内容摘要：In a recent memoir, Lee described his childhood as "miserable". Born in 1963 in a mountain village in Andong, Gyeongbuk Province, he was the fifth of five sons and two daughters, and - due to his family's difficult circumstances - skipped middle school to illegally enter the workforce.

In a recent memoir, Lee described his childhood as "miserable". Born in 1963 in a mountain village in Andong, Gyeongbuk Province, he was the fifth of five sons and two daughters, and - due to his family's difficult circumstances - skipped middle school to illegally enter the workforce.

Sthal offers an unsparing look at the grim side of arranged marriage in India—often romanticised on screen with song and dance. It's also part of a wave of Marathi films earning global acclaim this year.Sabar Bonda, a semi-personal rural romance between two men, made history as the first Marathi film to screen at Sundance—and won a Grand Jury Prize.

Meenakshi Shedde, a senior programme advisor for South Asian films at the Toronto International Film Festival, called it "a daring, exquisite rural gay romance", and its bold, tender storytelling "historic".Once pioneers of Indian cinema, Marathi films have long been hurt by Bollywood's dominating influence in the state of Maharashtra - where the language is spoken - and elsewhere in the country. But in the past decade, they've been quietly making a global mark, with diverse, acclaimed titles lighting up international festivals.Nagraj Manjule's romantic-tragedy Sairat was picked up for Berlinale in 2016. A few years later, Chaitanya Tamhane's The Disciple became the first Indian film to screen in Venice since Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding - Oscar-winner Afonso Cuaron came on-board as its executive producer.

At least a dozen other independent and experimental Marathi films have since found a spot at global festivals, handling an impressive diversity of subjects.Harshad Nalawade's Follower, which was selected for the Rotterdam Film Festival and had a limited theatrical release for instance, dives into the radicalisation of India's youth, exploring the life of a small-town troll with compassion.

In Second Chance, a black-and-white debut by Subhadra Mahajan, a woman's post-trauma journey leads her to the Himalayas. Premiered at Busan, it hits Indian theatres this June.

With strong roots in Marathi literature and theatre, including experimental theatre, Marathi cinema has always produced strong films, Shedde says.Acting as guide was Simon Gilchrist, who led the restoration.

He described it as being "a real passion," to have spent time on the project."It's not often that we as clock repairers get the opportunity to work on something that is old, but also something that is of great historical importance," he said.

The clock used to be set using a sundial on the outside of the tower. Now a modern digital clock secured to the wall, next to the Tudor era mechanism is used."When this thing was made 500 years ago, we didn't have the accuracy that we have today," said Mr Gilchrist.