How Sarfarosh changed the patriotic film for good. (Photo Credit – IMDb)
Not all patriotic movies mentioned the enemy nation by name. It was all about a ‘dushmun desh’ with junior artistes with oriental features and actors made to resemble them, for China (to whom we lost in 1962) was the major enemy! Pakistan as an enemy was rare.
All that changed after Border in 1997, which was a dramatized version of the Longowal battle in the 1971 Indo-Pak war. Obviously, Pakistan had to be named and shown here. But Sarfarosh, released in 1999, was the first fictional drama to show our neighboring country openly as the ‘villain’ waging proxy wars. Eerily, the Kargil conflict happened within weeks of its release. And despite our then-Prime Minister’s friendly overtures to them, our recalcitrant neighbour continues to foster terror and express that they want Kashmir!
The anti-Pakistani sentiment, especially when we heard applause in sections of...
Not all patriotic movies mentioned the enemy nation by name. It was all about a ‘dushmun desh’ with junior artistes with oriental features and actors made to resemble them, for China (to whom we lost in 1962) was the major enemy! Pakistan as an enemy was rare.
All that changed after Border in 1997, which was a dramatized version of the Longowal battle in the 1971 Indo-Pak war. Obviously, Pakistan had to be named and shown here. But Sarfarosh, released in 1999, was the first fictional drama to show our neighboring country openly as the ‘villain’ waging proxy wars. Eerily, the Kargil conflict happened within weeks of its release. And despite our then-Prime Minister’s friendly overtures to them, our recalcitrant neighbour continues to foster terror and express that they want Kashmir!
The anti-Pakistani sentiment, especially when we heard applause in sections of...
- 5/15/2024
- by Rajiv Vijayakar
- KoiMoi
The downside to the now-inoperative Marvel Television was that its offerings were exhaustively inconsistent in quality. Would you get a mature, nuanced examination of topics like systemic corruption, religious faith, and personal trauma like in "Daredevil"? Or would you get a clumsy mashup of "Succession"-style dynasty drama and white savior tropes like in "Iron Fist"? One could never be too sure. But while the lows were especially low, the highs also tended to be higher than the Marvel Cinematic Universe's films.
Funnily enough, that trend has only continued since Marvel Television was restructured and folded into Marvel Studios. The McU's Disney+ shows have been all over the board so far, with the added wrinkle that most of them are woven deeper into the tapestry of the franchise's greater mythology and, as such, are harder for the McU's movies to ignore -- as we saw when "The Marvels" had to...
Funnily enough, that trend has only continued since Marvel Television was restructured and folded into Marvel Studios. The McU's Disney+ shows have been all over the board so far, with the added wrinkle that most of them are woven deeper into the tapestry of the franchise's greater mythology and, as such, are harder for the McU's movies to ignore -- as we saw when "The Marvels" had to...
- 4/8/2024
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
There are a number of stories about how Gulzar, who has been awarded the 58th Jnanpith Award along with Sanskrit scholar Jagatguru Rambhadracharya, became one of Hindi cinema’s most celebrated lyricists after being better known in his years as a struggler after Partition in Mumbai for his expertise in re-painting cars mauled in crashes.
The one that seems most credible, however, has come from him. Despite his skill with car colours, Gulzar’s first love was the written word and he was a regular at the Progressive Writers Association (Pwa), which was then a creative hub of just about every Titan in Hindi and Urdu literature.
It was at Pwa meetings that the undiscovered poet struck up a friendship with lyricist Shailendra, who introduced him to Bimal Roy, who, in turn, told him that he was wasting his time and talent at a car workshop.
Roy drafted Gulzar, till...
The one that seems most credible, however, has come from him. Despite his skill with car colours, Gulzar’s first love was the written word and he was a regular at the Progressive Writers Association (Pwa), which was then a creative hub of just about every Titan in Hindi and Urdu literature.
It was at Pwa meetings that the undiscovered poet struck up a friendship with lyricist Shailendra, who introduced him to Bimal Roy, who, in turn, told him that he was wasting his time and talent at a car workshop.
Roy drafted Gulzar, till...
- 2/17/2024
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
Inspiration for great music can come from the unlikeliest of places. Madonna’s “Open Your Heart” was inspired by a vegetarian restaurant and a server who worked there. One of the song’s co-writers said the track’s prominence was literally a dream come true.
Madonna’s ‘Open Your Heart’ was originally named after a restaurant
“Open Your Heart” was co-written by Madonna, Peter Rafelson, and Gardner Cole. During a 2005 interview with Madonna Tribe, Cole discussed the origin of the song. “The song was started with my good friend Peter Rafelson, we worked on the song for over a year,” he said. “The original title was ‘Follow Your Heart,’ which is the name of a vegetarian restaurant in Los Angeles. I was in love with a waitress there named Lisa, and she was the original inspiration for the lyrics.”
Cole recalled the Queen of Pop’s contribution to the song.
Madonna’s ‘Open Your Heart’ was originally named after a restaurant
“Open Your Heart” was co-written by Madonna, Peter Rafelson, and Gardner Cole. During a 2005 interview with Madonna Tribe, Cole discussed the origin of the song. “The song was started with my good friend Peter Rafelson, we worked on the song for over a year,” he said. “The original title was ‘Follow Your Heart,’ which is the name of a vegetarian restaurant in Los Angeles. I was in love with a waitress there named Lisa, and she was the original inspiration for the lyrics.”
Cole recalled the Queen of Pop’s contribution to the song.
- 12/28/2023
- by Matthew Trzcinski
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Beyoncé knows what her fans have gone through to make it to her Renaissance World Tour.
As she says in Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé, she herself has been changed by seeing her idols perform live.
That’s why she put all her energy into the creative direction of her show. Those efforts are on full display in the concert film, which is just as much a behind-the-scenes documentary and rare interview with Beyoncé as it is a treat to the best seat in the house for the nearly 3-hour performance.
In fact, the film opens with a tribute to the Beyhive, as they prepare to enter the stadium for the spectacle. As they dance outside and rush to their seats, Beyoncé is backstage preparing to step up to the mic. When she does, she beautifully belts “Dangerously in Love” to open the show.
Seeing Beyoncé perform live might be akin to a religious experience.
As she says in Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé, she herself has been changed by seeing her idols perform live.
That’s why she put all her energy into the creative direction of her show. Those efforts are on full display in the concert film, which is just as much a behind-the-scenes documentary and rare interview with Beyoncé as it is a treat to the best seat in the house for the nearly 3-hour performance.
In fact, the film opens with a tribute to the Beyhive, as they prepare to enter the stadium for the spectacle. As they dance outside and rush to their seats, Beyoncé is backstage preparing to step up to the mic. When she does, she beautifully belts “Dangerously in Love” to open the show.
Seeing Beyoncé perform live might be akin to a religious experience.
- 11/26/2023
- by Katie Campione
- Deadline Film + TV
Japanese rapper Awich has released her new album, The Union. Stream it via Apple Music or Spotify below.
The 12-track set features singles like “Rasen in Okinawa,” in which the CoSign alum introduces fellow Okinawan rappers like Tsubaki, OZworld, and Chico Carlito, and “Bad Bitch Bigaku Remix,” featuring Nene of Yurufwa Gang, Lana, MaRI, AI, and Yuriyan Retriever. Producers on The Union include Chaki Zulu, Trill Dynasty, Stuts, Jigg, and sty.
Awich’s last full-length was 2022’s Queendom. Earlier this year, she released the EP United Queens, which solely featured female artists. In 2020, Awich dropped her Partition EP featuring “Shook Shook,” one of the best songs to come out that year. To promote the new album, Awich has a hometown show scheduled at K-Arena Yokohama on November 5th. Get your tickets here.
The Union Artwork:
The Union Tracklist:
01. The Union
02. Rasen in Okinawa (feat. 唾奇(Tsubaki), OZworld, and Chico...
The 12-track set features singles like “Rasen in Okinawa,” in which the CoSign alum introduces fellow Okinawan rappers like Tsubaki, OZworld, and Chico Carlito, and “Bad Bitch Bigaku Remix,” featuring Nene of Yurufwa Gang, Lana, MaRI, AI, and Yuriyan Retriever. Producers on The Union include Chaki Zulu, Trill Dynasty, Stuts, Jigg, and sty.
Awich’s last full-length was 2022’s Queendom. Earlier this year, she released the EP United Queens, which solely featured female artists. In 2020, Awich dropped her Partition EP featuring “Shook Shook,” one of the best songs to come out that year. To promote the new album, Awich has a hometown show scheduled at K-Arena Yokohama on November 5th. Get your tickets here.
The Union Artwork:
The Union Tracklist:
01. The Union
02. Rasen in Okinawa (feat. 唾奇(Tsubaki), OZworld, and Chico...
- 10/25/2023
- by Eddie Fu
- Consequence - Music
Sultan of Delhi is the brand-new mafia drama from Milan Luthria, who talks in detail about the arms dealing and other illegal businesses that thrived in Delhi as India entered its 20th year of independence. A lot of friendships were made, enmities were established, and betrayals executed as the show progresses.
Spoilers Ahead
Who Was Arjun Bhatia?
Arjun Bhatia was the son of a refugee who moved to India during the partition, as he and his father had lost all of their family to a riot in Lahore. Arjun’s father, Ashok Bhatia, was a rich businessman who had to leave his fortune in the city behind to survive this painful ordeal. The Partition was a human tragedy on a monumental scale that killed many on both sides of the border on account of the political changes in our country post-independence.
Independence was supposed to be celebrated, but the partition...
Spoilers Ahead
Who Was Arjun Bhatia?
Arjun Bhatia was the son of a refugee who moved to India during the partition, as he and his father had lost all of their family to a riot in Lahore. Arjun’s father, Ashok Bhatia, was a rich businessman who had to leave his fortune in the city behind to survive this painful ordeal. The Partition was a human tragedy on a monumental scale that killed many on both sides of the border on account of the political changes in our country post-independence.
Independence was supposed to be celebrated, but the partition...
- 10/13/2023
- by Smriti Kannan
- Film Fugitives
Jay-Z and Beyoncé decided to celebrate their engagement in an interesting way. And their night out would later inspire the look for one of Beyoncé’s own hit videos.
Jay-Z and Beyoncé night out inspired her ‘Partition’ music video Jay-Z and Beyonce | Todd Williamson/Getty Images
Jay-Z had a unique proposal in mind for his wife Beyoncé. In an interview she did with Essence (via MTV News), the singer shared that he wasn’t a fan of getting a traditional engagement ring.
“It’s just material, and it’s just silly to me,” she said.
She and Jay-Z reportedly gave themselves matching tattoos with the roman numeral four on their ring fingers instead. The number 4 was chosen as a special number. Beyoncé birthday falls on September 4th and Jay-Z’s on December of the same day.
According to Contact Music, Beyoncé also once gave insight into what she did with her husband after the proposal.
Jay-Z and Beyoncé night out inspired her ‘Partition’ music video Jay-Z and Beyonce | Todd Williamson/Getty Images
Jay-Z had a unique proposal in mind for his wife Beyoncé. In an interview she did with Essence (via MTV News), the singer shared that he wasn’t a fan of getting a traditional engagement ring.
“It’s just material, and it’s just silly to me,” she said.
She and Jay-Z reportedly gave themselves matching tattoos with the roman numeral four on their ring fingers instead. The number 4 was chosen as a special number. Beyoncé birthday falls on September 4th and Jay-Z’s on December of the same day.
According to Contact Music, Beyoncé also once gave insight into what she did with her husband after the proposal.
- 10/5/2023
- by Antonio Stallings
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Santa Clarans, bow down to your Mayor! On Wednesday, as Beyoncé performed at Levi’s Stadium for her Renaissance World Tour, the singer celebrated being named honorary mayor of Santa Clara.
“Y’all’s faces are so beautiful. You know today’s special because today I am the mayor,” she told the crowd, adding, “This is my gratitude tour. I don’t take any of this for granted. I know after 25 years I’m still able to do what I love, and it’s because of your loyalty and because of your prayers.
“Y’all’s faces are so beautiful. You know today’s special because today I am the mayor,” she told the crowd, adding, “This is my gratitude tour. I don’t take any of this for granted. I know after 25 years I’m still able to do what I love, and it’s because of your loyalty and because of your prayers.
- 8/31/2023
- by Tomás Mier
- Rollingstone.com
Beyoncé has made her long-awaited return to the stage — on Wednesday night, in Stockholm, Sweden, the legendary pop icon delivered the inaugural performance of the “Renaissance World Tour,” her first solo run of shows since 2016.
Opening for herself, Queen Bey kicked off the marathon, three-hour show by performing a series of ballads, including “Dangerously in Love,” “Flaws and All,” “1+1,” and “I Care.” After a brief intermission, Beyoncé launched into the Renaissance portion of her set, as she showcased her latest album with performances of “I’m That Girl,” “Cozy,” “Alien Superstar,” Cuff It,” “Energy,” and “Break My Soul.”
Video interludes broke the set into themed sections dubbed “Renaissance,” “Motherboard,” “Opulence,” Anointed,” and “Mind Control.” After debuting songs from her latest record, Beyoncé used “Opulence” to dig into her back catalog with “Formation,” “Run the World (Girls), “Black Parade,” and “Partition,” as well as her remix of Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage.
Opening for herself, Queen Bey kicked off the marathon, three-hour show by performing a series of ballads, including “Dangerously in Love,” “Flaws and All,” “1+1,” and “I Care.” After a brief intermission, Beyoncé launched into the Renaissance portion of her set, as she showcased her latest album with performances of “I’m That Girl,” “Cozy,” “Alien Superstar,” Cuff It,” “Energy,” and “Break My Soul.”
Video interludes broke the set into themed sections dubbed “Renaissance,” “Motherboard,” “Opulence,” Anointed,” and “Mind Control.” After debuting songs from her latest record, Beyoncé used “Opulence” to dig into her back catalog with “Formation,” “Run the World (Girls), “Black Parade,” and “Partition,” as well as her remix of Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage.
- 5/11/2023
- by Jo Vito
- Consequence - Music
Beyoncé sure didn’t hold back with her onstage visuals and props during her long-anticipated Renaissance Tour. During the star’s first stop in Sweden on Wednesday, the singer performed numerous hits, including her sexy and beloved classic “Partition” while riding a pole into… a giant robot vagina?
Yeah, that’s right. Show attendees shared footage of Beyoncé riding a vehicle onstage — while gyrating on a pole doing some sexy choreography — as she entered a giant hole that was adorned by two open robot legs.
beyoncé rolling away into a...
