist schools and nursing institutions. Unable to become a doctor due to a lack of medical schools in the Congo, he found work as a minister, teacher, and nurse. He became involved in several cultural organisations, and in 1957 founded BALUBAKAT to fight for the interests of the Baluba. He espoused nationalism and believed that the Congo should remain a united country after Belgian rule. In May 1960, shortly before the country's independence, he was elected to the newly constituted Chamber of Deputies. Sendwe sought to obtain control over the government of Katanga Province, but lost a power struggle against his rival, Moïse Tshombe, and the Confédération des associations tribales du Katanga (CONAKAT) party. Regardless, Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba nominated him for the office of State Commissioner for Katanga.

In early July 1960 Tshombe announced the secession of an independent State of Katanga. Sendwe opposed the breakaway state and rejected Tshombe's entreaties for him to join the rebel government, rupturing relations between the two men. Invested with the responsibilities of State Commissioner by the Senate, Sendwe unsuccessfully attempted to restore central government control over Katanga. After a period of turmoil he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister in August 1961 with the hope that he could use his political influence to win the central government support in Katanga. Four months later he was made Commissioner-General Extraordinaire for the province, nominally giving him complete authority over the area.

Sendwe's political prospects were severely damaged in December 1962 when the Senate censured him and forced his subsequent resignation from the deputy premiership. In early 1963, he increasingly focused his activities in Katanga, as the province acceded to central authority and Tshombe fled into exile. The territory was divided into new political units against Sendwe's wishes. Despite his dissatisfaction, he assumed office as President of North Katanga in September. In January 1964 he lost his position as president of BALUBAKAT. In June Simba rebels overthrew his government and killed him, though it is unclear who held ultimate responsibility for his death. Sendwe's demise greatly demoralised the Baluba, and his reputation drifted into obscurity.

## Early life

Jason Sendwe was born in 1917 in Mwanya, Kabongo Territory, Belgian Congo to a Baluba family. The Luba were a large ethnic group indigenous to the Katanga and Kasaï regions of the Congo. Sendwe was a childhood friend of Moïse Tshombe. He received six years of primary schooling from Methodists in Kabongo and four years of secondary education at the Kanene Methodist Mission in Kamina. For five years he took nursing courses in Stanleyville and at the École officielle pour Infirmiers à Élisabethville. He completed his studies at the École des Assistants Indigènes de Léopoldville, graduating as a nurse.

His aspirations to become a doctor were curtailed by the lack of medical schools in the Congo. He worked as a minister and teacher at the Kanene Methodist Mission, and in 1942 entered the service of the colonial administration as a clerk. Sendwe later became a nurse and then a medical assistant, working in Élisabethville, Mutshatsha, Kongolo and Kabongo. He was a founding member and treasurer of the Amitiés Belgo-Congolaises cultural organisation, treasurer of the Académie des Beaux-Arts, councillor of the Association Saint-Luc, councillor of the Foyer social Léopold III, and served on the council of the Church of Christ in the Congo. Sendwe married and had eight children.

## Entry into politics

In 1957 Sendwe founded and became president of the Association Générale des Baluba du Katanga (BALUBAKAT), with the stated aim of encouraging unity among the Baluba of the Katanga Province. According to journalist Évariste Kimba, he was able amass much of their support through his "dynamism" and frequent interactions with the population. Three tenants underlined his political philosophy: protection of the Baluba, achievement of Congolese independence, and the primacy of conciliation in settling disputes.

In 1958 Sendwe attended the Brussels Expo, working as a medical assistant at the African Personnel Reception Center. Afterwards he joined the short-lived Mouvement pour le Progres National Congolais, a party formed by attendees of the exposition. On 5 February 1959 Sendwe brought BALUBAKAT into Tshombe's Confédération des associations tribales du Katanga (CONAKAT) party on the condition that it be able to maintain a significant amount of autonomy. He initially shared the xenophobic stances of CONAKAT, but soon grew concerned that its hostility toward immigrants would extend to incoming Baluba. Sendwe was also worried by Tshombe's close connections to the Belgians and was repulsed by the prominence of several of his political rivals within the party's ranks. BALUBAKAT began to form two trends, one sympathetic to CONAKAT, and the other supportive of the Mouvement National Congolais (MNC). The latter was led by Sendwe. In October he sent a letter to Baudouin, King of the Belgians, urging him to oppose efforts at "dismantling the immense country" created by his predecessors.

In November 1959 Sendwe withdrew BALUBAKAT from CONAKAT. He subsequently negotiated the formation of a "Cartel Katangais" between BALUBAKAT and two other organisations to compete against CONAKAT in the December 1959 municipal elections. Sendwe met with Baudouin on 25 December. By January 1960 Sendwe had decided he would pursue Congolese independence with aim of creating a federal state with a robust central government, in contrast to CONAKAT's vision of a confederation. That month he went to Brussels to participate in the Belgo-Congolese Round Table Conference, a meeting to discuss the political future of the Belgian Congo. The conference resolved with the Belgian government acceding to Congolese demands for the colony's independence on 30 June 1960.

