Marie Seton (20 March 1910 – 17 February 1985)Film and TV database
/ref> was a British actress, art, theatre and film critic and biographer of

Sergei Eisenstein Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein (russian: Сергей Михайлович Эйзенштейн, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ ɪjzʲɪnˈʂtʲejn, 2=Sergey Mikhaylovich Eyzenshteyn; 11 February 1948) was a Soviet film director, scree ...

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, stage and film actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplish ...

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian Anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India du ...

, and

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. One of the greatest auteurs of ...

Biography

Her father, Captain Seton served in the British Army in India and South Africa. After the death of Captain Seton, Marie's mother, also named Marie, remarried Sir Charles Walpole. In 1935 Seton helped to establish the reputation of Jamaican sculptor

Ronald Moody Ronald Moody (12 August 1900 – 6 February 1984) was a Jamaican-born sculptor, specialising in wood carvings. His work features in collections including the National Portrait Gallery and Tate Britain in London, as well as the National Gallery ...

. In 1936, she helped her friend

C. L. R. James Cyril Lionel Robert James (4 January 1901 – 31 May 1989),Fraser, C. Gerald, '' The New York Times'', 2 June 1989. who sometimes wrote under the pen-name J. R. Johnson, was a Trinidadian historian, journalist and Marxist. His works are i ...

, the Trinidadian writer and radical political activist, to put on his play about the

Haitian Revolution The Haitian Revolution (french: révolution haïtienne ; ht, revolisyon ayisyen) was a successful insurrection by self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolt began on ...

, '' Toussaint Louverture: The Story of the Only Successful Slave Revolt in History'', which starred

in the title role, with the

Stage Society The Incorporated Stage Society, commonly known as the Stage Society, was an English theatre society with limited membership which mounted private Sunday performances of new and experimental plays, mainly at the Royal Court Theatre (whose Vedrenne- ...

. Seton's reconstruction of Sergei Eisenstein’s projected epic, ''

¡Que viva México! ''¡Que viva México!'' (, ; russian: Да здравствует Мексика!, Da zdravstvuyet Meksika!) is a film project begun in 1930 by the Russian avant-garde director Sergei Eisenstein (1898–1948) under contract to socialist author Upt ...

'', as a film released in 1939 entitled ''Time in the Sun'', is considered by many critics as probably nearest to Eisenstein's concept because of her close relationship with the filmmaker. She was a regular contributor to ''

Sight and Sound ''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...

'' and other publications. In the late 1930s, she became part of the circle of

P. D. Ouspensky Pyotr Demianovich Ouspenskii (known in English as Peter D. Ouspensky; rus, Пётр Демья́нович Успе́нский, Pyotr Demyánovich Uspénskiy; 5 March 1878 – 2 October 1947) was a Russian esotericist known for his expositions ...

and later worked for him after his move to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

.''Gurdjieff International Review''
/ref>The Case of P. D. Ouspensky
/ref> Between 1938 and 1942, she was married to Donald Hesson, a Chicago lawyer and author. According to her friend, Pamela Cullen, Seton "had a fascination for

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

and as a young woman she had been introduced to India’s fight for independence by one of India’s greatest political figures,

Krishna Menon Vengalil Krishnan Krishna Menon (3 May 1896 – 6 October 1974) was an Indian academic, politician, and non-career diplomat. He was described by some as the second most powerful man in India, after the first list of Prime Ministers of In ...

, who was then a struggling lawyer in London. She also had family associations with India through her father, who had served as an officer in the Indian Army and been seriously wounded during one of the many uprisings of the period". Nehru invited Seton to India to help with the University Film Society and the Children's Film Society. She was probably recommended to him by D. G. Tendulkar, who must have known her during the time he was in Moscow studying cinema with Sergei Eisenstein. Over the years, Seton became a friend of

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 and was al ...

. For some time in the 1960s, Seton was a house guest of the Nehrus and stayed in

Teen Murti The Teen Murti Bhavan (''Teen Murti House''; formerly known as Flagstaff House) was built by British as the residence New Delhi of the Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. However, He stayed there for 16 years until his death on 27 May 1 ...

. Seton lived in India in the 1960s and 1970s, and was actively involved in the film society movement, at the same time as being a close observer of Indian politics. She worked closely with Vijaya Mulay and Chidananda Dasgupta in establishing the

Federation of Film Societies of India Federation of Film Societies of India (FFSI) is the umbrella body of film-screening societies in India. FFSI is currently a member of the International Federation of Film Society that has its Central Office in Paris. The international organisatio ...

. On her death, at her own request she was cremated, and the plaque of her ashes in Golders Green Crematotarium reads: "Marie Seton Hesson, Padma Bhushan, Citizen of the World".

Awards

In recognition of her work, the Indian government honored Seton with the

Padma Bhusan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

civilian award in 1984.Indian Government Awards site
/ref>

Publications

;Books * * * * * *Seton, Marie (1971). ''Portrait of a Director: Satyajit Ray''. London: Dennis Dobson. New Delhi: Vikas Publications. Revised edition, with foreword by

Sandip Ray Sandip Ray (born 8 September 1953) is an Indian film director and music director who mainly works in Bengali cinema. He is the only child of the famous Bengali director Satyajit Ray and Bijoya Ray. Life and education Sandip Ray was born in C ...

, Penguin Books India, 2003. * ;Articles *"A Conversation with V. I. Pudovkin", with Marie Seton, in ''Sight and Sound'' (London), Spring 1933. *"Eisenstein's Images and Mexican Art", by Marie Seton in ''Sight and Sound'' (London), July–September 1953. *"Journey Through India", by Marie Seton in ''Sight and Sound'' (London), Spring 1957.

References

Sources

*
Marie Seton, a wiki
is a collaborative space for people who are interested in the life and work of Marie Seton. Some of them personally knew and worked with her and one of them is working on a biography of her.

review of ''Que Viva Mexico'' by Isabel Arredondo in ''The Americas'', 66.4 (2010): 583–585. Project MUSE. Web. 24 April 2011. *

review by Partho Datta of new edition of Marie Seton's biography of Satyajit Ray. ''The Hindu'', 7 September 2003.

Biography

Awards

Publications

References

Sources

Further reading