Oscar winner James Ivory began his storied career making documentaries in India. While screening one at India’s Consulate in New York City, he met his life and business partner, Ismail Merchant. Merchant Ivory is the first definitive feature documentary to lend new and compelling perspectives on the partnership, both professional and personal, and their primary associates, writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and composer Richard Robbins. Footage from more than fifty interviews – including fresh takes from Vanessa Redgrave, Emma Thompson, Helena Bonham Carter, and of course the spry 95-year-old Ivory himself – give voice to the family of actors and technicians who helped define Merchant Ivory’s Academy Award-winning work of consummate quality and intelligence. With six Oscar winners among the notable artists participating, these close and often long-term collaborators intimately detail the transformational cinematic creativity and personal and professional drama of the wandering company that left an indelible impact on film culture.
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