## Rise to prominence

In the national elections before the Republic of the Congo's independence on 30 June 1960, Sendwe was elected to the Chamber of Deputies with 20,282 votes from the Élisabethville constituency. CONAKAT won a slight majority of the seats in the Katanga Provincial Assembly, and could thus determine the composition of the provincial government. Sendwe ordered the BALUBAKAT deputies to abstain from sitting; when the assembly convened on 5 June it did not have a quorum to vote on the provincial portfolios. CONAKAT offered Sendwe the office of Katanga Vice-president and the responsibility of several ministries, but he refused to negotiate. On 15 June the Belgian Parliament modified the Congo's provisional constitution to reduce the number of deputies necessary for a quorum to vote on a government. Cartel Katangais representatives subsequently declared that they would wait for the Congolese central government's decision after independence. That same day Sendwe signed a deal with MNC leader Patrice Lumumba to create a coalition in Parliament to support a government under Lumumba. In exchange, BALUBAKAT would get some ministerial portfolios and Sendwe would be nominated to be the State Commissioner for Katanga. On 19 June a BALUBAKAT delegation led by Prosper Mwamba Ilunga covertly travelled to Léopoldville to meet with Lumumba. They encouraged him to dismiss Sendwe if he did not follow his instructions, and expressed their disapproval of Sendwe's decision to instruct the BALUBAKAT deputies to boycott the Katanga Provincial Assembly.

On 23 June the Cartel Katangais declared its preferred Katangese government, which placed Sendwe as Provincial President. In the meantime CONAKAT voted in its own government. Despite this, Lumumba, as Prime Minister, nominated Sendwe to be the State Commissioner for Katanga. The President of the Katanga Provincial Assembly, Charles Mutaka, threatened secession if the appointment were confirmed. In early July Tshombe went forward with the secession of the province with Belgian backing but actively sought Sendwe's support, hoping to build a coalition that would bring the latter in as vice-president of an independent Katanga. Sendwe rejected the idea, rupturing relations between them. The Senate initially rejected all of Lumumba's nominees for state commissioner. However, on 22 July the body, in a move meant to convey its wish that central government authority be reestablished in Katanga, voted to confirm Sendwe's appointment, 42 to 4 with 7 abstentions. After assuming the role of State Commissioner of Katanga, Sendwe vainly attempted restoring central government control over the province. His attempts to do so as well as his aim of brokering an understanding between BALUBAKAT and CONAKAT at the national level were frustrated by the Belgian government, which perceived Sendwe as an instrument of the Lumumba Government, with whom they had tense relations.

Sendwe was chosen to lead part of the army into northern Katanga to reestablish the central government's authority, but this plan dissolved following Lumumba's dismissal by President Joseph Kasa-Vubu in September. Lumumba's demise caused political turmoil, and Sendwe was appointed by the Chamber to as rapporteur on a reconciliation commission tasked with brokering a political agreement between Kasa-Vubu and Lumumba. Meanwhile, northern Katangese rejected Tshombe's leadership and the secession in favour of Sendwe, who they saw as a proponent of nationalism and a protector of the Baluba. Sendwe also enjoyed a substantial amount of popularity around Élisabethville, posing a significant political threat to Tshombe. However, many in the central government saw him as having been too close with the deposed prime minister.

On 19 October, three days after Tshombe concluded a deal with Colonel Joseph-Désiré Mobutu to—in Mobutu's words—"neutralise" Lumumba, Sendwe was incarcerated by central government officials. The United Nations (UN) secured his release on the basis of parliamentary immunity. With its sponsorship, Sendwe toured northern Katanga to promote peace, and received an ecstatic welcome from the Baluba. He encouraged the Baluba to maintain public order and place their confidence in the UN. For the most part, his tour improved security in the region, but his presence in Manono from 2–3 November heightened tensions in the area. Tshombe denounced him as a "public danger". While the central government was negotiating the transfer of Lumumba to Katanga (where he would be executed upon arrival), Tshombe repeatedly asked to receive Sendwe. Though initially agreeing to the plan, central government officials later backed away from their commitment to hand him over.

In December Sendwe attended a Francophone-African conference in Brazzaville where foreign diplomats attempted to provide mediation between the Congolese factions. In early 1961 he appealed to the UN to go on another pacification tour of northern Katanga, receiving their approval on 8 January. However, the next day forces of the rival Free Republic of the Congo invaded the area and BALUBAKAT declared its own administration of the region as the "Province of Lualaba". Sendwe attempted to broker a political compromise and secure Belgian political and commercial acceptance of the new province. He celebrated its creation in a tour of the area in February. Meanwhile, he travelled to Belgium in February and in May he participated in the Conference of Coquilhatville, successfully convincing the other Congolese delegates to give recognition to Lualaba. He undertook another pacification trip in northern Katanga in July.

On 2 August a new Congolese central government was formed under Cyrille Adoula. Sendwe was appointed Second Deputy Prime Minister, as he was viewed as the only figure with enough political clout in Katanga to challenge Tshombe. Other nationalists in Parliament wanted him to assume the premiership, but he preferred to focus his political energies on Katanga instead of the national level, where he had less support. An état d’exception (state of emergency) was proclaimed on 28 November by the central government in Katanga. Sendwe was appointed Commissioner-General Extraordinaire for the province, nominally giving him absolute authority over the area. He devoted much of his time to attending to the needs of Baluba in refugee camps in Élisabethville and Albertville. Between March and July 1962 he attempted to negotiate a deal between the central government and the Katangese secessionists, generally taking a moderate stance and even suggesting a reconciliation between BALUBAKAT and CONAKAT. In July he also came into conflict in the pursuance of his responsibilities with fellow BALUBAKAT member Antoine Omari, who had been tasked by the government with reestablishing local administration, as Omari attempted to grant power to local BALUBAKAT members who wanted to split Katanga Province.