Yeah, that’s right. Show attendees shared footage of Beyoncé riding a vehicle onstage — while gyrating on a pole doing some sexy choreography — as she entered a giant hole that was adorned by two open robot legs.
beyoncé rolling away into a...
- 5/10/2023
- by Tomás Mier
- Rollingstone.com
Beyoncé has officially kicked off her "Renaissance" World Tour. The megastar launched the highly anticipated event on May 10 in Stockholm, Sweden, kicking off a three-hour set without an opening act. She's set to travel through Europe through June before coming to North America over the summer, completing over 40 dates by the time the tour is through.
The tour is Beyoncé's first since 2018's "On the Run" tour with Jay-Z. Her last solo tour was in support of 2016's "Lemonade," so needless to say, the "Renaissance" tour is a major event - and Forbes has predicted that it could gross up to $2.6 billion by the time it's complete, making it one of the most profitable tours ever. It also marks Beyoncé's first live performance since 2018 other than a one-off appearance in Dubai in January, where she appeared alongside her oldest daughter, Blue Ivy Carter.
Ahead, check out the full set list...
The tour is Beyoncé's first since 2018's "On the Run" tour with Jay-Z. Her last solo tour was in support of 2016's "Lemonade," so needless to say, the "Renaissance" tour is a major event - and Forbes has predicted that it could gross up to $2.6 billion by the time it's complete, making it one of the most profitable tours ever. It also marks Beyoncé's first live performance since 2018 other than a one-off appearance in Dubai in January, where she appeared alongside her oldest daughter, Blue Ivy Carter.
Ahead, check out the full set list...
- 5/10/2023
- by Eden Arielle Gordon
- Popsugar.com
Director: Vikrmaditya Motwane. Cast: Prasenjit Chatterjee, Aparshakti Khurana, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sidhant Gupta, Nandish Sandhu, Wamiqa Gabbi and Ram Kapoor.
Music: Amit Trivedi. Cinematography: Pratik Shah.
Ians Rating: ***1/2
The mainstay of the Indian film industry has been its checkered history with a motley mix of religions, castes and regions headlining a wide cross-section of actors — some from a privileged background, others from the periphery — who lived in Bombay and contributed to its glory.
"Jubilee" spans an era that heralded new beginnings in Indian cinema, as the country cast off shackles of British rule. Focusing on an eventful period that presaged an independent cinema, the web series has many firsts to its credit: the reconstruction of imposing film studios headed by the original honchos; a closer look at the stars and star-wives; the spectacle surrounding the struggling actors and filmmakers; dreamers and aspirants amid the divide between the two central religions...
Music: Amit Trivedi. Cinematography: Pratik Shah.
Ians Rating: ***1/2
The mainstay of the Indian film industry has been its checkered history with a motley mix of religions, castes and regions headlining a wide cross-section of actors — some from a privileged background, others from the periphery — who lived in Bombay and contributed to its glory.
"Jubilee" spans an era that heralded new beginnings in Indian cinema, as the country cast off shackles of British rule. Focusing on an eventful period that presaged an independent cinema, the web series has many firsts to its credit: the reconstruction of imposing film studios headed by the original honchos; a closer look at the stars and star-wives; the spectacle surrounding the struggling actors and filmmakers; dreamers and aspirants amid the divide between the two central religions...
- 4/7/2023
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
Exclusive: Wavelength, the production company behind such films as On Swift Horses and Cusp, has revealed the 2023 recipients of its Wave Grant. Amanda Gordon, Karine Benzaria, Leena Kurishingal, Melina Kyomi Coumas and Neha Aziz each will receive $5,000 to create their first short film alongside production mentorship from Wavelength’s executive team. Read a bio for each recipient below.
The Wave Grant, which stands for “Women at the Very Edge,” aims to help a first-time female or non-binary filmmaker of color with the production of their first short documentary or narrative film (under 30 minutes). In addition to the $5,000 grant, Wavelength will provide mentorship in the producing, development and post-production of the filmmaker’s story as well as fundraising and distribution strategy.
“Each year, we are in awe of the outstanding talent that the Wave Grant attracts,” said Jenifer Westphal, Founder, CEO and Executive Producer at Wavelength. “This year’s class of...
The Wave Grant, which stands for “Women at the Very Edge,” aims to help a first-time female or non-binary filmmaker of color with the production of their first short documentary or narrative film (under 30 minutes). In addition to the $5,000 grant, Wavelength will provide mentorship in the producing, development and post-production of the filmmaker’s story as well as fundraising and distribution strategy.
“Each year, we are in awe of the outstanding talent that the Wave Grant attracts,” said Jenifer Westphal, Founder, CEO and Executive Producer at Wavelength. “This year’s class of...
- 3/8/2023
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Zia Mohyeddin, the British-Pakistani actor known for his parts in ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ and ‘Immaculate Conception’, and the stage version of ‘A Passage to India’, died on Monday in a Karachi hospital, ‘Variety’ reports. Mohyeddin, who was 91, was ill and on life support, his family said. His death was condoled by top members of Pakistan’s political establishment, including President Arif Ali, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and his predecessor, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Imran Khan.
Mohyeddin was born in Lyallpur (now Faisalabad), British India, in 1931. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London in the early 1950s.
After theatre roles in ‘Long Day’s Journey into Night’ and ‘Julius Caesar’, Mohyeddin in 1960 made his West End debut in ‘A Passage to India’, where he originated the role of Dr Aziz.
The actor featured in David Lean’s ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ (1962), playing the role of Arab guide Tafas. Roles in...
Mohyeddin was born in Lyallpur (now Faisalabad), British India, in 1931. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London in the early 1950s.
After theatre roles in ‘Long Day’s Journey into Night’ and ‘Julius Caesar’, Mohyeddin in 1960 made his West End debut in ‘A Passage to India’, where he originated the role of Dr Aziz.
The actor featured in David Lean’s ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ (1962), playing the role of Arab guide Tafas. Roles in...
- 2/13/2023
- by News Bureau
- GlamSham
Zia Mohyeddin, a British-Pakistani actor known for films “Lawrence of Arabia” and “Immaculate Conception” and the stage version of “A Passage to India,” died on Monday in Karachi. He was 91.
Mohyeddin was ill and was on life support in a Karachi hospital, his family said.
Mohyeddin was born in Lylallpur (now Faisalabad), British India, in 1931. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London in the early 1950s. After theater roles in “Long Day’s Journey into Night” and “Julius Caesar,” Mohyeddin made his West End debut in “A Passage to India” in 1960, where he originated the role of Dr. Aziz.
The actor featured in David Lean’s “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962), playing the role of Arab guide Tafas. Roles in Alexander Mackendrick’s “Sammy Going South” (1963), Fred Zinnemann’s “Behold a Pale Horse” (1964), Basil Dearden’s “Khartoum” (1966), Ralph Thomas’ “Deadlier Than the Male” (1966), Tony Richardson’s “The Sailor from...
Mohyeddin was ill and was on life support in a Karachi hospital, his family said.
Mohyeddin was born in Lylallpur (now Faisalabad), British India, in 1931. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London in the early 1950s. After theater roles in “Long Day’s Journey into Night” and “Julius Caesar,” Mohyeddin made his West End debut in “A Passage to India” in 1960, where he originated the role of Dr. Aziz.
The actor featured in David Lean’s “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962), playing the role of Arab guide Tafas. Roles in Alexander Mackendrick’s “Sammy Going South” (1963), Fred Zinnemann’s “Behold a Pale Horse” (1964), Basil Dearden’s “Khartoum” (1966), Ralph Thomas’ “Deadlier Than the Male” (1966), Tony Richardson’s “The Sailor from...
- 2/13/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
By numbers, her work in the Hindi film industry seems quite scanty — at 33 films in around a decade and a half. But the statistics fail to reveal that, save around five, all were box-office hits, and some of them broke new ground, making her one of the most popular and successful actresses of all times — and a fashion icon too.
Though she struck gold right from her debut as female lead, and went on to become an “in demand” actress for everything, from frothy romances to tear-jerkers, Sadhana is most remembered for her trademark hairstyle — the famous “Sadhana cut” of fringes or short bangs (itself inspired by the elfin and charming Audrey Hepburn) — and pioneering form-fitting kurtas and churidar pyjamas.
But in her comparatively limited outings, Sadhana, who was born on this day in 1941, showcased her acting prowess. She could essay roles of a rich heiress to a village belle...
Though she struck gold right from her debut as female lead, and went on to become an “in demand” actress for everything, from frothy romances to tear-jerkers, Sadhana is most remembered for her trademark hairstyle — the famous “Sadhana cut” of fringes or short bangs (itself inspired by the elfin and charming Audrey Hepburn) — and pioneering form-fitting kurtas and churidar pyjamas.
But in her comparatively limited outings, Sadhana, who was born on this day in 1941, showcased her acting prowess. She could essay roles of a rich heiress to a village belle...
- 9/2/2022
- by Glamsham Bureau
- GlamSham
As part of a series of events being organised under Partition Horrors Remembrance Day, a two-day film festival has been organised by the Ministry of Culture and Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts at the Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad.
Films based on the theme of ‘Partition of India’ are being screened in this Film Festival.
Chandraprakash Dwivedi renowned filmmaker, producer and screenwriter best known for his television epic “Chanakya” said that movies made on the subject of ‘partition’ evokes response but it should be a constant effort in that direction.
One of the films screened at the event was Pinjar, which was directed by him. He said through Pinjar he wanted to bring to the fore the issues which were faced by women during the partition. He further added, “History is the third eye of human civilization and we should able to see through it to avoid...
Films based on the theme of ‘Partition of India’ are being screened in this Film Festival.
Chandraprakash Dwivedi renowned filmmaker, producer and screenwriter best known for his television epic “Chanakya” said that movies made on the subject of ‘partition’ evokes response but it should be a constant effort in that direction.
One of the films screened at the event was Pinjar, which was directed by him. He said through Pinjar he wanted to bring to the fore the issues which were faced by women during the partition. He further added, “History is the third eye of human civilization and we should able to see through it to avoid...
- 8/28/2022
- by Glamsham Bureau
- GlamSham
Beyoncé fans are praising Sheila Watko, a reporter for NBC10 in Philadelphia, after she incorporated numerous references to the singer’s notable discography on-air during a traffic report earlier this week. While reporting about local roadways on Tuesday, Watko effortlessly delivered mentions of the tracks “Partition”, “Break My Soul” and more. “If you’re just waking up, I hope you...
- 8/4/2022
- by Melissa Romualdi
- ET Canada
Who runs the world? Beyoncé. That was what Sheila Watko, a reporter for NBC10 in Philadelphia, was trying to show on-air during a recent traffic report. While delivering news about the local roadways on Aug. 2, Sheila managed to seamlessly drop more than a dozen references to the singer's illustrious body of work, including mentions of "Partition" and "Break My Soul." "If you're just waking up, I hope you had some sweet dreams but traffic is getting heated," she said in the segment. "We've had a formation of traffic cones all morning in the westbound Pennsylvania Turnpike between Bensalem and Fort Washington. That's still blocking two right lanes, so you might want...
- 8/4/2022
- E! Online
Monica Lewinsky has a request. After Beyoncé nixed a word from her latest album over ableist concerns, the 49-year-old suggested that the singer go one step further and remove her name from her hit "Partition." "uhmm, while we're at it... #Partition," she tweeted in Aug. 1, calling out the 2013 song from the Beyoncé album in which the singer recalled that a man "Monica Lewinsky'd all on my gown." The racy lyrics are in reference to the high-profile affair between President Bill Clinton and a then-21-year-old Lewinski, which led to the president's famous denial and impeachment in 1998. This...
- 8/3/2022
- E! Online
The Punjabi track ‘Lahore’, featuring late Punjabi actor-turned-activist Deep Sidhu who recently passed away in a road mishap, was released on Monday. The 8-minute video track showcases a poignant story of two friends against the backdrop of Partition. Deep Sidhu appears in the role of a Sikh gentleman in the song, which was unveiled by […]...
- 2/28/2022
- by Glamsham Bureau
- GlamSham
Mumbai, Nov 9 (Ians) Actor Anupam Kher feels the best form of storytelling is done by grandparents.
"The best form of storytelling has been done by our grandparents, mine used to tell me the same story and just changed the characters names," said Anupam.
Anupam has narrated Saadat Hasan Manto's short story "Toba Tek Singh", a satire set in the time of Partition written in 1954.
"While narrating 'Toba Tek Singh', I could feel the sadness of Partition and it's only a genius like Manto who can write from a mad person's point of view. That is exactly how I have tried to narrate it, in a way that will make your heart go out to the character," said the actor.
The story is set a few years after Partition in 1947. In an insane decision, the governments of India and Pakistan decided to exchange Hindu, Sikh and Muslim lunatics. Through the story,...
"The best form of storytelling has been done by our grandparents, mine used to tell me the same story and just changed the characters names," said Anupam.
Anupam has narrated Saadat Hasan Manto's short story "Toba Tek Singh", a satire set in the time of Partition written in 1954.
"While narrating 'Toba Tek Singh', I could feel the sadness of Partition and it's only a genius like Manto who can write from a mad person's point of view. That is exactly how I have tried to narrate it, in a way that will make your heart go out to the character," said the actor.
The story is set a few years after Partition in 1947. In an insane decision, the governments of India and Pakistan decided to exchange Hindu, Sikh and Muslim lunatics. Through the story,...
- 11/9/2020
- by Glamsham Editorial
- GlamSham
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A post shared by Tabria Majors (@tabriamajors) on Oct 30, 2020 at 7:10pm Pdt
I'm not dressing up for Halloween this year, but that's Ok, because Tabria Majors has put in the work of me plus 15 more people for her 2020 costume. The model dropped an unbelievable video tribute to Beyoncé for the Oct. 31 holiday, honoring Queen Bey's most iconic music video moments from the early 2000s up 'til today.
"I wanted to do something different this year for Halloween and pay tribute to someone that I admire and respect so much - Beyonce!" Tabria wrote on Instagram alongside her video. "This project was incredibly stressful to make but so much fun!" Tabria doesn't consider herself a dancer "by any means" but she "wanted to apply Beyoncé's infamous work ethic to this project and see how far I could push myself."
Tabria channeled her inner Beyoncé through re-creations of "Crazy in Love,...
A post shared by Tabria Majors (@tabriamajors) on Oct 30, 2020 at 7:10pm Pdt
I'm not dressing up for Halloween this year, but that's Ok, because Tabria Majors has put in the work of me plus 15 more people for her 2020 costume. The model dropped an unbelievable video tribute to Beyoncé for the Oct. 31 holiday, honoring Queen Bey's most iconic music video moments from the early 2000s up 'til today.
