Uncanny. 1. Self Portrait (1954) by David Hockney. 2. The Shopkeeper from the Mr Benn books and TV series by David McKee.

This is probably the most delightful location for a cinema that I have visited. I'm not sure if it still exists (I can't find any current information online), but it's the Sunday Cinema, located in a courtyard off Prymorskyi Boulevard, Odesa, Ukraine. Photo taken July 2014.

Eric Portman was born on this day 125 years ago. A popular star of mid-40s British cinema, Portman, who was gay, specialised in complex, obsessive characters. Publicity portrait taken to promote ONE OF OUR AIRCRAFT IS MISSING (Powell & Pressburger, 1942).

Que la bête meure/This Man Must Die/Killer! (Claude Chabrol, 1969). At first this shot feels familiar, then it becomes unnerving. Caroline Cellier’s and Michel Duchaussoy’s faces are like a Picasso portrait. Their eyes move independently, but they feel like a single person. Chabrol brilliance.

You're too kind. I hope it's not TOO frivolous. There are some very fine sunnies in these posters, too. Though not from Ray's films: INTAQAM (R. K. Nayyar, 1969) and DARLING DARLING (Gogi Anand, 1977).

8/8. Uttam Kumar was a model of studied cool as a film star in THE HERO/NAYAK (1966).

7/8. Madhabi Mukherjee is rocking this pair of cat eye specs - with a sun specs-free Soumitra Chatterjee - in THE COWARD/KAPURUSH (1965).

6/8. And co-star Samit Bhanja looked dashing in his rather similar pair, too.

5/8. Back to DAYS AND NIGHTS IN THE FOREST… Soumitra Chatterjee in another fine pair of sunglasses.

4/8. Barun Chanda in COMPANY LIMITED wearing his slightly more modest, but no less cool pair.

3/8. I think that we can assume that the glasses Targore wore in DAYS AND NIGHTS IN THE FOREST were her own as she is wearing the same pair as Ray sets up a shot with her and co-star Barun Chanda in COMPANY LIMITED/SEEMABADDHA (1971). Photos by Nemai Ghosh.

2/8. Tagore in DAYS AND NIGHTS IN THE FOREST.

How to wear sunglasses - tips from the films of Satyajit Ray. 1/8. Sharmila Tagore getting ready for the shoot of DAYS AND NIGHTS IN THE FOREST/ARANYER DIN RATRI (1970). Photo by Nemai Ghosh.

7/7. A portrait of Guru Nanak with his companion, Bhai Mardana, painted in Lahore or Amritsar c1830-45.

6/7. A Mughal tray, decorated with gold and jewels and carved from a single piece of jade, 1700s.

5/7. This extraordinary carving of Shiva and Parvati from Odisha, made c1200 CE - one of my favourite objects in the museum.

4/7. Images of Buddha including this large figure from Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh, made c450 CE.

3/7. I love the way that Dutt’s passport is in a large gallery exploring both the trajectory and diversity of South Asian cultures including: Indus Valley figurines (c2600-1900 BCE) from what is now Pakistan.

2/7. It's on display in a case celebrating Indian filmmakers that also includes Bimal Roy’s Filmfare award for Parakh (1960); the Academy Award nomination for Mother India (Mehboob Khan, 1958) and one of Satyajit Ray’s own watercolours for the opening credits of his film Kanchenjungha (1962).

1/7. On what would have been Guru Dutt’s 101st birthday, I popped into the British Museum to see his passport. #gurudutt

Afternoon sun at the British Museum. It seems right that these ancient Egyptian sculptures should be warmed by Ra - the name of the sun as well as the sun god.

I was having a conversation with a friend about film tie-in covers, which prompted me to dig this out. It’s a very long time since I read it and I’m unlikely to do so again. But I love that the cover is from the now largely overlooked 1978 animated version directed by Ralph Bakshi.

In awe of this guy. When you have to do a difficult job in 33 degree heat. Photos taken from Waterloo Bridge yesterday afternoon.

8/9. There’s a propulsive, emotional energy to the film driving you to its finale. I couldn’t hold back a tear at the end.

7/9. There’s nothing saccharine about the film. The realities of war feel omnipresent. But even in a moment of tragedy, the dead body of a woman is shown as if she’s just asleep in a meadow.

6/9. This shot - on a moving train as Shura’s hair blows in Alyosha’s face - is the kind of thing you might want to play on repeat.

5/9. It’s one of the most tender films about young love I have seen. The way Shura and Alyosha’s burgeoning love is captured is a complete delight.

4/9. The camera is in love with both the lovers - Ivashov and Zhanna Prokhorenko as Shura. But it lingers almost obsessively on Prokhorenko, making her look like a young Soviet Claudia Cardinale.

3/9. It’s a great train film, and some of the most beautiful shots are about engines, steam and stations.

2/9. The cinematography by Vladimir Nikolayev and Era Savelyeva captures numerous striking images. Particularly love the shot of Aloysha (Vladimir Ivashov) mirroring a pylon as he attempts to stop a truck.