Over time the central government hardened its attitude against Katanga, and Belgium gradually withdrew its support for it. With the secession's prospects weakening, Sendwe hoped to obtain control over the province. Though he had the support of most of the Katanga Baluba and the BALUBAKAT deputies in Parliament, the Adoula Government sought to divide Katanga to weaken it. At the same time, BALUBAKAT officials in northern Katanga wanted an exclusive polity in the region under the domination of their own party. The Adoula Government also wanted to use Sendwe vis-à-vis his regional popularity as a counterweight to Tshombe, without granting him control of the entirety of Katanga.

## Political demise

By the end of 1962 Sendwe was at the peak of his political aspirations, being able to exert great power and influence over the new province of North Katanga (formerly Lualaba). However at 22:00 on 23 December, his son became involved in a youth gang street brawl. Sendwe arrived on the scene and ordered some accompanying soldiers to intervene. In the process they assaulted Senator Pierre Medie, who had come to support his own son. On 28 December, in the Senate, Sendwe attempted to defend his actions during the street altercation, being frequently interrupted by angry cries from the majority of the senators. Before he was able to complete his defence, they passed a motion of censure against him, 45 votes to four with four abstentions. This formally compelled him to resign as Deputy Prime Minister on 21 January 1963, causing him to withdraw from national to local politics. His departure heralded the removal of the last of the Lumumbists from the government.

In early 1963 Katanga was reintegrated into the Congo as multiple provinces and Tshombe agreed to cooperate with government officials. Sendwe vied for control of the region, leading to ethnic clashes in Jadotville in April in which approximately 74 people were killed. Nevertheless, he negotiated a deal with Tshombe's Minister of Interior, Godefroid Munongo, to allow for the return of the Baluba in the Élisabethville refugee camp to their homes. After Tshombe fled the country, Sendwe sought to extend his constituency beyond the Baluba to establish control over the whole of Katanga. He questioned the legality of the existence of North Katanga as a separate political entity and continued to push for the reunification of Katanga Province. However, his removal from the central government and the rejection of his unity proposal by the North Katanga Provincial Assembly forced him to relax his goals. On 18 May the état d’exception was retracted in Katanga and he was discharged from his post as Commissioner-General Extraordinaire.

In July Sendwe moved to Albertville to rebuild his political base. He blocked the repatriation of the Baluba refugees in the local camp; the UN feared this was so he could use the refugees to boost his support. The Adoula Government was pleased by Sendwe's relocation, wanting to be rid of him in Léopoldville. Soon after he arrived, rumours emerged that North Katanga Provincial President Mwamba Ilunga had arrested him. This sparked unrest as rural Baluba and customary chiefs began to protest, triggering Mwamba Ilunga's resignation. BALUBAKAT deputies in Parliament lobbied for Sendwe to replace him, and at an August BALUBAKAT party congress—with Mwamba Ilunga's acceptance—ruled that Sendwe should be given the provincial presidency. On 21 September the provincial assembly elected Sendwe President of North Katanga Province and invested him with the public health portfolio. The situation in North Katanga under Sendwe quickly became disastrous, driven by his alcoholism, poor management of public funds, nepotism, lack of a government programme, and numerous attempts to use his position to deprecate his rivals. Problems were exacerbated by the withdrawal of UN peacekeeping forces and destructive floods. By the end of the year corruption was rampant, civil servants were receiving pay on an irregular basis, and much of the population was impoverished. Further, BALUBAKAT became an increasingly ethnic, exclusively Baluba organisation.

Sendwe's management of North Katanga perturbed other government officials and Adoula began seeking a way to remove him from office. Fortunat Kabange Numbi, an ally of Adoula and a BALUBAKAT deputy in Parliament, considered a solution with Albertville businessmen that involved granting Sendwe an executive position at a company in exchange for his resignation. The proposal was rejected by Mwamba Ilunga and others, who chose instead to revise BALUBAKAT's organisation. They changed the party's name to Parti Progressiste Congolais (PPCo) to distance it from its ethnic connotation and called a congress in January 1964 to vote in new leadership. Sendwe attended the first meeting but then denounced the event and banned it, which was reversed at the order of the Deputy Prime Minister. Sendwe lost his seat as party president in a vote of 28–3. He failed to secure any significant party office, and was relegated to the position of adviser to the PPCo. On 15 March the provincial assembly, in a special session sponsored by President Kasa-Vubu, dismissed Sendwe from his post as Provincial President and replaced him with Kabange.

Sendwe argued on legal technicality that his removal was unlawful, denounced the PPCo, and declared that only his government had popular support. On 27 April the provincial assembly reached a compromise, re-electing Sendwe President of North Katanga but revising his government, stripping him of the public health portfolio and making Kabange Provincial Vice-president. He was re-inaugurated the following day. He pledged to strengthen North Katanga's institutions and territorial integrity, protect political parties that sought to further "superior interests" of the Congo, and encourage friendly relations between BALUBAKAT and CONAKAT. He also announced his intention to increase economic cooperation with other provinces and establish cooperatives for merchants and consumers. Meanwhile, a radical leftist BALUBAKAT activist, Laurent-Désiré Kabila, planned a rebellion in North Katanga to overthrow Sendwe and Kabange.