"I wanted to do something different this year for Halloween and pay tribute to someone that I admire and respect so much - Beyonce!" Tabria wrote on Instagram alongside her video. "This project was incredibly stressful to make but so much fun!" Tabria doesn't consider herself a dancer "by any means" but she "wanted to apply Beyoncé's infamous work ethic to this project and see how far I could push myself."
Tabria channeled her inner Beyoncé through re-creations of "Crazy in Love,...
- 10/31/2020
- by Karenna Meredith
- Popsugar.com
Claire van der Boom and Todd Lasance with director Vic Sarin.
Claire van der Boom and Todd Lasance are playing a US-based couple whose young daughter is abducted while they are on holiday at an Australian resort in Kidnapped, an unofficial Australian-Canadian co-production.
Produced by the Steve Jaggi Company and directed by Canadian Vic Sarin, the thriller is mid-way through a four-week shoot at Port Douglas.
The screenplay by Shanrah Wakefield follows Savannah Morgan (van der Boom) and her US husband Brad (Lasance), who go to the resort with their four-year-old daughter Aria (Molly Wright).
When Aria goes missing from the resort’s Kidz Club, a heart-pounding race to find her daughter leads Savannah to a shocking discovery about her family.
“I feel very lucky to be shooting here in Far North Queensland; It’s an idyllic, tropical setting that brings a contrast to the story of my character searching for her kidnapped daughter,...
Claire van der Boom and Todd Lasance are playing a US-based couple whose young daughter is abducted while they are on holiday at an Australian resort in Kidnapped, an unofficial Australian-Canadian co-production.
Produced by the Steve Jaggi Company and directed by Canadian Vic Sarin, the thriller is mid-way through a four-week shoot at Port Douglas.
The screenplay by Shanrah Wakefield follows Savannah Morgan (van der Boom) and her US husband Brad (Lasance), who go to the resort with their four-year-old daughter Aria (Molly Wright).
When Aria goes missing from the resort’s Kidz Club, a heart-pounding race to find her daughter leads Savannah to a shocking discovery about her family.
“I feel very lucky to be shooting here in Far North Queensland; It’s an idyllic, tropical setting that brings a contrast to the story of my character searching for her kidnapped daughter,...
- 9/6/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Netflix has released Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé, which presents an intimate look at her historic 2018 Coachella performance that paid homage to America’s historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Interspersed with candid footage and interviews detailing the preparation and powerful intent behind her vision, Homecoming gives a peek into the process and emotional physical sacrifices it took to conceptualize and execute a performance of that magnitude that became a cultural movement. This stand-alone Netflix original is now available globally on Netflix.
As the first black woman to headline Coachella, Homecoming recognizes the African American visionaries who inspired Beyoncé, including Hbcu alums Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, activist Marian Wright Edelman, and scholar W.E.B. Du Bois, in addition to cultural luminaries such as Nina Simone, Maya Angelou, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Audre Lorde. Beyoncé’s personal knowledge of the relevance and celebration of HBCUs started with her father, Mathew Knowles, an alumnus of Fisk University.
As the first black woman to headline Coachella, Homecoming recognizes the African American visionaries who inspired Beyoncé, including Hbcu alums Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, activist Marian Wright Edelman, and scholar W.E.B. Du Bois, in addition to cultural luminaries such as Nina Simone, Maya Angelou, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Audre Lorde. Beyoncé’s personal knowledge of the relevance and celebration of HBCUs started with her father, Mathew Knowles, an alumnus of Fisk University.
- 4/18/2019
- by Kristyn Clarke
- Age of the Nerd
RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Shangela lip-synced to a career-spanning medley of Beyoncé songs at the GLAAD Awards. Beyoncé and her husband Jay-z received the Vanguard Award at this year’s ceremony.
Shangela put her history of intensive dance performances and love for Beyoncé to work on the GLAAD stage. The drag superstar was flanked by four crop top-wearing male dancers as she powered through a mixture of Destiny’s Child and solo Beyoncé hits, including “Bootylicious,” “Partition,” “Single Ladies” and “Flawless.” In the crowd, Beyoncé was caught cheering throughout...
Shangela put her history of intensive dance performances and love for Beyoncé to work on the GLAAD stage. The drag superstar was flanked by four crop top-wearing male dancers as she powered through a mixture of Destiny’s Child and solo Beyoncé hits, including “Bootylicious,” “Partition,” “Single Ladies” and “Flawless.” In the crowd, Beyoncé was caught cheering throughout...
- 3/29/2019
- by Brittany Spanos
- Rollingstone.com
Beyoncé and Jay-z accepted the Vanguard Award from GLAAD on Thursday night, at the advocacy group’s 30th annual Media Awards, held at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, California.
Approaching the stage to the couple’s 2003 hit “Crazy in Love,” the duo gave short, but heartfelt, speeches. Jay-z spoke for less than two minutes, saying, “This journey is filled with highs, lows and a lot of learning.” He used his time to honor his mother Gloria Carter, a lesbian whose story was shared on Jay-z’s “Smile,” and who...
Approaching the stage to the couple’s 2003 hit “Crazy in Love,” the duo gave short, but heartfelt, speeches. Jay-z spoke for less than two minutes, saying, “This journey is filled with highs, lows and a lot of learning.” He used his time to honor his mother Gloria Carter, a lesbian whose story was shared on Jay-z’s “Smile,” and who...
- 3/29/2019
- by Christopher R. Weingarten
- Rollingstone.com
Saadat Hassan (Vinay Pathak, whose character’s name serves as a nod to the author who wrote the story the film is based on) arrives at the Lahore Mental Hospital in 1947, just prior to Partition and the subsequent independence of India and Pakistan. He serves both as a narrator of events outside the hospital, and a witness to events inside it.
Ketan Mehta (perhaps best known for Mirch Masala and Bhavni Bhavai)’s film is an adaptation of Saadat Hassan Manto’s short story, “Toba Tek Singh”, which deals with the exchange of the patients of a mental institution several years after Partition. The Lahore Mental Hospital’s most curious inmate is Bishan Singh (Pankaj Kapur), a man who never sits, never lies down, and who, it is said, has not slept for ten years. Bishan Singh, generally quiet, does, nevertheless, have a bit of nonsense that he babbles every so often,...
Ketan Mehta (perhaps best known for Mirch Masala and Bhavni Bhavai)’s film is an adaptation of Saadat Hassan Manto’s short story, “Toba Tek Singh”, which deals with the exchange of the patients of a mental institution several years after Partition. The Lahore Mental Hospital’s most curious inmate is Bishan Singh (Pankaj Kapur), a man who never sits, never lies down, and who, it is said, has not slept for ten years. Bishan Singh, generally quiet, does, nevertheless, have a bit of nonsense that he babbles every so often,...
- 7/24/2016
- by Katherine Matthews
- Bollyspice
One more year after five amazing editions the 6th London Indian Film Festival closed its doors on Thurday with the world premiere of Toba Tek Singh, based on the story written by Saadat Hasan Manto.
Toba Tek Singh follows the story on Bishan Singh (Pankaj Kapoor), a Sikh inmate of a mental institution, who hasn’t slept for 15 years and always asks the same question “Where is Toba Tek Singh?”, the name of his home village. The new warden (Vinay Pathak) takes delight on Bishan and the other patients’ eccentricities. However, with the Partition of India and Pakistan it seems that the world outside is more insane then the people inside, and the institution must give up all its Hindu and Sikh inmates. Singh is marched to the new border, but in which country is his beloved home?
The film, directed by Ketan Mehta, is part of Zeal For Unity,...
Toba Tek Singh follows the story on Bishan Singh (Pankaj Kapoor), a Sikh inmate of a mental institution, who hasn’t slept for 15 years and always asks the same question “Where is Toba Tek Singh?”, the name of his home village. The new warden (Vinay Pathak) takes delight on Bishan and the other patients’ eccentricities. However, with the Partition of India and Pakistan it seems that the world outside is more insane then the people inside, and the institution must give up all its Hindu and Sikh inmates. Singh is marched to the new border, but in which country is his beloved home?
The film, directed by Ketan Mehta, is part of Zeal For Unity,...
- 7/22/2016
- by Núria Bonals Hidalgo
- Bollyspice
Challenging stereotypes of India and South Asia, and wrestling with some very hard issues the 7th Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival returns this Summer.
The Director of the Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival, Cary Rajinder Sawhney states,”We aim to showcase films that entertain but challenge and make one think about the many social issues happening in India today, and that includes many positive changes including the fact that so many emerging Indian women filmmakers who are producing world-class films that are giving their male counterparts a serious run for their money.”
The diverse programme of brand new features, documentaries and shorts includes seven films directed by power-packed women filmmakers that give the Bechdel Test a run for its money, including the Thelma and Louise-esque opening night buddy movie, Parched, set in the desert villages of India’s Gujarat (female director Leena Yadav and Producer and Bollywood star Ajay Devgn, is expected). Double Oscar® winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, introduces her punch in the guts, documentary, A Girl In The River – The Price of Forgiveness.
With a strong Lgbtq+ following, the festival proudly hosts its first Transgender movie based on an empowering true story – I am Not He…She, at BFI Southbank, supported by Mac Cosmetics and Sun Mark Ltd, amongst others. Bangalore Director Bs Lingadevaru, is expected.
Reflecting the linguistic diversity of UK’s South Asian communities, the carefully curated programme will include 15 major languages, including films from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka. All films are English subtitled.
This celebration of Indian regional diversity includes a very rare on-stage Q&A at BFI Southbank with one of South India’s greatest ever superstars – Kamal Haasan, who moved from child actor to Tamil cinema star, to produce, write and direct some of India’s most acclaimed features, including many Bollywood hits. He is adored by millions of fans, worldwide.
The closing night gala, is the world premiere of the incredibly moving and intense Toba Tek Singh, which focuses on patients locked in a Punjabi mental health hospital during the Partition (legendary director Ketan Mehta, is expected).
Sri Lankan breakout filmmakers Kalpana & Vindana Ariyawansa explore the taboo subject of obsessive compulsive disorder (Ocd) in a very personal family drama Dirty, Yellow, Darkness, while at the Ica, Director Jayaraj from Kerala, presents the Berlinale Crystal-Bear winner, Ottaal (The Trap), a heart-wrenching drama, based on the roots of child slave labour.
On a lighter note the festival also celebrates two icons of cinema with on-stage interviews with Satyajit Ray’s favourite actress Sharmila Tagore from Kolkata and the only Indian filmmaker to truly cross from Bollywood to Hollywood – Shekhar Kapur, who will discuss his plans for Elizabeth 3. Let’s hope that Cate Blanchett continues her reign in this expected sequel.
Also in the line-up is a special screening of the risque film Brahman Naman, directed by India’s leading indie director Q, the hilarious coming-of-age comedy is exclusive to Netflix. The Mumbai music industry focused Jugni, shows that love and a damn-good Punjabi song, can conquer even the toughest hearts (female director, Shefali Bhushan, is expected).
As well as synchronous screenings in London and Birmingham from 14-24 July, the Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival goes live on digital, with the festival showing a selection of films on BFI Player into the Autumn.
Festival Patron Tony Matharu, who is also our founding sponsor, from Grange Hotels, continues to support with full fervour, and the festival welcomes back supporters including title sponsor, the Bagri Foundation, who share our passion for South Asian arts and culture. The British Film Institute and Cineworld Cinemas have supported Liff since year one. The festival enjoys on-going essential support from major sponsor, Sun Mark Ltd.
Title Sponsor Alka Bagri of the Bagri Foundation says, “We are delighted to support such an incredible festival which reveals the richness of South Asian culture and offers a wonderful platform for emerging talent. This year’s programme epitomises the diversity and dynamism of South Asian cinema, and through films, debates and panel discussions, we will explore topical issues such as gender, identity, mental health and equality. We look forward to being joined by two acclaimed figures of Indian cinema: Kamal Haasan and Shekhar Kapur who will take us on their cinematic journey”.
Liff presents the prestigious annual Satyajit Ray Short Film Competition, in association with the Bagri Foundation, with a prize of £1,000 to the winning film. The short film programme screens at the Ica on Wednesday 20th July and the winning short will be announced at the closing night gala, on 21st July, at BFI Southbank. The festival continues in Birmingham, until 24th July.
Participating cinemas’ in London are: Cineworld (Haymarket, O2, Wandsworth, Wembley), BFI Southbank, Ica, Picture House Central, Crouch End Picturehouse, East London’s rustic Boleyn Cinema, with Cineworld Broad Street and Midland Arts Centre (Mac), in Birmingham.
Opening Night | Dual English Premiere: Parched
– Hindi with English subtitles | 117 min | India 2015 | Dir: Leena Yadav | with: Radhika Apte, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Surveen Chawla, Lehar Khan.
Director Leena Yadav tells a wonderfully joyous and inspiring tale of female comradery.
– Q&A with Director Leena Yadav and other special guests.
14 July | 18:00 | Cineworld Haymarket, London
15 July | 19:00 | Cineworld Broad Street, Birmingham
16 July | 17.30 | Cineworld Wembley, London
20 July | 20.40 | BFI Southbank, London
Closing Night | World Premiere: Toba Tek Singh
– Hindi / Punjabi with English subtitles | 75 min | India 2016 | Dir: Ketan Mehta | with: Pankaj Kapur, Vinay Pathak.
Acclaimed director Ketan Mehta delivers this unforgettably moving and at times joyous version of Manto’s legendary story, produced by the Zeal for Unity project.
– Q&A with Director Ketan Mehta and other special guests.
21 July | 18:00 | BFI Southbank, London
24 July | 18:00 | Cineworld Broad Street, Birmingham
– Icons from India, polymath Kamal Haasan (whose films have the highest number of Academy Award submissions from India), and director of the exquisite BAFTA & Oscar® winning Elizabeth & The Golden Age films, Shekhar Kapur, will give masterclasses at BFI Southbank, with the famous female scion of the Tagore family, who married into Indian royalty, Sharmila Tagore, speaking at the historic art deco cinema, Cineworld Haymarket.
– A 2016 highlight, is a rare opportunity to hear female filmmakers like Pakistan’s double Oscar®-winning Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Mumbai’s multi-award winning Leena Yadav, documentary filmmaker Rinku Kalsy and other special guests, talking about their unique careers and exploring commonalities of experience, with women filmmakers around the world.
– The UK premiere of the restored verison of the 1948 film Kalpana (Imagination), by the legandary dancer, Padma Vibhushan Uday Shankar (brother of the late Sitar stalwart Ravi Shankar), starring the legendary dancer and actress Padmini (Mera Naam Joker/Thillana Mohanambal), in her cinematic debut, gets a one off special screening in Birmingham.
– Winner of the best directing debut at the Venice Film Festival, the Hindi language film directed by Ruchika Oberoi, Island City, tells three stories, of a drone employee at a soulless corporation wins an office competition entitling him to a whole day of fun at the mall; a domineering head of a family who suffers a stroke and is on life support, and a woman who is leading a mechanical existence blossoms, when she gets a series of anonymous love letters.
– Actor, Leader, Hero, God. For his fans, the superstar Rajinikanth is all of these. Men from various generations alter their lives, sell their belongings, and place fandom above their families in devotion to the iconic actor, a man who has inspired a fanatic cult following across the world ranging from India to Japan. This is explored in the riveting documentary, For The Love Of A Man.
– Made under the Zeal for Unity India-Pakistan filmmaking initiative, Khaema mein matt jhankain (Don’t Peek Into The Tent) and Jeewan Hathi (Elephant In The Room) explore different facets of life in Pakistan. Tamil Naidu’s hottest young filmmaker M Manikandan returns to the festival, after last year’s hit Kaaka Muttai (Crow’s Egg), with the stylish, twisted plot thriller, with Kutrame Thandanai.
– The new tale by Kaushik Ganguly, one of West Bengal’s most accomplished directors, depicts a love-torn nostalgia for the passing age of film called Cinemawala, while Liff’s first Nepali screening is directed by new hot-property director Min Bahadur Bham, who has been delighting audiences around Europe with his film Kalo Pothi (The Black Hen).
– For more information on the festival please visit:
http://www.londonindianfilmfestival.co.uk
– The full festival programme for London and Birmingham:
http://londonindianfilmfestival.co.uk/programme.htm
The post The London Indian Film Festival brings cinematic diversity to London and Birmingham: 14-24 July appeared first on BollySpice.com.
The Director of the Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival, Cary Rajinder Sawhney states,”We aim to showcase films that entertain but challenge and make one think about the many social issues happening in India today, and that includes many positive changes including the fact that so many emerging Indian women filmmakers who are producing world-class films that are giving their male counterparts a serious run for their money.”
The diverse programme of brand new features, documentaries and shorts includes seven films directed by power-packed women filmmakers that give the Bechdel Test a run for its money, including the Thelma and Louise-esque opening night buddy movie, Parched, set in the desert villages of India’s Gujarat (female director Leena Yadav and Producer and Bollywood star Ajay Devgn, is expected). Double Oscar® winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, introduces her punch in the guts, documentary, A Girl In The River – The Price of Forgiveness.
With a strong Lgbtq+ following, the festival proudly hosts its first Transgender movie based on an empowering true story – I am Not He…She, at BFI Southbank, supported by Mac Cosmetics and Sun Mark Ltd, amongst others. Bangalore Director Bs Lingadevaru, is expected.
Reflecting the linguistic diversity of UK’s South Asian communities, the carefully curated programme will include 15 major languages, including films from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka. All films are English subtitled.
This celebration of Indian regional diversity includes a very rare on-stage Q&A at BFI Southbank with one of South India’s greatest ever superstars – Kamal Haasan, who moved from child actor to Tamil cinema star, to produce, write and direct some of India’s most acclaimed features, including many Bollywood hits. He is adored by millions of fans, worldwide.
The closing night gala, is the world premiere of the incredibly moving and intense Toba Tek Singh, which focuses on patients locked in a Punjabi mental health hospital during the Partition (legendary director Ketan Mehta, is expected).
Sri Lankan breakout filmmakers Kalpana & Vindana Ariyawansa explore the taboo subject of obsessive compulsive disorder (Ocd) in a very personal family drama Dirty, Yellow, Darkness, while at the Ica, Director Jayaraj from Kerala, presents the Berlinale Crystal-Bear winner, Ottaal (The Trap), a heart-wrenching drama, based on the roots of child slave labour.
On a lighter note the festival also celebrates two icons of cinema with on-stage interviews with Satyajit Ray’s favourite actress Sharmila Tagore from Kolkata and the only Indian filmmaker to truly cross from Bollywood to Hollywood – Shekhar Kapur, who will discuss his plans for Elizabeth 3. Let’s hope that Cate Blanchett continues her reign in this expected sequel.
Also in the line-up is a special screening of the risque film Brahman Naman, directed by India’s leading indie director Q, the hilarious coming-of-age comedy is exclusive to Netflix. The Mumbai music industry focused Jugni, shows that love and a damn-good Punjabi song, can conquer even the toughest hearts (female director, Shefali Bhushan, is expected).
As well as synchronous screenings in London and Birmingham from 14-24 July, the Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival goes live on digital, with the festival showing a selection of films on BFI Player into the Autumn.
Festival Patron Tony Matharu, who is also our founding sponsor, from Grange Hotels, continues to support with full fervour, and the festival welcomes back supporters including title sponsor, the Bagri Foundation, who share our passion for South Asian arts and culture. The British Film Institute and Cineworld Cinemas have supported Liff since year one. The festival enjoys on-going essential support from major sponsor, Sun Mark Ltd.
Title Sponsor Alka Bagri of the Bagri Foundation says, “We are delighted to support such an incredible festival which reveals the richness of South Asian culture and offers a wonderful platform for emerging talent. This year’s programme epitomises the diversity and dynamism of South Asian cinema, and through films, debates and panel discussions, we will explore topical issues such as gender, identity, mental health and equality. We look forward to being joined by two acclaimed figures of Indian cinema: Kamal Haasan and Shekhar Kapur who will take us on their cinematic journey”.
Liff presents the prestigious annual Satyajit Ray Short Film Competition, in association with the Bagri Foundation, with a prize of £1,000 to the winning film. The short film programme screens at the Ica on Wednesday 20th July and the winning short will be announced at the closing night gala, on 21st July, at BFI Southbank. The festival continues in Birmingham, until 24th July.
Participating cinemas’ in London are: Cineworld (Haymarket, O2, Wandsworth, Wembley), BFI Southbank, Ica, Picture House Central, Crouch End Picturehouse, East London’s rustic Boleyn Cinema, with Cineworld Broad Street and Midland Arts Centre (Mac), in Birmingham.
Opening Night | Dual English Premiere: Parched
– Hindi with English subtitles | 117 min | India 2015 | Dir: Leena Yadav | with: Radhika Apte, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Surveen Chawla, Lehar Khan.
Director Leena Yadav tells a wonderfully joyous and inspiring tale of female comradery.
– Q&A with Director Leena Yadav and other special guests.
14 July | 18:00 | Cineworld Haymarket, London
15 July | 19:00 | Cineworld Broad Street, Birmingham
16 July | 17.30 | Cineworld Wembley, London
20 July | 20.40 | BFI Southbank, London
Closing Night | World Premiere: Toba Tek Singh
– Hindi / Punjabi with English subtitles | 75 min | India 2016 | Dir: Ketan Mehta | with: Pankaj Kapur, Vinay Pathak.
Acclaimed director Ketan Mehta delivers this unforgettably moving and at times joyous version of Manto’s legendary story, produced by the Zeal for Unity project.
– Q&A with Director Ketan Mehta and other special guests.
21 July | 18:00 | BFI Southbank, London
24 July | 18:00 | Cineworld Broad Street, Birmingham
– Icons from India, polymath Kamal Haasan (whose films have the highest number of Academy Award submissions from India), and director of the exquisite BAFTA & Oscar® winning Elizabeth & The Golden Age films, Shekhar Kapur, will give masterclasses at BFI Southbank, with the famous female scion of the Tagore family, who married into Indian royalty, Sharmila Tagore, speaking at the historic art deco cinema, Cineworld Haymarket.
– A 2016 highlight, is a rare opportunity to hear female filmmakers like Pakistan’s double Oscar®-winning Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Mumbai’s multi-award winning Leena Yadav, documentary filmmaker Rinku Kalsy and other special guests, talking about their unique careers and exploring commonalities of experience, with women filmmakers around the world.
– The UK premiere of the restored verison of the 1948 film Kalpana (Imagination), by the legandary dancer, Padma Vibhushan Uday Shankar (brother of the late Sitar stalwart Ravi Shankar), starring the legendary dancer and actress Padmini (Mera Naam Joker/Thillana Mohanambal), in her cinematic debut, gets a one off special screening in Birmingham.
– Winner of the best directing debut at the Venice Film Festival, the Hindi language film directed by Ruchika Oberoi, Island City, tells three stories, of a drone employee at a soulless corporation wins an office competition entitling him to a whole day of fun at the mall; a domineering head of a family who suffers a stroke and is on life support, and a woman who is leading a mechanical existence blossoms, when she gets a series of anonymous love letters.
– Actor, Leader, Hero, God. For his fans, the superstar Rajinikanth is all of these. Men from various generations alter their lives, sell their belongings, and place fandom above their families in devotion to the iconic actor, a man who has inspired a fanatic cult following across the world ranging from India to Japan. This is explored in the riveting documentary, For The Love Of A Man.
– Made under the Zeal for Unity India-Pakistan filmmaking initiative, Khaema mein matt jhankain (Don’t Peek Into The Tent) and Jeewan Hathi (Elephant In The Room) explore different facets of life in Pakistan. Tamil Naidu’s hottest young filmmaker M Manikandan returns to the festival, after last year’s hit Kaaka Muttai (Crow’s Egg), with the stylish, twisted plot thriller, with Kutrame Thandanai.
– The new tale by Kaushik Ganguly, one of West Bengal’s most accomplished directors, depicts a love-torn nostalgia for the passing age of film called Cinemawala, while Liff’s first Nepali screening is directed by new hot-property director Min Bahadur Bham, who has been delighting audiences around Europe with his film Kalo Pothi (The Black Hen).
– For more information on the festival please visit:
http://www.londonindianfilmfestival.co.uk
– The full festival programme for London and Birmingham:
http://londonindianfilmfestival.co.uk/programme.htm
The post The London Indian Film Festival brings cinematic diversity to London and Birmingham: 14-24 July appeared first on BollySpice.com.
- 6/14/2016
- by Stacey Yount
- Bollyspice
By Katherine Matthews and Rumnique Nannar
One of the most frustrating aspects of covering festival and indie films has been the limited access for a wider audience – very often review comments run along the lines of: “Tell me where I can see this!” 2015 was a year that finally saw some great shifts in this, with a number of festival films finally getting a theatrical release – some of them films that had been on the festival circuit for a couple of years, some of them hot off the 2015 festival rounds. Audiences for both festival and indie films are small, but they’re growing, and access to this year’s “best of” selection should be easier for interested viewers. 2015 was, indeed, a great year for these films – enjoy our choices for Festival and Indie Bests!
Qissa
A TIFF2013 film that finally saw its theatrical release this past year, Qissa (“Folktale”), set in post-partition India,...
One of the most frustrating aspects of covering festival and indie films has been the limited access for a wider audience – very often review comments run along the lines of: “Tell me where I can see this!” 2015 was a year that finally saw some great shifts in this, with a number of festival films finally getting a theatrical release – some of them films that had been on the festival circuit for a couple of years, some of them hot off the 2015 festival rounds. Audiences for both festival and indie films are small, but they’re growing, and access to this year’s “best of” selection should be easier for interested viewers. 2015 was, indeed, a great year for these films – enjoy our choices for Festival and Indie Bests!
Qissa
A TIFF2013 film that finally saw its theatrical release this past year, Qissa (“Folktale”), set in post-partition India,...
- 1/10/2016
- by BollySpice Team
- Bollyspice
Actress and philanthropist Nandita Das who made her directorial debut with the award winning film Firaaq, is all set to don the director's hat once again. She will now be adapting the life of famous writer Manto for her next and will have Irrfan Khan playing the role of the protagonist.
Revealing that Irrfan Khan's looks resemble the real Manto, Nandita Das stated that Irrfan is not only fluent in Urdu but also a wonderful actor. While she is still in the initial stages of scripting, she did reveal that she will be capturing the crucial seven years of Manto's life which includes his life before and after the partition. She has also expressed her desire to shoot the film partly in Pakistan to maintain its authenticity.
Manto, known as, Saadat Hasna Manto, was a Pakistani writer, playwright and author whose writing represented the era of before and after Partition of India.
Revealing that Irrfan Khan's looks resemble the real Manto, Nandita Das stated that Irrfan is not only fluent in Urdu but also a wonderful actor. While she is still in the initial stages of scripting, she did reveal that she will be capturing the crucial seven years of Manto's life which includes his life before and after the partition. She has also expressed her desire to shoot the film partly in Pakistan to maintain its authenticity.
Manto, known as, Saadat Hasna Manto, was a Pakistani writer, playwright and author whose writing represented the era of before and after Partition of India.
- 11/28/2015
- by Bollywood Hungama News Network
- BollywoodHungama
The role of women in Indian cinema in the recent years has changed by leaps and bounds from playing meek sidekicks to the male lead to playing strong characters in women centric ones. These new age actresses are picking up bolder roles and the recent film ‘Qissa – The Story of A Lonely Ghost’ depicts this clearly. Actors Tillotama Shome and Rasika Duggal portray two strong female characters in this film and have done a brilliant job winning global awards all around.
Set in the background post partition era, the film also runs a parallel Story of Kanwar and Neeli along with that of Umber, played by Irrfan Khan. The strong undercurrents of emotional dilemma and feelings which these two share, are sometimes not determined by the dialogues but by simple gestures. It explores bold issues which never cross the thresholds of curiosity. Dealing with issues like gender bias and identity crisis,...
Set in the background post partition era, the film also runs a parallel Story of Kanwar and Neeli along with that of Umber, played by Irrfan Khan. The strong undercurrents of emotional dilemma and feelings which these two share, are sometimes not determined by the dialogues but by simple gestures. It explores bold issues which never cross the thresholds of curiosity. Dealing with issues like gender bias and identity crisis,...
- 2/22/2015
- by Press Releases
- Bollyspice
Originally published in July of 2014 check out our review of Qissa from the London Indian Film Festival
The largest human mass migration known to history is the Partition of India, 1947. Glossed over as the “independence” of India, this tragic and controversial event forced an estimated 10 million civilians to lose their homes and an estimated 1 million to lose their lives. The statistics with their definite tone conceals the complexities, the tragedies and the trauma of Partition.
Both literature and film have become powerful mediums for re-visiting this time in history and Qissa (Director Anup Singh) is one such film. Brimming over with raw emotion, immaculate performances and a Pandora’s Box of questions, Qissa is a rare gem of a film that will shake you up and ask what identity and belonging truly mean.
When Umber Singh (Irrfan Khan) and his family are uprooted from their home in the midst of Partition,...