## Death

On 27 May 1964 a coup in Albertville by Simba rebels, led by Kabila, overthrew Sendwe's government. Sendwe was accused of embezzling public funds and detained. While the rebel leaders debated what to do with him, including executing him, Sendwe escaped, and spent the next few days trying to reestablish his authority as the rebels' control crumbled. On 30 May, a small government force under the command of Colonel Louis Bobozo recaptured the town and recovered Sendwe—who claimed to have been nearly buried alive by the rebels. Sendwe was under the false impression that Mwamba Ilunga had stoked the rebellion and had him arrested. Unrest persisted in Albertville. Sendwe failed to calm the situation and attacked his rivals and non-Baluba ethnicities. On 19 June the population revolted and the government evacuated. Sendwe attempted to flee but was hampered by government troops and was killed by rebels. Questions about his death were raised in several newspapers, and the central government released an official report about it two weeks later.

There are various theories about how and why Sendwe was killed. According to journalist Ian Goodhope Colvin, Sendwe was driving towards Fizi with an American missionary when his car was stopped by Simba rebels. In this account, his police escort fled and he and his companion were murdered. According to political scientist Jean Omasombo Tshonda, he was arrested by ANC soldiers at Muswaki while attempting to escape by train and then forced to return to Albertville. Driving with several relatives, he went into the city to try and calm the Simbas, assuring them of his Lumumbist credentials by shouting (in a reportedly drunken manner), "Lumumba is my brother! Mulele is my brother! All of you, you are my brothers!" The rebels then shot him and some of his companions on Kangomba hill.

Political scientist Erik Kennes examined various testimonies concerning Sendwe's death. One witness held Saidi Saleh Mukidadi, a local politician, responsible for the death. Political scientist Kabuya Lumuna Sando concluded that ANC defectors shot Sendwe. Kennes questioned the validity of the latter claim, noting that most ANC elements had retreated from the area and that no other witnesses reported dissident soldiers forming part of the Simbas' ranks. Simba leader Gaston Soumialot accused Mobutu of organising the murder. Other observers believed that the ANC soldiers' actions indicate central government involvement. Kabuya, noting the allegedly newer clothing worn by the soldiers who had prevented Sendwe's departure, posited that the ANC men were clandestine government operatives. He argued that Mobutu, head of the ANC at the time, wanted Sendwe dead to make rapprochement with Tshombe easier. There is a rumour that the execution was carried out by several Bayombe under orders from Kabila. Kennes reasoned that this was unlikely because Kabila did not have Sendwe killed the first time Albertville was seized and was not present when the city fell on 19 June.

## Legacy

Throughout his career, Sendwe was the undisputed national leader of the Katangese Baluba and the primary opponent of Tshombe during the Katangese secession. He hastened the end of the secession through his success in negotiating with national and international figures. According to British journalist Ian Goodhope Colvin, Sendwe's death deprived Adoula of a figure who could guarantee him Katangese support, forcing him to welcome Tshombe back into the country. His murder also disillusioned many Baluba in North Katanga with the Simbas' cause, and as a result many abstained from joining their rebellion. BALUBAKAT collapsed in his wake. In November 1966 Mobutu, having become president, posthumously awarded Sendwe for dying "in defence of the country's honour". An avenue and a hospital in Lubumbashi were named after him.

After his death, Sendwe drifted into obscurity and by the 21st century there was little memory of him in northern Katanga. The Union des fédéralistes et des républicains indépendants (UFERI) recalled his legacy in its rhetoric. Due to the party's militant reputation, the public associated UFERI with the violent actions of BALUBAKAT, thus limiting its ability to proliferate a positive image of Sendwe. In 2011 a congress of the "Luba People" declared that Sendwe was among "our valiant martyrs". There is little study of him in Congolese historiography.

Congolese politician (1917–1964)

Assassinated Democratic Republic of the Congo politicians

Democratic Republic of the Congo Protestants

Deputy Prime Ministers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

People murdered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo


Gujarati cinema

Gujarati cinema, also known as Dhollywood, is the Gujarati language film industry. It is one of the major regional and vernacular film industries of the cinema of India, having produced more than one thousand films since its inception.

During the silent film era, many individuals in the industry were Gujaratis. The language-associated industry dates back to 1932, when the first Gujarati talkie, Narsinh Mehta, was released. Until the independence of India in 1947, only twelve Gujarati films were produced. There was a spurt in film production in the 1940s focused on saint, sati or dacoit stories as well as mythology and folktales. In the 1950s–1960s, the trend continued with the addition of films on literary works. In the 1970s, the Government of Gujarat announced a tax exemption and subsidies which resulted in an increase in the number of films, but the quality declined.

After flourishing through the 1960s–1980s, the industry saw a decline through 2000 when the number of new films dropped below twenty. The Gujarat state government announced a tax exemption again in 2005 which lasted until 2017. The industry has been partially revived in the 2010s due first to rural demand, and later to an influx of new technology and urban subjects in films. The state government announced a policy of incentives in 2016.

## Etymology

Bollywood, the sobriquet for the Hindi language film industry based in Mumbai (then called Bombay), inspired the nickname Dhollywood for the Gujarati film industry due to its profuse use of the dhol, a double-headed drum. It is also referred to as Gollywood, a portmanteau derived from Gujarat and Bollywood.

## History

### Silent film era (1913–1931)

Even before the advent of talkies there were several silent films closely related to the Gujarati people and their culture, and many directors, producers and actors who were Gujarati and Parsi. Between 1913 and 1931 there were twenty leading film company and studios owned by Gujaratis—mostly in Bombay (now Mumbai)—and at least forty-four leading Gujarati directors.