The largest human mass migration known to history is the Partition of India, 1947. Glossed over as the “independence” of India, this tragic and controversial event forced an estimated 10 million civilians to lose their homes and an estimated 1 million to lose their lives. The statistics with their definite tone conceals the complexities, the tragedies and the trauma of Partition.
Both literature and film have become powerful mediums for re-visiting this time in history and Qissa (Director Anup Singh) is one such film. Brimming over with raw emotion, immaculate performances and a Pandora’s Box of questions, Qissa is a rare gem of a film that will shake you up and ask what identity and belonging truly mean.
When Umber Singh (Irrfan Khan) and his family are uprooted from their home in the midst of Partition,...
- 2/21/2015
- by Aashi Gahlot
- Bollyspice
From the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival we revisit our Qissa review.
Set in post-Partition India, Qissa (“Folktale”) introduces us to Sikh patriarch Umber Singh (Irrfan Khan). Forced to leave his village (in Pakistan territory), Umber takes his family (consisting of his wife, two daughters, and a newborn baby girl whom he refuses to look at – “I’ve seen enough girls,” he tells his wife, Mehar) and sets out to rebuild his life. “The Partition scattered us like birds in a storm,” he says, and Qissa sets out to examine the effect of the loss of home, nation, identity; showing how, in Umber, it affects how he relates to his family. “Who am I?” asks Umber. “What am I? What curse have I brought down on myself?”
The curse, for Umber, takes form not only in the loss of his home, and in having to rebuild in Indian Territory, but...
Set in post-Partition India, Qissa (“Folktale”) introduces us to Sikh patriarch Umber Singh (Irrfan Khan). Forced to leave his village (in Pakistan territory), Umber takes his family (consisting of his wife, two daughters, and a newborn baby girl whom he refuses to look at – “I’ve seen enough girls,” he tells his wife, Mehar) and sets out to rebuild his life. “The Partition scattered us like birds in a storm,” he says, and Qissa sets out to examine the effect of the loss of home, nation, identity; showing how, in Umber, it affects how he relates to his family. “Who am I?” asks Umber. “What am I? What curse have I brought down on myself?”
The curse, for Umber, takes form not only in the loss of his home, and in having to rebuild in Indian Territory, but...
- 2/20/2015
- by Katherine Matthews
- Bollyspice
The official trailer of Fdc’s international co-production, Qissa, The Tale Of A Lonely Ghost a Punjabi language feature film by Anup Singh, starring Irrfan Khan, Tisca Chopra, Tillotama Shome and Rasika Dugal among others has released.
The film has been received well in the International Film Festivals all over for its unique story and performances.
Qissa, The Tale Of A Lonely Ghost is now set to release in India on February 20, 2015 simultaneously across select theatres, on Nfdc’s VOD site www.cinemasofindia.com and on DVD, thereby making the Punjabi language feature film accessible to a diverse pan Indian audience.
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=so9jp-tpMEw
The story of the film:
Uprooted by the religious violence that came with partition in 1947, Umber and his family move to a safer locale attempting to forge a new life for his family while keeping their true identities a secret from their...
The film has been received well in the International Film Festivals all over for its unique story and performances.
Qissa, The Tale Of A Lonely Ghost is now set to release in India on February 20, 2015 simultaneously across select theatres, on Nfdc’s VOD site www.cinemasofindia.com and on DVD, thereby making the Punjabi language feature film accessible to a diverse pan Indian audience.
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=so9jp-tpMEw
The story of the film:
Uprooted by the religious violence that came with partition in 1947, Umber and his family move to a safer locale attempting to forge a new life for his family while keeping their true identities a secret from their...
- 2/13/2015
- by Press Releases
- Bollyspice
“19 January 1990 was a very cold day despite the sun’s weak attempts to emerge from behind dark clouds…’Naara-e-taqbeer, Allah ho Akbar!’ I looked at my father; his face was contorted. He knew only too well what the slogan meant. I had heard it as well, in a stirring drama telecast a few years ago on Doordarshan, an adaptation of Bhisham Sahni’s Tamas, a novel based on the events of the 1947 Partition of India and Pakistan. It was the cry that a mob of Muslim rioters shouted as it descended upon Hindu settlements. It was a war cry…The crowd wanted to turn Kashmir into Pakistan, without the Pandit men, but with their women…Ma rushed to the kitchen and returned with a long knife. It was her father’s. ‘If they come, I will kill her,’ she looked at my sister. ‘And then I will kill myself. And...
- 10/6/2014
- by Amitava Nag
- DearCinema.com
“I think originality can only come in spaces which are unexplored. So if you want to try and do original work you have to learn to take risks.” – Shahid Kapoor
BollySpice caught up with Director Vishal Bhardwaj and actor Shahid Kapoor over a round table discussion in London.
Exploring Haider, the upcoming Bollywood adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, we delved further on the significance of Kashmir as the backdrop, what it took to prepare for the challenging role of Hamlet, why Shahid Kapoor was specifically chosen to play the part and much more!
Haider completes Vishal Bhardwaj’s Shakespearian Bollywood trilogy, the former two being Maqbool (Macbeth) and Omkara (Othello). Haider stars Tabu, Kay Kay Menon, Irrfan Khan, Shahid Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor in the lead.
Press: Why did you choose to shoot the film in Kashmir? You’ve already been asked that question a hundred times!
Vishal Bhardwaj:...
BollySpice caught up with Director Vishal Bhardwaj and actor Shahid Kapoor over a round table discussion in London.
Exploring Haider, the upcoming Bollywood adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, we delved further on the significance of Kashmir as the backdrop, what it took to prepare for the challenging role of Hamlet, why Shahid Kapoor was specifically chosen to play the part and much more!
Haider completes Vishal Bhardwaj’s Shakespearian Bollywood trilogy, the former two being Maqbool (Macbeth) and Omkara (Othello). Haider stars Tabu, Kay Kay Menon, Irrfan Khan, Shahid Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor in the lead.
Press: Why did you choose to shoot the film in Kashmir? You’ve already been asked that question a hundred times!
Vishal Bhardwaj:...
- 9/24/2014
- by Aashi Gahlot
- Bollyspice
Award winning actor Irrfan Khan, known internationally for his stellar roles in The Lunchbox, Life of Pi, Slumdog Millionaire, Paan Singh Tomar and D-Day is delighted that his new film Qissa, directed by Anup Singh, has been selected for the 5th edition of the London Indian Film Festival (Liff, July 10-17). Irrfan was a big hit in London last year when he delivered a masterclass at the prestigious British Film Institute and was present at the sold out festival screening of D-Day.
Says Irrfan: “I’m delighted my film Qissa will be screened at Liff this year. What makes me even happier is that you’ll see something very different of me. I believe there is a quality of performance in Qissa that goes beyond skill or experience. What seems to emerge from the performances here is a gentle but powerful rhythm that will bring to your mind the music of our mystic traditions.
Says Irrfan: “I’m delighted my film Qissa will be screened at Liff this year. What makes me even happier is that you’ll see something very different of me. I believe there is a quality of performance in Qissa that goes beyond skill or experience. What seems to emerge from the performances here is a gentle but powerful rhythm that will bring to your mind the music of our mystic traditions.
- 7/11/2014
- by Press Releases
- Bollyspice
The date is getting closer. There are less than two weeks left for the London Indian Film Festival, Europe’s largest festival of its kind. Celebrating its 5th edition, Liff brings to the capital an array of South Asian independent films as well as some very exciting events.
This year’s programme includes a variety of films, from some glamorous releases to highly harrowing stories. Check out the full programme at http://www.londonindianfilmfestival.co.uk/
Liff starts on Thursday 10th July.
In the meantime, our BollySpice writers have elaborated a selection of the most awaited films and events.
Sold
For me it has to be the opening night film Sold. It is the tale of a young girl who is sold into prostitution. Seen through her eyes we witness the tragedy of her experiences, the everyday living that she does to cope and the hope that she will escape...
This year’s programme includes a variety of films, from some glamorous releases to highly harrowing stories. Check out the full programme at http://www.londonindianfilmfestival.co.uk/
Liff starts on Thursday 10th July.
In the meantime, our BollySpice writers have elaborated a selection of the most awaited films and events.
Sold
For me it has to be the opening night film Sold. It is the tale of a young girl who is sold into prostitution. Seen through her eyes we witness the tragedy of her experiences, the everyday living that she does to cope and the hope that she will escape...
- 7/10/2014
- by BollySpice Team
- Bollyspice
For the last five years, the London Indian Film Festival has showcased a unique selection of films from all over India. As they say, going way Beyond Bollywood, Liff brings cutting edge films from some of the world’s most innovative filmmakers. Led by festival director Mr Cary Rajinder Sawhney, Liff has grown to become Europe’s biggest Indian film festival. This year, once again, they are bringing the cool and eclectic along with hard hitting and moving films during the week long festival that runs July 10th through the 17th. We caught up with Mr Sawhney to get the scoop on what audiences will see when they experience Liff this year.
How would you describe the London Indian Film Festival?
London Indian Film Festival is dedicated to profiling the best of new independent films from India and its neighbours. I am glad to say we caught the wave early...
How would you describe the London Indian Film Festival?
London Indian Film Festival is dedicated to profiling the best of new independent films from India and its neighbours. I am glad to say we caught the wave early...
- 7/7/2014
- by Stacey Yount
- Bollyspice
Get ready London film fans! The fabulous London Indian Film Festival, running July 10th – 17th, will bring you an eclectic and cool mix of films! Now Europe’s largest platform for Indian cinema, the London Indian Film Festival returns to the Capital, in association with Pure Heaven, the British Film Institute, and official Hotel Partner Grange Hotels, celebrating the exploding movement of Indian Independent cinema and bringing to UK audiences a rare selection of cutting-edge films from some of the Indian subcontinent’s hottest independent talents. Going way beyond Bollywood, the festival presents a kaleidoscope of new films that challenge, shock, generate debate and present a more realistic view of India and the subcontinent today, in all its diversity.
The festival has many highlights and will showcase Emma Thompson’s Sold and Million Dollar Arm, which stars Jon Hamm and also boasts a bevy of Bollywood stars! The festival will stretch citywide,...
The festival has many highlights and will showcase Emma Thompson’s Sold and Million Dollar Arm, which stars Jon Hamm and also boasts a bevy of Bollywood stars! The festival will stretch citywide,...
- 6/12/2014
- by Stacey Yount
- Bollyspice
This year the 12th edition of the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (Iffla) includes a lineup of narrative and documentary features and short films. The impressive program reflects the rich diversity of Indian cinema, as well as the future of Indian filmmaking, with cutting-edge filmmakers and emerging voices bringing their acclaimed films to Los Angeles.
The festival is widely recognized as the premiere showcase of groundbreaking Indian cinema globally. Iffla will run April 8-13 at ArcLight Hollywood in Los Angeles, the festival’s home since its inception. Jadoo, an exploration of family bonds amidst two feuding brothers’ restaurants in England, will screen as the festival’s Closing Night Gala. The film is written and directed by Iffla alum Amit Gupta, and first premiered at the 2013 Berlinale. It features a wonderful ensemble cast that includes Kulvinder Ghir, Amara Karan, Harish Patel, Tom Mison, and Madhur Jaffrey. As previously announced, Iffla will open with Jeffrey D. Brown’s Sold, produced by Jane Charles and executive produced by Emma Thompson.
Iffla 2014 wil l present more than 33 films, including three world premieres, six North American premieres, six U.S. premieres, and 16 Los Angeles premieres. The films feature 10 different languages, from Hindi to Marathi, to Russian to Bengali. Additionally, Iffla supports American, Australian, British, Canadian, and European diaspora filmmakers from nine different countries telling their stories.
“I'm thrilled and proud that Iffla's line-up this year includes an especially diverse range of cinematic experiences, covering many regions of India and the diaspora,” said Iffla’s Artistic Director Jasmine Jaisinghani. "We would like to thank our Programming Advisor in India, Uma Da Cunha, for helping our programming team source some of these exceptional films."
Program highlights include: the North American premiere of Anurag Kashyap’s latest, Ugly an intense, masterfully directed psychological thriller that premiered in the 2013 Director’s Fortnight section of Cannes; Liar's Dice, the remarkable directorial debut of South Indian actress Geetu Mohandas that premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival; Anup Singh’s latest feature Qissa: The Tale of a Lonely Ghost, starring Irrfan Khan (Life of Pi, Slumdog Millionaire), winner of Netpac Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, and Dioraphte Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam; the Audience Award winner at the 2013 Slamdance Film Festival Hank and Asha , an exploratory, romantic look at two people bonding in the digital age by newcomer James E. Duff; Nagraj Manjule’s Fandry, a highly praised debut feature for its multilayered emotion and realism on the subject of caste discrimination; Brahmin Bulls starring Roshan Seth (Gandhi, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Mississippi Masala) and Sendhil Ramamurthy (Beauty and the Beast, Heroes) as an estranged father and son unexpectedly brought together to confront the family’s past; and Siddharth, a nuanced look at a family whose son goes missing, by lauded Canadian director and Iffla alum Richie Mehta (Amal).
The festival's feature documentary competition includes an eclectic mix of films from established and upcoming filmmakers that consider India's unique traditions and dynamic future. The films include: the world premiere of
The Auction House , an intimate and funny look at two brothers trying to keep their anachronistic family business going in the digital age; festival favorite Powerless, which depicts intense struggles over electricity in a mid-size Indian city; Faith Connections, Iffla alum Pan Nalin's beautiful and rare look at the Kumbh Mela; and the National Award-winning Shepherds of Paradise, about an arduous, mountainous trek through an animal drive in the Kashmiri winter.
The Bollywood by Night series returns this year with Bombay Talkies and Monsoon Shootout. Premiering at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, Bombay Talkies is a quartet of short films that celebrates 100 years of Indian cinema. The omnibus film features work by four of India’s most exciting contemporary directors: Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar, and Anurag Kashyap, as well as a stellar cast that includes Amitabh Bachchan, Rani Mukerji, and Katrina Kaif. Monsoon Shoutout is a thrilling debut by Iffla alum writer/director Amit Kumar about how a split-second decision made by a rookie police officer has rippling effects in his life and the lives of those around him.
The shorts competition showcases a diverse selection of 15 films that include narrative, documentary, experimental, and animated works. Highlights of this year’s program include Academy Award® shortlisted Kush; Sundance award winner Love.Love.Love.; and the world premiere of acclaimed director Umesh Kulkarni’s The Fly.
Festival Passes and Gala tickets are currently on sale at the festival's website.
For more information, please visit:
Website: www.indianfilmfestival.org.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ indianfilmfestival
Twitter: https://twitter.com /iffla
Tumblr: http://indianfilmfestival.tumblr.com/
About Iffla
Now in its 12th year, the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (Iffla) is a nonprofit organization devoted to a greater appreciation of Indian cinema and culture by showcasing films, honoring entertainment industry business executives, and promoting the diverse perspectives of the Indian diaspora.
Opening Night Gala
Sold
Los Angeles Premiere
USA/2014/97min
Director: Jeffrey D. Brown
Producer: Jane Charles
Executive Producer: Emma Thompson
Screenwriters: Joseph Kwong, Jeffrey D. Brown
Composer: John McDowell, Sammy Chand, Salim & Sulaiman Merchant
Cast: Susmita Mukherjee, Seema Biswas, Tillotama Shome, Niyar Saikia, Priyanka Bose, Ankur Vikal, Parambrata Chatterjee, Gillian Anderson, David Arquette
Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Jeffrey D. Brown adapts Patricia McCormick’s novel Sold – a National Book Award finalist – into a vivid, harrowing and inspiring story of a young girl’s resilience in the face of unspeakable cruelty.
Closing Night
Jadoo
Los Angeles Premiere
UK/2013/84 mins
Director: Amit Gupta
Producers: Amanda Faber, Isabelle Georgeaux, Richard Holmes, Nikki Parrott
Screenwriter: Amit Gupta
Composer: Stephen Warbeck
Cast: Kulvinder Ghir, Amara Karan, Harish Patel, Tom Mison, Madhur Jaffrey
Set in Leicester, England, Amit Gupta’s culinary comedy charts the chaos that ensues when young Shalini gets engaged to her longtime boyfriend Mark. The fact that Mark is not Indian is the least of Shalini’s concerns. Her father Raja and uncle Jagi have been at war for years. After a legendary falling out that caused them to close their family restaurant, each man opened his own establishment – directly across the street from one another! Shalini’s dream wedding would see both men put aside their differences and prepare the feast together, but resentment runs deep and neither man can hear mention of the other’s name without a spike in blood pressure. Both the prospect of disappointing their beloved Shalini and the threat of a new, hip restaurant opening in the area force Raja and Jagi to work together – but for how long? In this uproariously funny and heartfelt exploration of family bonds, shared history and gastronomic perfection, Gupta’s cast is endlessly appealing. Plus, there’s enough mouth-watering Indian food on display to have your stomach growling before the credits roll.
Feature Films
Before My Eyes (Ankhon Dekhi)
Los Angeles Premiere
India/2013/107min
Director: Rajat Kapoor Producer: Manish Mundra
Screenwriter: Rajat Kapoor
Cast: Sanjay Sanjay Mishra, Seema Pahwa, Rajat Kapoor, Taranjeet, Maya Sarao
Celebrated writer, director, and actor Rajat Kapoor (Midnight’s Children, Monsoon Wedding, Mixed Doubles, Mithya) paints an offbeat yet thought-provoking portrait of domestic life in modern day Delhi when an incident prompts head of the family Bauji to reject anything he himself has not experienced, much to the exasperation of his extended family but to the delight of his newfound philosopher disciples. Balancing the comical and the existential, both Bauji and the film ask the basic question, ‘Can you know truth without true experience?’
Brahmin Bulls
Los Angeles Premiere
USA/96min/2013
Director: Mahesh Pailoor
Producer: Yoshinobu Tsuji
Screenwriters: Anu Pradhan, Mahesh Pailoor
Cast: Sendhil Ramamurthy, Roshan Seth, Mary Steenburgen, Justin Bartha, Cassidy Freeman, Monica Raymund, Michael Lerner
Mahesh Pailoor's tender, funny, and touching debut tells the story of estranged father and son Ashok and Sid, who reunite at Sid's Los Angeles home when Ashok arrives unexpectedly. Each man is keeping secrets from one another, and when the truth is revealed, parent and child must work even harder to close the rift between them.
Fandry
North American Premiere
India/2013/103min
Director: Nagraj Manjule
Producers: Vivek Kajaria, Nilesh Navalakha
Screenwriter: Nagraj Manjule
Cast: Kishor Kadam, Chhaya Kadam, Somnath Awghade, Suraj Pawar, Rajshree Kharat, Sakshi Vyavhare, Aishvarya Shinde, Nagraj Manjule
Marathi poet Nagraj Manjule's impressive debut feature tells the story of Jabya, a Dalit boy, and his family's struggle against daily prejudice in their Maharashtra village. Jabya's carefree childhood desires and antics are soon stifled by his family's "untouchable" status, and the film's gradual transformation into an insightful and damning look at caste discrimination builds from a murmur to a defiant roar. Refusing to reduce his Dalit characters to victims – most explicitly at the film's explosive conclusion - Manjule's socially reflective film has received critical acclaim in India.
Hank and Asha
Los Angeles Premiere
USA/2013/73min
Director: James E. Duff
Producers: James E. Duff, Julia Morrison
Screenwriters: James E. Duff, Julia Morrison
Cast: Mahira Kakkar, Andrew Pastides
James E. Duff's feature directorial debut, the Audience Award winner at the 2013 Slamdance Film Festival, is an endearing tale of a long-distance connection in the digital age. Hank and Asha, two aspiring filmmakers separated by an ocean, connect with one another through video messages and quickly find themselves heading towards romance. That is, until Asha reveals some surprising news. Duff has created a captivating ode to the new possibilities open to us now that the world's gotten smaller.
Liar's Dice
Los Angeles Premiere
India/2013/104min
Director: Geetu Mohandas
Producers: Alan McAlex, Ajay G. Rai
Screenwriter: Geetu Mohandas
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Geetanjali Thapa, Manya Gupta
Established actress Geetu Mohandas steps behind the lens for her bracing directorial debut. A woman named Kamala and her daughter journey from their remote Himalayan village to Delhi in search of Kamala's missing husband. They find a guide in an unfriendly wanderer whose interest may lie more in his personal gain than in any help he can offer them. Beautifully shot by Rajeev Ravi (Gangs of Wasseypur), Mohandas' film evokes a hazardous world where answers may never be clear and a helping hand always comes at a price.
Phoring
North American Premiere
India/2013/128min
Director: Indranil Roychowdhury
Producers: Anasua Roychowdury, Sugata Bal
Screenwriters: Indranil Roychowdhury, Sugata Sinha
Cast: Akash Adhikary, Sohini Sarkar, Sourav Basak, Ritwick Charaborty, Shankar Debnath, Senjuti Roymukherjee
Indranil Roychowdhury's stunning feature debut is an evocative, unpredictable tale of confused adolescence in a struggling North Bengal town. Phoring, an imaginative adolescent boy, and his beautiful new teacher Doel form a close friendship that soon arouses doubt and suspicion when Doel's presence in the town is revealed to have less-than-noble origins. Roychowdhury accomplishes a tricky feat with his first film by luring us with the promise of an inspirational teacher-student story before ultimately delivering a much more complex and truthful account of the joys and pains of growing up.
Qissa: The Tale of a Lonely Ghost (2013)
Los Angeles Premiere Germany-India-Netherlands/2013/109min
Director: Anup Singh
Producers: Bero Beyer, Johannes Rexin, Bettina Brokemper, Thierry Lenouvel
Screenwriter: Anup Singh, Madhuja Mukherjee
Cast: Irrfan Khan, Tisca Chopra, Tillotama Shome, Rasika Dugal
Set in 1940s Punjab, Anup Singh’s latest feature Qissa details the aftermath of the Indo-Pakistan Partition through the experiences of one Sikh family, headed by Umber (Irrfan Khan). Following the family’s forceful displacement from their village, Umber’s desire for a male heir is stronger than ever. When his wife gives birth to their fourth daughter, Kanwar, Umber makes the fateful decision to raise her as a boy. This tragic choice ends up dividing the family in violent ways, and provokes a series of increasingly unsettling situations for Kanwar as she grows up. While in a sense a ghost story, the source of pain and suffering is all too real.
Siddharth
Los Angeles Premiere
Canada-India/2013/96min
Director: Richie Mehta
Producers: David Miller, Steven N. Bray
Screenwriter: Richie Mehta
Cast: Rajesh Tailang, Tannishtha Chatterjee
A celebrated Iffla alum, Canadian director Richie Mehta returns to the festival with a heartbreaking story of parents Mahendra and Suman, whose son goes missing after being sent to work 200 miles north of Delhi. Carried by powerful yet restrained performances from Rajesh Tailang and Tannishtha Chatterjee as the parents, Mehta and cast capture the dignity of those facing the unthinkable. Mehta's chance encounter with a man searching for his lost son alerted him to the underreported plight of the families of 44,000 children estimated missing in India every year.
Ugly
North American Premiere
India/2013/128mins/Dcp
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Writer: Anurag Kashyap
Producers: Vikas Bahl, Madhu Mantena, Vikramaditya Motwane, Vivek Rangachari, Arun Rangachari
Cast: Rahul Bhatt, Ronit Roy, Tejaswini Kolhapure, Anshika Shrivastava
When ten-year-old Kali disappears from her father Rahul's car on the busy streets of Mumbai, the events that follow quickly spiral out of control and plunge into a morass of corruption and violence. Rahul and Kali's mother, Shalini, are divorced. Shalini is now married to Shoumik, the local police chief. When Shoumik learns that his stepdaughter is missing, he and Rahul clash in a breathless race to find the girl. With intricate plotting and vivid characterizations, Iffla alum Anurag Kashyap fashions a story that's sure to keep the heart racing.
Writers (Sulemani Keeda)
North American Premiere
India/2013/90min
Director: Amit V Masurkar
Writer: Amit V Masurkar
Producer: Datta Dave
Cast: Naveen Kasturia, Mayank Tewari, Aditi Vasudev and Karan Mirchandani
Writing partners Dulal and Mainak dream of shaking up Bollywood in director Amit Masurkar's slacker comedy. The two young men take a job from the wealthy, oddball son of a famous B-movie producer, but soon fear they're on the path to selling out. Masurkar's film captures the creative spirit of Andheri West, a Mumbai suburb where writers, directors, and actors come from all over India with the dream of working in the film industry, and is a sweet taste of things to come from the new "hindie" cinema.
Documentary Features
The Auction House: A Tale of Two Brothers
World Premiere
UK/2014/85min
Director: Ed Owles
Producers: Ed Owles, Giovanna Stopponi
The auction houses of Kolkata used to be where the rich and famous found the right high-end objects to decorate their homes. Today, the family-owned Russell Exchange is the last, and oldest, one to remain in India. Director Ed Owles follows two brothers, with the older brother moving back to Kolkata from London with hopes of using his Western business acumen to bring the Exchange into the 21st century. However, in a country radically transformed by technology and a rising youth culture, it may already be too late.
Faith Connections
Los Angeles Premiere
France-India/2013/115min/Dcp
Director: Pan Nalin
Producers: Raphaël Berdugo, Gaurav Dhingra, Pan Nalin, Virginie Lacombe
Every three years, Hindus gather at one of four rotating sites for Kumbh Mela, a religious celebration of faith and devotion marked by bathing in the sacred waters of the Ganges. With 100 million people at the 2013 Kumbh Mela, the pilgrimage is said to be the largest gathering on the planet. Iffla alum Pan Nalin crafts a moving and unique view of the mass gathering and presents unique stories of how individuals came to be there to share in the belief of the divine.
Powerless (Katiyabaaz)
Los Angeles Premiere
India/2013/82min
Director: Fahad Mustafa and Deepti Kakkar
Producers: Fahad Mustafa, Deepti Kakkar, Judy Tam, Leopold Koegler
Screenwriter: Fahad Mustafa
In Kanpur, a city of three million that has seen better days, one of the only ways for many residents to get electricity is to steal it. Co-directors Fahad Mustafa and Deepti Kakkar focus their attention on the likes of pirate engineers like Loha Singh and first female CEO at the local power authority Ritu Maheshwari. Coupled with beautiful photography of the intricately tied together powerlines of the city and a pulsating original score, they present a unique documentary about current-day India and its future battles over limited resources.
Shepherds of Paradise
U.S. Premiere
India/2013/50min
Director/Producer/Screenwriter/Cinematographer/Editor: Raja Shabir Khan
Composer: Bilal Iran
Nomadic herder Gafoor has to lead his large flock of goats, sheep, cows and horses across Jammu all the way to Kashmir so they can graze. Director Raja Shabir Khan presents lives few have ever seen, let alone lived, with simple beauty and real terror in a film that has won major National Awards in India. A cinematic wonder that must be seen to truly understand, Shepherds of Paradise is a testament of the power of film to transport us to other lands and experiences.
Bollywood By Night
Bombay Talkies
North American Premiere
India/117min/2013
Directors: Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar, Anurag Kashyap
Producers: Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar, Guneet Monga
Screenwriters: Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti, Anurag Kashyap
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan , Rani Mukerji, Katrina Kaif, Randeep Hooda, Saqib Saleem, Nawazuddin Siddiqui
A quartet of short films directed by four of India’s most exciting contemporary filmmakers celebrates 100 years of Indian cinema in this omnibus film. Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar and Anurag Kashyap crafts a tale of ordinary people whose love of movies profoundly alters the course of their lives. Each story beautifully captures how lovers of cinema can’t help but carry that fascination into their day-to-day life. Haven’t we all wished, at one time or another, that our lives were more like a film?
Monsoon Shootout
Los Angeles Premiere
India-uk-Netherlands/2013/88min
Director: Amit Kumar
Producers: Trevor Ingman, Guneet Monga, Martijn De Grunt
Screenwriter: Amit Kumar
Cast: Vijay Varma, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Geetanjali Thapa
A split-second decision made by a rookie police officer propels writer/director Amit Kumar’s debut feature, which fascinatingly splinters into three separate, equally pulse-pounding scenarios. In a secluded alley drenched in the pouring rain, principled cop Adi aims his gun at Shiva, a vicious gangster on the run. What Adi decides to do next will reverberate throughout his personal and professional life in ways he could never imagine. Kumar thus explores the ripple effect our choices have, and how we unknowingly alter the lives of those around us.
Shorts
Aarti
Shorts Program 2
World Premiere
USA/2013/4min
Director: David Walter Lech
Producer: Terrie Samundra
A hypnotic look into the nightly “ceremony of light” ritual in a Hindu temple in Sheikhupur, Punjab.
Alchemy
Shorts Program 2
U.S. Premiere
India/2013/5min
Directors: Pranay Patwardhan, Shivangi Ranawat, Janmeet Singh
Producer: Pritesh Varia
A bold and vibrant song to the intricate fabric of modern day India, a kaleidoscope of voices, colors and traditions.