The silent film Bilwamangal (also called Bhagat Soordas, 1919) was directed by Rustomji Dhotiwala, a Parsi Gujarati, based on a story by Gujarati writer Champshi Udeshi. This full-length (132 minutes, 12,000 feet (3,700 m)) film was produced by Elphinstone Bioscope Company of Calcutta (now Kolkata in West Bengal), and is considered Bengali. Suchet Singh established the Oriental Film Manufacturing Company of Bombay with the help of Hajimahamad Allarakha, an editor of the popular Gujarati magazine Visami Sadi, in 1919. The silent film Narsinh Mehta (1920), produced by Oriental, featured the Gujarati song "Vaishnav Jan To", which was sung by the audience and musicians in cinema halls with relevant scenes on screen.

Dwarkadas Sampat, an early Gujarati film producer, began his involvement with the film industry in Rajkot. He bought a projector and held film shows. He later established Patankar Friends & Company with S. N. Patankar for film productions. Raja Sriyal was the company's first film, but it was not released due to a defective print. Kach-Devyani (1920), directed by Patankar, featured garba dancing, marking the first appearance of Gujarati culture in films. Sampat later founded the Kohinoor Film Company. Kohinoor's first film, Sati Parvati (1920), which also depicted Gujarati culture, was directed by Vishnupant Divekar and featured Prabha, an actress from Rajkot, in the lead role of Parvati. Bhakta Vidur (1921), directed by Kanjibhai Rathod, was implicitly political: The film featured Sampat in the lead role of Vidur, who donned a Gandhi cap, an allusion to the Indian independence movement led by Mahatma Gandhi. The film had a Gujarati song sung by Vidur's wife, "Rudo Maro Rentiyo, Rentiyama Nikle Taar, Taare Taare Thay Bharatno Uddhar", referred to the spinning wheel (rentio) on the flag of the Indian National Congress at that time. It was the first film banned in India by British authorities. It was re-released in 1922 under the title Dharm Vijay. Pavagadhnu Patan (The Fall of Pavagadh, 1928) was directed by Nagendra Majumdar and produced by Indulal Yagnik. Yagnik was an independence activist who later headed the Mahagujarat movement demanding a separate Gujarat state. Yagnik produced ten films under various banners.

Kohinoor produced many films in the silent film era, including social problem films in a period dominated by mythological films. Katorabhar Khoon (1920) was its first social film. Manorama (1924) was directed by Homi Master and was based on Hridaya Triputi, an autobiographical poem by the Gujarati poet Kalapi. Gul-E-Bakavali (1924), written by Mohanlal G. Dave and directed by Rathod, ran successfully for fourteen weeks. Manilal Joshi, an experimental Gujarati director, directed Abhimanyu (1922), which was produced by the Star Film Company, and later Prithivi Vallabh based on the novel of the same name by Gujarati author K. M. Munshi.

The Krishna Film Company, established in 1924 and owned by Maneklal Patel, produced forty-four films between 1925 and 1931. The Sharda Film Company was established in 1925, financed by Mayashankar Bhatt and run by Bhogilal Dave and Nanubhai Desai. Bhatt also financed Dadasaheb Phalke's Hindustan Cinema Film Company.

### Early talkies (1932–1947)

Before the 1931 release of the first full-length Indian sound film, Alam Ara, a short Gujarati sound film, Chav Chavno Murabbo, was released on 4 February 1931 in Bombay. It included the song Mane Mankad Karde ("A Bug Bites Me"), the first sound in any Indian film. The film was produced by Maneklal Patel, with lyrics and dialogue by Natwar Shyam. The title, literally "Chew Chew's Marmalade", refers to having to chew marmalade to swallow it and probably has no specific connection to the plot.

Before the first full-length Gujarati sound film, Narsinh Mehta (1932), two short Gujarati sound films were released with Hindi talkies. The two-reel short Krishna–Sudama, produced by the Imperial Film Company, was released with Hindi talkie Nek Abala. Another two-reel short, Mumbai ni Shethani was premiered along with Madan's Shirin Farhad on 9 January 1932 at Wellington Cinema, Bombay. It was produced by Theatres of Calcutta and was based on the story written by Champshi Udeshi. The film starred Mohan, Miss Sharifa and Surajram and included the Gujarati song Fashion ni Fishiari, Juo, Mumbai ni Shethani.

The release of the first full-length Gujarati talkie, Narsinh Mehta on 9 April 1932 marks the true beginning of Gujarati cinema. It was directed by Nanubhai Vakil, produced by Sagar Movietone, and starred Mohanlala, Marutirao, Master Manhar, and Miss Mehtab. It was of the 'saint' genre and was on the life of the saint Narsinh Mehta.

It was followed in 1932 by Sati Savitri, based on the epic story of Savitri and Satyavan, and in 1935 by the comedy Ghar Jamai, directed by Homi Master. Ghar Jamai starred: Heera, Jamna, Baby Nurjehan, Amoo, Alimiya, Jamshedji, and Gulam Rasool. It featured a 'resident son-in-law' and his escapades as well as his problematic attitude towards the freedom of women.

Gunsundari was made three times from 1927 to 1948. The film was such a success in its first appearance in 1927, that director Chandulal Shah remade it in 1934. It was remade again in 1948 by Ratilal Punatar. Gunsundari is the story of a poor Indian woman who is disliked by her husband for her moral stand. The woman finally lands on the street where she meets a person who is just like her—a social outcast. The story ends there. However, the three versions include some changes to reflect their times.

There were twelve films released between 1932 and 1940. No Gujarati films were produced in 1933, 1937 or 1938. From 1941 to 1946 there was no production, due to the rationing of raw materials during World War II.

### Post-independence (1946–1970)

After the independence of India in 1947, there was a surge in the production of Gujarati films. Twenty-six films were produced in 1948 alone. Between 1946 and 1952, seventy-four films were produced including twenty-seven films related to saint, sati or dacoit stories. These stories were designed to appeal to rural audiences familiar with such subjects. Several films produced during this period were associated with myths or folktales people were familiar with.

Vishnukumar M. Vyas directed Ranakdevi (1946) based on the legend of Ranakdevi. Nirupa Roy made her debut as an actress in the film and later succeeded in the Hindi film industry playing the role of a mother in various films. Meerabai (1946) was a remake of the Hindi film directed by Nanubhai Bhatt starring Nirupa Roy. Punatar directed Gunsundari (1948) also starring Nirupa Roy. Kariyavar (1948), directed by Chaturbhuj Doshi, introduced Dina Pathak to the film audience. Doshi also directed Vevishal (1949), an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Jhaverchand Meghani. Punatar's Mangalfera (1949) was a remake of the Hindi film Shadi (1941) produced by Ranjit Movietone. Other popular Gujarati films were Vadilona Vanke (1948) directed by Ramchandra Thakur; Gada no Bel (1950) directed by Ratibhai Punatar based on the play by Prabhulal Dwivedi; and Leeludi Dharati (1968) directed by Vallabh Choksi based on the novel of the same name by Chunilal Madia. Liludi Dharati was the Gujarati cinema's first colour film.

Between 1951 and 1970, there was a decline in film production with only fifty-five films produced during this period. Malela Jeev (1956) was directed by Manhar Raskapur based on the novel of same name by Pannalal Patel which was scripted by the novelist himself. Raskapur and producer-actor Champshibhai Nagda produced several films including: Jogidas Khuman (1948), Kahyagaro Kanth (1950), Kanyadan (1951), Mulu Manek (1955), Malela Jeev (1956), Kadu Makrani (1960), Mendi Rang Lagyo (1960), Jogidas Kuman (1962), Akhand Saubhagyavati (1963) and Kalapi (1966). Akhand Saubhagyavati was the first Gujarati film financed by the Film Finance Corporation (now the National Film Development Corporation) and starred Asha Parekh in the lead role. Kanku (1969), directed by Kantilal Rathod, was based on the short story by Pannalal Patel originally written in 1936 and later expanded into a novel in 1970. Kanku won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Gujarati at the 17th National Film Awards, and its actress Pallavi Mehta won an award at the Chicago International Film Festival.

Sanjeev Kumar, a popular Hindi film actor, acted in: Ramat Ramade Ram (1964), Kalapi (1966) and Jigar ane Ami (1970). Jigar ane Ami was adapted from the novel of same name by Chunilal Vardhman Shah. Vidhata (1956), Chundadi Chokha (1961), Ghar Deevdi (1961), Nandanvan (1961), Gharni Shobha (1963), Panetar (1965), Mare Jaavu Pele Paar (1968), Bahuroopi (1969) and Sansarleela (1969) were adapted from Gujarati literary works.

### Rise and decline (1970–2000)

Following the Mahagujarat movement, the separate linguistic states of Gujarat and Maharashtra were formed from the Bombay State on 1 May 1960. This had a great impact on the Gujarati film industry as Bombay, the centre of film production, fell in Maharashtra. There was a lack of major film production houses and studios in Gujarat resulting in a decline in the quality and number of films.

In the 1970s, the Government of Gujarat announced subsidies and tax exemptions for Gujarati films resulting in a spurt in film production. A studio was established in Vadodara in 1972. The state policy which benefited producers cost the state ₹8 crore (equivalent to ₹163 crore or US\$20 million in 2023) in 1981–1982 for the thirty-nine films produced during that period. An entertainment tax exemption of ₹3 lakh (equivalent to ₹61 lakh or US\$77,000 in 2023) was announced for producers who completed films. This policy resulted in an influx of people interested in monetary benefits who did not have any technical or artistic knowledge, thus the quality of films declined substantially. After 1973 a large number of films were produced focused on deities and dacoits. In 1980, the tax exemption was reduced to 70% but the remaining 30% was given to producers for assistance in other ways.

Gunsundarino Gharsansar (1972), directed by Govind Saraiya, won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Gujarati at the 20th National Film Awards. The film was based on the novel Saraswatichandra and was considered important for its artistry and aesthetic. Feroze A. Sarkar directed Janamteep (1973) adapted from the novel of same name by Ishwar Petlikar. Kanti Madia adapted Vinodini Nilkanth's short story Dariyav Dil for the film Kashino Dikro (1979). Babubhai Mistry directed a dozen films between 1969 and 1984. Dinesh Raval directed twenty six hit films including: Mena Gurjari (1975), Amar Devidas (1981) and Sant Rohidas (1982). Actor-director Krishna Kant, popularly known as KK, directed about a dozen Gujarati films including: Kulvadhu (1977), Gharsansar (1978), Visamo (1978) and Jog Sanjog (1980). These films were critically as well as popularly well received. KK had long and successful acting career in Hindi and Bengali cinema too. Mehul Kumar directed several hits including: Janam Janam na Sathi (1977), Ma Vina Suno Sansar (1982), Dholamaru (1983) and Meru Malan (1985). Jesal Toral (1971) directed by Ravindra Dave was one of the biggest hits of Gujarati cinema. He also directed over twenty-five films popular with audiences. Chandrakant Sangani directed the musical film Tanariri (1975), based on the Gujarati folk-lore of Tana and Riri, which highlighted a little-known side of Akbar who is usually presented as a consistently benign ruler. He also directed Kariyavar (1977) based on the novel Vanzari Vaav by Shayda. Sonbai ni Chundadi (1976), directed by Girish Manukant, was the first Gujarati cinemascope film. Mansai na Deeva (1984), directed by Govind Saraiya, was based on the novel of the same name by Jhaverchand Meghani. Subhash J. Shah directed several popular films: Lohi Bhini Chundadi (1986), Prem Bandhan (1991), Oonchi Medina Ooncha Mol (1996), Parbhavni Preet (1997), and Mahisagarna Moti (1998).