Bhiwani Junction
Shorts Program 1
Los Angeles Premiere
USA/2013/18min
Director: Abhi Singh
Producer: Abhi Singh
A poignant documentary portrait of Himanshu, a 12-year old boxer, whose formidable commitment to the sport makes his lofty dreams to become an Olympic champion appear well within reach.
Black Rock (Kaatal)
Shorts Program 1
U.S. Premiere
India/2012/22min
Director: Vikrant Pawar
Producer: Film and Television Institute of India
Two young lovers spend one last afternoon together. A beautiful meditation on the ephemeral nature of young love that has won three of India’s National Film Awards.
The Fly (Makhi)
Shorts Program 2
World Premiere
India/2013/31min
Director: Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni
Producer: Film and Television Institute of India
Employed as a Fly Killer in an upscale restaurant, Pipal must ensure a fly-free environment by smacking dead the flies that buzz over the patrons’ heads. When a nearby drainage is closed and the source of the fly infestation eradicated, Pipal must find a way to produce enough live flies to save his job, in this delightfully absurdist commentary on urban India’s emerging work culture.
Beloved (Humsafar)
Shorts Program 2
U.S. Premiere
India/2012/6min
Directors/Writers: Swapnil Awate, Laura Erbacher
Producer: Dsk Supinfocom
A sweeping single shot takes us on the breathtaking animated journey of two lovers and their eternal pursuit of harmony.
Jaya
Shorts Program 2
USA/2013/19min
Director: Puja Maewal
Producer: Puja Maewal
Young Jaya is able to survive the gruesome gang life in the unforgiving streets of Mumbai by posing as a boy. When she meets a wealthy businessman who looks like he could be the father who abandoned her, she sets out to reclaim her identity, in this engrossing drama that was shortlisted for a Student Academy Award®.
Kush
Shorts Program 1
India/2013/25min
Director: Shubhashish Bhutiani
Producer: Shubhashish Bhutiani
A bus full of schoolchildren boisterously makes its way back from a field trip when the news of Indira Gandhi’s assassination by her Sikh bodyguards breaks. As violence quickly erupts across the country, Kush, the only Sikh student in the class, must find a way to escape the unquenchable fury of retribution, in this gripping drama that was shortlisted for an Academy Award®.
Little Gypsy (Kachho Gadulo)
Shorts Program 1
Los Angeles Premiere
India/2012/6min
Directors: Saptesh Chaubal, Pranay Patwardhan, Shivangi Ranawat
Producer: D.S.K. Supinfocom
Inspired by the folk traditions of various parts of India, this stunning animated film sweeps us into a mythical journey that celebrates the power of play and imagination.
Love.Love.Love.
Shorts Program 2
Los Angeles Premiere
Russian Federation/2013/12min
Director: Sandhya Daisy Sundaram
Producers: Tanya Petrik, Guillaume Protsenko
An intimate ode to the wondrous force of love, as it takes new shapes and forms through the endless Russian winters. Love. Love.Love. won the Short Film Special Jury Award for Non-Fiction at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.
Outpost
Shorts Program 1
U.S. Premiere
India-usa/2013/17min
Director: Shiva Shankar Bajpai
Producer: Aditi Anand
In the barren desert of the India-Pakistan border, two lone army guards on the opposite sides of the line yearn for booze, mosquito repellent and some human contact, in this humorous glimpse into the absurdity of rigid immaterial divides.
Presence
Shorts Program 2
U.S. Premiere
India/2012/17min
Directors: Ekta Mittal, Yashaswini Raghunandan
Producers: Ekta Mittal, Yashaswini Raghunandan
Long days and nights spent within the bellies of the rising structural beasts that rapidly transform the city of Bangalore bring on visions of ghosts that speak of the construction workers’ memories, longings and fears, in this haunting meditation on the migrant experience.
Skin Deep
Screens with Writers
U.S. Premiere
India/2013/20min
Director: Hardik Mehta
Producers: Devang Bhavsar, Niraj Kothari
Sanjay and Sushma plan to elope to escape a looming arranged marriage. They are in love and their future together shines bright and perfect and filled with possibility--that is, as long as an extra piece of skin that complicates their sex life gets fixed in what should be a routine medical procedure. But Mumbai’s electricity gods have other plans in store for them.
Small Yellow Field (Tau Seru)
Shorts Program 1
Los Angeles Premiere
Australia-India/2013/8min
Director: Rodd Rathjen
Producer: Rodd Rathjen
In the remote vastness of the Himalayas, a young nomad's curiosity lies beyond the horizon. This stunningly photographed film made its world premiere at Cannes Critics’ Week.
The Puppet (Tamaash)
Screens with Shepherds Of Paradise
Los Angeles Premiere
India/2013/32min
Directors: Devanshu Singh, Satyanshu Singh
Producers: Datta Dave, Chaitanya Hegde, Omar Nissar Paul, Devanshu Singh, Satyanshu Singh
A mysterious puppet offers young Anzar the chance to escape his father’s relentless punishments over his poor school grades by granting him the power to inflict misfortune on his nemesis, his brilliant classmate, Sadat. However, his newfound peace is short-lived as Sadat falls severely ill and Anzar comes to realize that the puppet’s powers are spiraling out of his control...
The festival is widely recognized as the premiere showcase of groundbreaking Indian cinema globally. Iffla will run April 8-13 at ArcLight Hollywood in Los Angeles, the festival’s home since its inception. Jadoo, an exploration of family bonds amidst two feuding brothers’ restaurants in England, will screen as the festival’s Closing Night Gala. The film is written and directed by Iffla alum Amit Gupta, and first premiered at the 2013 Berlinale. It features a wonderful ensemble cast that includes Kulvinder Ghir, Amara Karan, Harish Patel, Tom Mison, and Madhur Jaffrey. As previously announced, Iffla will open with Jeffrey D. Brown’s Sold, produced by Jane Charles and executive produced by Emma Thompson.
Iffla 2014 wil l present more than 33 films, including three world premieres, six North American premieres, six U.S. premieres, and 16 Los Angeles premieres. The films feature 10 different languages, from Hindi to Marathi, to Russian to Bengali. Additionally, Iffla supports American, Australian, British, Canadian, and European diaspora filmmakers from nine different countries telling their stories.
“I'm thrilled and proud that Iffla's line-up this year includes an especially diverse range of cinematic experiences, covering many regions of India and the diaspora,” said Iffla’s Artistic Director Jasmine Jaisinghani. "We would like to thank our Programming Advisor in India, Uma Da Cunha, for helping our programming team source some of these exceptional films."
Program highlights include: the North American premiere of Anurag Kashyap’s latest, Ugly an intense, masterfully directed psychological thriller that premiered in the 2013 Director’s Fortnight section of Cannes; Liar's Dice, the remarkable directorial debut of South Indian actress Geetu Mohandas that premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival; Anup Singh’s latest feature Qissa: The Tale of a Lonely Ghost, starring Irrfan Khan (Life of Pi, Slumdog Millionaire), winner of Netpac Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, and Dioraphte Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam; the Audience Award winner at the 2013 Slamdance Film Festival Hank and Asha , an exploratory, romantic look at two people bonding in the digital age by newcomer James E. Duff; Nagraj Manjule’s Fandry, a highly praised debut feature for its multilayered emotion and realism on the subject of caste discrimination; Brahmin Bulls starring Roshan Seth (Gandhi, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Mississippi Masala) and Sendhil Ramamurthy (Beauty and the Beast, Heroes) as an estranged father and son unexpectedly brought together to confront the family’s past; and Siddharth, a nuanced look at a family whose son goes missing, by lauded Canadian director and Iffla alum Richie Mehta (Amal).
The festival's feature documentary competition includes an eclectic mix of films from established and upcoming filmmakers that consider India's unique traditions and dynamic future. The films include: the world premiere of
The Auction House , an intimate and funny look at two brothers trying to keep their anachronistic family business going in the digital age; festival favorite Powerless, which depicts intense struggles over electricity in a mid-size Indian city; Faith Connections, Iffla alum Pan Nalin's beautiful and rare look at the Kumbh Mela; and the National Award-winning Shepherds of Paradise, about an arduous, mountainous trek through an animal drive in the Kashmiri winter.
The Bollywood by Night series returns this year with Bombay Talkies and Monsoon Shootout. Premiering at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, Bombay Talkies is a quartet of short films that celebrates 100 years of Indian cinema. The omnibus film features work by four of India’s most exciting contemporary directors: Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar, and Anurag Kashyap, as well as a stellar cast that includes Amitabh Bachchan, Rani Mukerji, and Katrina Kaif. Monsoon Shoutout is a thrilling debut by Iffla alum writer/director Amit Kumar about how a split-second decision made by a rookie police officer has rippling effects in his life and the lives of those around him.
The shorts competition showcases a diverse selection of 15 films that include narrative, documentary, experimental, and animated works. Highlights of this year’s program include Academy Award® shortlisted Kush; Sundance award winner Love.Love.Love.; and the world premiere of acclaimed director Umesh Kulkarni’s The Fly.
Festival Passes and Gala tickets are currently on sale at the festival's website.
For more information, please visit:
Website: www.indianfilmfestival.org.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ indianfilmfestival
Twitter: https://twitter.com /iffla
Tumblr: http://indianfilmfestival.tumblr.com/
About Iffla
Now in its 12th year, the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (Iffla) is a nonprofit organization devoted to a greater appreciation of Indian cinema and culture by showcasing films, honoring entertainment industry business executives, and promoting the diverse perspectives of the Indian diaspora.
Opening Night Gala
Sold
Los Angeles Premiere
USA/2014/97min
Director: Jeffrey D. Brown
Producer: Jane Charles
Executive Producer: Emma Thompson
Screenwriters: Joseph Kwong, Jeffrey D. Brown
Composer: John McDowell, Sammy Chand, Salim & Sulaiman Merchant
Cast: Susmita Mukherjee, Seema Biswas, Tillotama Shome, Niyar Saikia, Priyanka Bose, Ankur Vikal, Parambrata Chatterjee, Gillian Anderson, David Arquette
Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Jeffrey D. Brown adapts Patricia McCormick’s novel Sold – a National Book Award finalist – into a vivid, harrowing and inspiring story of a young girl’s resilience in the face of unspeakable cruelty.
Closing Night
Jadoo
Los Angeles Premiere
UK/2013/84 mins
Director: Amit Gupta
Producers: Amanda Faber, Isabelle Georgeaux, Richard Holmes, Nikki Parrott
Screenwriter: Amit Gupta
Composer: Stephen Warbeck
Cast: Kulvinder Ghir, Amara Karan, Harish Patel, Tom Mison, Madhur Jaffrey
Set in Leicester, England, Amit Gupta’s culinary comedy charts the chaos that ensues when young Shalini gets engaged to her longtime boyfriend Mark. The fact that Mark is not Indian is the least of Shalini’s concerns. Her father Raja and uncle Jagi have been at war for years. After a legendary falling out that caused them to close their family restaurant, each man opened his own establishment – directly across the street from one another! Shalini’s dream wedding would see both men put aside their differences and prepare the feast together, but resentment runs deep and neither man can hear mention of the other’s name without a spike in blood pressure. Both the prospect of disappointing their beloved Shalini and the threat of a new, hip restaurant opening in the area force Raja and Jagi to work together – but for how long? In this uproariously funny and heartfelt exploration of family bonds, shared history and gastronomic perfection, Gupta’s cast is endlessly appealing. Plus, there’s enough mouth-watering Indian food on display to have your stomach growling before the credits roll.
Feature Films
Before My Eyes (Ankhon Dekhi)
Los Angeles Premiere
India/2013/107min
Director: Rajat Kapoor Producer: Manish Mundra
Screenwriter: Rajat Kapoor
Cast: Sanjay Sanjay Mishra, Seema Pahwa, Rajat Kapoor, Taranjeet, Maya Sarao
Celebrated writer, director, and actor Rajat Kapoor (Midnight’s Children, Monsoon Wedding, Mixed Doubles, Mithya) paints an offbeat yet thought-provoking portrait of domestic life in modern day Delhi when an incident prompts head of the family Bauji to reject anything he himself has not experienced, much to the exasperation of his extended family but to the delight of his newfound philosopher disciples. Balancing the comical and the existential, both Bauji and the film ask the basic question, ‘Can you know truth without true experience?’
Brahmin Bulls
Los Angeles Premiere
USA/96min/2013
Director: Mahesh Pailoor
Producer: Yoshinobu Tsuji
Screenwriters: Anu Pradhan, Mahesh Pailoor
Cast: Sendhil Ramamurthy, Roshan Seth, Mary Steenburgen, Justin Bartha, Cassidy Freeman, Monica Raymund, Michael Lerner
Mahesh Pailoor's tender, funny, and touching debut tells the story of estranged father and son Ashok and Sid, who reunite at Sid's Los Angeles home when Ashok arrives unexpectedly. Each man is keeping secrets from one another, and when the truth is revealed, parent and child must work even harder to close the rift between them.
Fandry
North American Premiere
India/2013/103min
Director: Nagraj Manjule
Producers: Vivek Kajaria, Nilesh Navalakha
Screenwriter: Nagraj Manjule
Cast: Kishor Kadam, Chhaya Kadam, Somnath Awghade, Suraj Pawar, Rajshree Kharat, Sakshi Vyavhare, Aishvarya Shinde, Nagraj Manjule
Marathi poet Nagraj Manjule's impressive debut feature tells the story of Jabya, a Dalit boy, and his family's struggle against daily prejudice in their Maharashtra village. Jabya's carefree childhood desires and antics are soon stifled by his family's "untouchable" status, and the film's gradual transformation into an insightful and damning look at caste discrimination builds from a murmur to a defiant roar. Refusing to reduce his Dalit characters to victims – most explicitly at the film's explosive conclusion - Manjule's socially reflective film has received critical acclaim in India.
Hank and Asha
Los Angeles Premiere
USA/2013/73min
Director: James E. Duff
Producers: James E. Duff, Julia Morrison
Screenwriters: James E. Duff, Julia Morrison
Cast: Mahira Kakkar, Andrew Pastides
James E. Duff's feature directorial debut, the Audience Award winner at the 2013 Slamdance Film Festival, is an endearing tale of a long-distance connection in the digital age. Hank and Asha, two aspiring filmmakers separated by an ocean, connect with one another through video messages and quickly find themselves heading towards romance. That is, until Asha reveals some surprising news. Duff has created a captivating ode to the new possibilities open to us now that the world's gotten smaller.