From 1973 to 1987, Arun Bhatt produced several films matching the production values of Hindi films. He made several films with urban backgrounds such as Mota Gharni Vahu, Lohini Sagaai (1980) based on the novel by Ishwar Petlikar, Paarki Thaapan, Shetal Tara Oonda Paani (1986) which were commercially as well as critically successful. His movie Pooja na Phool, made in the early 1980s, won him an award for the Best Film from the Government of Gujarat and was also telecast on Doordarshan in the Sunday slot for regional award-winning films.

Bhavni Bhavai (1980), directed by Ketan Mehta, was produced by National Film Development Corporation, the Sanchar Film Cooperative Society, and a district bank in Ahmedabad. Though the film was not a folk theatre form of Bhavai, it incorporated several elements of it. It was praised for performances and camerawork, and won awards such as the National Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration, the National Film Award for Best Art Direction for Meera Lakhia, and another award at the Nantes festival in France. The Parsi Gujarati film Percy (1989) directed by Pervez Merwanji won the National Award for the Best Feature Film in Gujarati at the 37th National Film Awards. Hun Hunshi Hunshilal (1991), directed by Sanjiv Shah, was an allegory film inspired by the political environment of the time and was felt to be post-modern. In 1998, Desh Re Joya Dada Pardesh Joya directed by Govindbhai Patel became very successful and went on to become a super-hit. The film grossed ₹22 crore (US\$2.8 million), the highest in the Gujarati cinema at that time, with 1.5 crore (15 million) people watching the film. Vipul Amrutlal Shah produced and directed Dariya Chhoru in 1999 which was well received by the critics but failed commercially. Other hit films of 1990s were Manvini Bhavai (1993), Unchi Medi Na Uncha Mol (1997) and Pandadu Lilu Ne Rang Rato (1999).

Upendra Trivedi was one of the most successful Gujarati actors and producers. He produced Jher To Pidhan Jaani Jaani (1972) based on the epic novel of the same name by Manubhai Pancholi 'Darshak'. He also produced, acted and directed in Manvi ni Bhavai (1993) based on the novel of the same name by Pannalal Patel. The film was widely appreciated and went to win the National Award for the Best Feature Film in Gujarati at the 41st National Film Awards. Arvind Trivedi, Mahesh Kanodia, Naresh Kanodia, Rajendra Kumar, Asrani, Kiran Kumar, Rajiv, Arvind Kirad, Naresh Kanodia, and Hiten Kumar had long and successful careers. Ramesh Mehta and P. Kharsani were popular for their comic roles. Popular Gujarati film actresses included: Mallika Sarabhai, Rita Bhaduri, Aruna Irani, Jayshree T., Bindu, Asha Parekh, and Snehlata.

Avinash Vyas was one of the major composers of the Gujarati cinema who wrote music for 168 Gujarati films and 61 Hindi films. His son Gaurang Vyas was also a composer who wrote the music for Bhavni Bhavai. Mahesh-Naresh composed the music for several Gujarati films including Tanariri. Another notable music composer was Ajit Merchant.

Some 368 Gujarati feature films and 3,562 Gujarati short films were produced by 1981. The Gujarat Film Development Corporation (GFDC) established to promote Gujarati films was closed in 1998.

The quality of the films declined due to the focus on recovering the financial investments and profits as well as not adapting to changing times, technology and demographics. Low budget films with compromised quality targeted rural audiences while urban audiences moved to television and Bollywood films with quality content as they had a fair understanding of the Hindi language.

### Revival (2001–present)

Fewer than twenty films a year were produced in the early 2000s. In 2005, the government of Gujarat announced a 100% entertainment tax exemption for U and U/A certified films and 20% tax on A certified films. The government also announced ₹5 lakh (US\$6,300) subsidy for Gujarati films. There was an increase in the number of films produced after 2005 due to the tax exemption and the rise in demand for films in rural north Gujarat, especially Banaskantha district. The demand was fueled by the working class population demanding local musical and linguistic styled films which were mostly released in single screen cinemas. The number of films produced per year was over sixty in 2009 and 2010. In 2012, the Gujarati cinema produced a record number of seventy-two films. Maiyar Ma Mandu Nathi Lagtu (2001) directed by Jashwant Gangani, starring Hiten Kumar, was well received. The film's sequel was released in 2008. Gam Ma Piyariyu Ne Gam Ma Sasariyu (2005) and Muthi Uchero Manas (2006) were also well received by audiences. Dholi Taro Dhol Vage (2008) directed by Govindbhai Patel, was produced by Reliance BIG Pictures. Vikram Thakor starred in several films including Ek Var Piyu Ne Malva Aavje (2006). His six films for rural audiences earned ₹3 crore (equivalent to ₹9.6 crore or US\$1.2 million in 2023). He was called the superstar of Gujarati cinema by various media. Hiten Kumar, Chandan Rathod, Hitu Kanodia, Mamta Soni, Roma Manek and Mona Thiba are popular among rural audiences.

Love Is Blind (2005) was the first Gujarati film released in the multiplexes. The Better Half (2008) directed by Ashish Kakkad failed commercially but drew the attention of critics and an urban audience. It was the first Gujarati film on super 16 mm format. Little Zizou, a 2009 film in Hindi, Gujarati, and English, written and directed by Sooni Taraporevala, won the Silver Lotus Award or Rajat Kamal in the National Film Award for Best Film on Family Welfare category at the 56th National Film Awards. Muratiyo No. 1 (2005) and Vanechandno Varghodo (2007), both starring Devang Patel, were big budget films but had moderate collections. In August 2011, the Gujarati film industry reached a milestone, having produced over a thousand films since the beginning of the talkies. Veer Hamirji (2012) was an historical film which was shortlisted for Indian representation at the Oscars. The Good Road (2013), directed by Gyan Correa, won the Best Feature Film in Gujarati at the 60th National Film Awards and later became the first Gujarati film ever selected to represent India at the Oscars. The film won the Best Feature Film Jury Award at the Indian Film Festival, Houston in October 2013.

Kevi Rite Jaish (2012) and Bey Yaar (2014), both directed by Abhishek Jain; became commercially and critically successful drawing an urban audience. The success of these films drew new actors, directors and producers to the Gujarati film industry which resulted in a spurt in film productions. Gujjubhai the Great and Chhello Divas were declared hit films of 2015. The box office collection of Gujarati films increased from ₹7 crore (US\$880,000) in 2014 to ₹55 crore (US\$6.9 million) in 2015. Total 65 and 68 films were released in 2014 and 2015 respectively. Total number of screens playing Gujarati films rose from 20 to 25 in 2011 to about 150–160 in 2015.

The ₹5 lakh (US\$6,300) subsidy by the Government of Gujarat was discontinued in August 2013. Three years later, in February 2016, a new incentive policy was announced which was focused on the quality of films. Films are graded in four categories, A to D, based on technical aspects, production quality, film components, and box office performance. The producers are provided with assistance of ₹50 lakh (US\$63,000) for A grade, ₹25 lakh (US\$31,000) for B grade, ₹10 lakh (US\$13,000) for C grade and ₹5 lakh (US\$6,300) for D grade films or 75% of production costs whichever is lower. A film can also receive additional incentives for its performance at film festivals and awards nominations/wins. The multiplexes are also directed to have at least forty-nine screenings of Gujarati films per year. The entertainment tax exemption for Gujarati films released in Gujarat ended with an introduction of the Goods and Services Tax in July 2017.

The industry continued to grow due to improvement in production quality, increased use of technology, increased film marketing and new subjects targeted at youth. About 50 to 70 films are released each year between 2016 and 2018. The International Gujarati Film Festival made its debut in New Jersey, US in August 2018. Wrong Side Raju (2016), Dhh (2017), Reva (2018) won the Best Feature Film in Gujarati awards at the 64th, 65th and 66th National Film Awards respectively. Hellaro (2019) became the first Gujarati film to win the National Film Award for Best Feature Film at the 66th National Film Awards. Chaal Jeevi Laiye! (2019) became the highest-grossing film of Gujarati cinema grossing over .

Due to COVID-19 pandemic, all cinema halls in Gujarat were ordered to be closed from March to October 2020. They were closed again in March–April 2021 due to resurgence of the pandemic. Chhello Show (2021), directed by Pan Nalin, was selected as the Indian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards. According to film producer Bhavesh Upadhyay and publicist Chetan Chauhan, the annual business of Gujarati cinema had reached about by 2022. As of 2022, the average film production cost ranges between and and around 60 Gujarati films were released in each of the recent years.

## Subjects

The scripts and stories of the Gujarati films include relationship and family oriented subjects, as well as human aspirations and Gujarati family culture. There were a large number of films based on mythological narratives and folklore produced in the early years of Gujarati cinema. The lives of popular saints and satis of Gujarat, like Narsinh Mehta and Gangasati, were made into films. They were targeted at rural audiences familiar with the subjects. The early filmmakers also included subjects dealing with social reforms. There were social films associated with family life and marriage such as Gunsundari and Kariyavar. The historical, social and religious subjects dominated through 1940s and 1950s. Several Gujarati films were adapted from Gujarati novels and stories such as Kashino Dikro. There was a spurt again in the 1970s for saint/sati films. In 1980s and 90s, the films were influenced by the Hindi cinema and several action and romance films were produced. In the early 2000s, films were targeted chiefly at rural audiences demanding local narratives with local linguistic style. Following 2005, the introduction of urban subjects led to a revival of the Gujarati cinema. In 2010s, the films which are more relevant to audiences were produced. Though the comedies continue to succeed at the box office, the films were produced exploring other genres and new themes as well. The films focused on large Gujarati diaspora are also produced.

## Archives

About one thousand and thirty Gujarati films were made between 1932 and 2011 but very few are archived. At the National Film Archive of India (NFAI), only twenty Gujarati films including two Parsi-Gujarati films, Pestoneei (1987) directed by Vijaya Mehta and Percy (1989) directed by Pervez Merwanji, are archived. No silent films or talkies of 1930s and 1940s survived.

## See also

- List of Gujarati films
  - 2023
- List of highest-grossing Gujarati films

Gujarati language film industry