Liar's Dice
Los Angeles Premiere
India/2013/104min
Director: Geetu Mohandas
Producers: Alan McAlex, Ajay G. Rai
Screenwriter: Geetu Mohandas
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Geetanjali Thapa, Manya Gupta
Established actress Geetu Mohandas steps behind the lens for her bracing directorial debut. A woman named Kamala and her daughter journey from their remote Himalayan village to Delhi in search of Kamala's missing husband. They find a guide in an unfriendly wanderer whose interest may lie more in his personal gain than in any help he can offer them. Beautifully shot by Rajeev Ravi (Gangs of Wasseypur), Mohandas' film evokes a hazardous world where answers may never be clear and a helping hand always comes at a price.
Phoring
North American Premiere
India/2013/128min
Director: Indranil Roychowdhury
Producers: Anasua Roychowdury, Sugata Bal
Screenwriters: Indranil Roychowdhury, Sugata Sinha
Cast: Akash Adhikary, Sohini Sarkar, Sourav Basak, Ritwick Charaborty, Shankar Debnath, Senjuti Roymukherjee
Indranil Roychowdhury's stunning feature debut is an evocative, unpredictable tale of confused adolescence in a struggling North Bengal town. Phoring, an imaginative adolescent boy, and his beautiful new teacher Doel form a close friendship that soon arouses doubt and suspicion when Doel's presence in the town is revealed to have less-than-noble origins. Roychowdhury accomplishes a tricky feat with his first film by luring us with the promise of an inspirational teacher-student story before ultimately delivering a much more complex and truthful account of the joys and pains of growing up.
Qissa: The Tale of a Lonely Ghost (2013)
Los Angeles Premiere Germany-India-Netherlands/2013/109min
Director: Anup Singh
Producers: Bero Beyer, Johannes Rexin, Bettina Brokemper, Thierry Lenouvel
Screenwriter: Anup Singh, Madhuja Mukherjee
Cast: Irrfan Khan, Tisca Chopra, Tillotama Shome, Rasika Dugal
Set in 1940s Punjab, Anup Singh’s latest feature Qissa details the aftermath of the Indo-Pakistan Partition through the experiences of one Sikh family, headed by Umber (Irrfan Khan). Following the family’s forceful displacement from their village, Umber’s desire for a male heir is stronger than ever. When his wife gives birth to their fourth daughter, Kanwar, Umber makes the fateful decision to raise her as a boy. This tragic choice ends up dividing the family in violent ways, and provokes a series of increasingly unsettling situations for Kanwar as she grows up. While in a sense a ghost story, the source of pain and suffering is all too real.
Siddharth
Los Angeles Premiere
Canada-India/2013/96min
Director: Richie Mehta
Producers: David Miller, Steven N. Bray
Screenwriter: Richie Mehta
Cast: Rajesh Tailang, Tannishtha Chatterjee
A celebrated Iffla alum, Canadian director Richie Mehta returns to the festival with a heartbreaking story of parents Mahendra and Suman, whose son goes missing after being sent to work 200 miles north of Delhi. Carried by powerful yet restrained performances from Rajesh Tailang and Tannishtha Chatterjee as the parents, Mehta and cast capture the dignity of those facing the unthinkable. Mehta's chance encounter with a man searching for his lost son alerted him to the underreported plight of the families of 44,000 children estimated missing in India every year.
Ugly
North American Premiere
India/2013/128mins/Dcp
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Writer: Anurag Kashyap
Producers: Vikas Bahl, Madhu Mantena, Vikramaditya Motwane, Vivek Rangachari, Arun Rangachari
Cast: Rahul Bhatt, Ronit Roy, Tejaswini Kolhapure, Anshika Shrivastava
When ten-year-old Kali disappears from her father Rahul's car on the busy streets of Mumbai, the events that follow quickly spiral out of control and plunge into a morass of corruption and violence. Rahul and Kali's mother, Shalini, are divorced. Shalini is now married to Shoumik, the local police chief. When Shoumik learns that his stepdaughter is missing, he and Rahul clash in a breathless race to find the girl. With intricate plotting and vivid characterizations, Iffla alum Anurag Kashyap fashions a story that's sure to keep the heart racing.
Writers (Sulemani Keeda)
North American Premiere
India/2013/90min
Director: Amit V Masurkar
Writer: Amit V Masurkar
Producer: Datta Dave
Cast: Naveen Kasturia, Mayank Tewari, Aditi Vasudev and Karan Mirchandani
Writing partners Dulal and Mainak dream of shaking up Bollywood in director Amit Masurkar's slacker comedy. The two young men take a job from the wealthy, oddball son of a famous B-movie producer, but soon fear they're on the path to selling out. Masurkar's film captures the creative spirit of Andheri West, a Mumbai suburb where writers, directors, and actors come from all over India with the dream of working in the film industry, and is a sweet taste of things to come from the new "hindie" cinema.
Documentary Features
The Auction House: A Tale of Two Brothers
World Premiere
UK/2014/85min
Director: Ed Owles
Producers: Ed Owles, Giovanna Stopponi
The auction houses of Kolkata used to be where the rich and famous found the right high-end objects to decorate their homes. Today, the family-owned Russell Exchange is the last, and oldest, one to remain in India. Director Ed Owles follows two brothers, with the older brother moving back to Kolkata from London with hopes of using his Western business acumen to bring the Exchange into the 21st century. However, in a country radically transformed by technology and a rising youth culture, it may already be too late.
Faith Connections
Los Angeles Premiere
France-India/2013/115min/Dcp
Director: Pan Nalin
Producers: Raphaël Berdugo, Gaurav Dhingra, Pan Nalin, Virginie Lacombe
Every three years, Hindus gather at one of four rotating sites for Kumbh Mela, a religious celebration of faith and devotion marked by bathing in the sacred waters of the Ganges. With 100 million people at the 2013 Kumbh Mela, the pilgrimage is said to be the largest gathering on the planet. Iffla alum Pan Nalin crafts a moving and unique view of the mass gathering and presents unique stories of how individuals came to be there to share in the belief of the divine.
Powerless (Katiyabaaz)
Los Angeles Premiere
India/2013/82min
Director: Fahad Mustafa and Deepti Kakkar
Producers: Fahad Mustafa, Deepti Kakkar, Judy Tam, Leopold Koegler
Screenwriter: Fahad Mustafa
In Kanpur, a city of three million that has seen better days, one of the only ways for many residents to get electricity is to steal it. Co-directors Fahad Mustafa and Deepti Kakkar focus their attention on the likes of pirate engineers like Loha Singh and first female CEO at the local power authority Ritu Maheshwari. Coupled with beautiful photography of the intricately tied together powerlines of the city and a pulsating original score, they present a unique documentary about current-day India and its future battles over limited resources.
Shepherds of Paradise
U.S. Premiere
India/2013/50min
Director/Producer/Screenwriter/Cinematographer/Editor: Raja Shabir Khan
Composer: Bilal Iran
Nomadic herder Gafoor has to lead his large flock of goats, sheep, cows and horses across Jammu all the way to Kashmir so they can graze. Director Raja Shabir Khan presents lives few have ever seen, let alone lived, with simple beauty and real terror in a film that has won major National Awards in India. A cinematic wonder that must be seen to truly understand, Shepherds of Paradise is a testament of the power of film to transport us to other lands and experiences.
Bollywood By Night
Bombay Talkies
North American Premiere
India/117min/2013
Directors: Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar, Anurag Kashyap
Producers: Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar, Guneet Monga
Screenwriters: Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti, Anurag Kashyap
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan , Rani Mukerji, Katrina Kaif, Randeep Hooda, Saqib Saleem, Nawazuddin Siddiqui
A quartet of short films directed by four of India’s most exciting contemporary filmmakers celebrates 100 years of Indian cinema in this omnibus film. Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar and Anurag Kashyap crafts a tale of ordinary people whose love of movies profoundly alters the course of their lives. Each story beautifully captures how lovers of cinema can’t help but carry that fascination into their day-to-day life. Haven’t we all wished, at one time or another, that our lives were more like a film?
Monsoon Shootout
Los Angeles Premiere
India-uk-Netherlands/2013/88min
Director: Amit Kumar
Producers: Trevor Ingman, Guneet Monga, Martijn De Grunt
Screenwriter: Amit Kumar
Cast: Vijay Varma, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Geetanjali Thapa
A split-second decision made by a rookie police officer propels writer/director Amit Kumar’s debut feature, which fascinatingly splinters into three separate, equally pulse-pounding scenarios. In a secluded alley drenched in the pouring rain, principled cop Adi aims his gun at Shiva, a vicious gangster on the run. What Adi decides to do next will reverberate throughout his personal and professional life in ways he could never imagine. Kumar thus explores the ripple effect our choices have, and how we unknowingly alter the lives of those around us.
Shorts
Aarti
Shorts Program 2
World Premiere
USA/2013/4min
Director: David Walter Lech
Producer: Terrie Samundra
A hypnotic look into the nightly “ceremony of light” ritual in a Hindu temple in Sheikhupur, Punjab.
Alchemy
Shorts Program 2
U.S. Premiere
India/2013/5min
Directors: Pranay Patwardhan, Shivangi Ranawat, Janmeet Singh
Producer: Pritesh Varia
A bold and vibrant song to the intricate fabric of modern day India, a kaleidoscope of voices, colors and traditions.
Bhiwani Junction
Shorts Program 1
Los Angeles Premiere
USA/2013/18min
Director: Abhi Singh
Producer: Abhi Singh
A poignant documentary portrait of Himanshu, a 12-year old boxer, whose formidable commitment to the sport makes his lofty dreams to become an Olympic champion appear well within reach.
Black Rock (Kaatal)
Shorts Program 1
U.S. Premiere
India/2012/22min
Director: Vikrant Pawar
Producer: Film and Television Institute of India
Two young lovers spend one last afternoon together. A beautiful meditation on the ephemeral nature of young love that has won three of India’s National Film Awards.
The Fly (Makhi)
Shorts Program 2
World Premiere
India/2013/31min
Director: Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni
Producer: Film and Television Institute of India
Employed as a Fly Killer in an upscale restaurant, Pipal must ensure a fly-free environment by smacking dead the flies that buzz over the patrons’ heads. When a nearby drainage is closed and the source of the fly infestation eradicated, Pipal must find a way to produce enough live flies to save his job, in this delightfully absurdist commentary on urban India’s emerging work culture.
Beloved (Humsafar)
Shorts Program 2
U.S. Premiere
India/2012/6min
Directors/Writers: Swapnil Awate, Laura Erbacher
Producer: Dsk Supinfocom
A sweeping single shot takes us on the breathtaking animated journey of two lovers and their eternal pursuit of harmony.
Jaya
Shorts Program 2
USA/2013/19min
Director: Puja Maewal
Producer: Puja Maewal
Young Jaya is able to survive the gruesome gang life in the unforgiving streets of Mumbai by posing as a boy. When she meets a wealthy businessman who looks like he could be the father who abandoned her, she sets out to reclaim her identity, in this engrossing drama that was shortlisted for a Student Academy Award®.
Kush
Shorts Program 1
India/2013/25min
Director: Shubhashish Bhutiani
Producer: Shubhashish Bhutiani
A bus full of schoolchildren boisterously makes its way back from a field trip when the news of Indira Gandhi’s assassination by her Sikh bodyguards breaks. As violence quickly erupts across the country, Kush, the only Sikh student in the class, must find a way to escape the unquenchable fury of retribution, in this gripping drama that was shortlisted for an Academy Award®.
Little Gypsy (Kachho Gadulo)
Shorts Program 1
Los Angeles Premiere
India/2012/6min
Directors: Saptesh Chaubal, Pranay Patwardhan, Shivangi Ranawat
Producer: D.S.K. Supinfocom
Inspired by the folk traditions of various parts of India, this stunning animated film sweeps us into a mythical journey that celebrates the power of play and imagination.
Love.Love.Love.
Shorts Program 2
Los Angeles Premiere
Russian Federation/2013/12min
Director: Sandhya Daisy Sundaram
Producers: Tanya Petrik, Guillaume Protsenko
An intimate ode to the wondrous force of love, as it takes new shapes and forms through the endless Russian winters. Love. Love.Love. won the Short Film Special Jury Award for Non-Fiction at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.
Outpost
Shorts Program 1
U.S. Premiere
India-usa/2013/17min
Director: Shiva Shankar Bajpai
Producer: Aditi Anand
In the barren desert of the India-Pakistan border, two lone army guards on the opposite sides of the line yearn for booze, mosquito repellent and some human contact, in this humorous glimpse into the absurdity of rigid immaterial divides.
Presence
Shorts Program 2
U.S. Premiere
India/2012/17min
Directors: Ekta Mittal, Yashaswini Raghunandan
Producers: Ekta Mittal, Yashaswini Raghunandan
Long days and nights spent within the bellies of the rising structural beasts that rapidly transform the city of Bangalore bring on visions of ghosts that speak of the construction workers’ memories, longings and fears, in this haunting meditation on the migrant experience.
Skin Deep
Screens with Writers
U.S. Premiere
India/2013/20min
Director: Hardik Mehta
Producers: Devang Bhavsar, Niraj Kothari
Sanjay and Sushma plan to elope to escape a looming arranged marriage. They are in love and their future together shines bright and perfect and filled with possibility--that is, as long as an extra piece of skin that complicates their sex life gets fixed in what should be a routine medical procedure. But Mumbai’s electricity gods have other plans in store for them.
Small Yellow Field (Tau Seru)
Shorts Program 1
Los Angeles Premiere
Australia-India/2013/8min
Director: Rodd Rathjen
Producer: Rodd Rathjen
In the remote vastness of the Himalayas, a young nomad's curiosity lies beyond the horizon. This stunningly photographed film made its world premiere at Cannes Critics’ Week.
The Puppet (Tamaash)
Screens with Shepherds Of Paradise
Los Angeles Premiere
India/2013/32min
Directors: Devanshu Singh, Satyanshu Singh
Producers: Datta Dave, Chaitanya Hegde, Omar Nissar Paul, Devanshu Singh, Satyanshu Singh
A mysterious puppet offers young Anzar the chance to escape his father’s relentless punishments over his poor school grades by granting him the power to inflict misfortune on his nemesis, his brilliant classmate, Sadat. However, his newfound peace is short-lived as Sadat falls severely ill and Anzar comes to realize that the puppet’s powers are spiraling out of his control...
- 4/8/2014
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Sydney's Buzz
Based on a concept known to half the world, and being unleashed on the big screen for the first time, the new supernatural adventure Jinn releases in theaters nationwide today. Starring Serinda Swan, Ray Park, Faran Tahir, Dominic Rains, and William Atherton, Jinn tells the story of Shawn (Dominic Rains), an automotive designer, who enjoys an idyllic life with his new wife Jasmine (Serinda Swan) until it is interrupted by a cryptic message. The message warns of imminent danger and a curse that has afflicted his family for generations. Having lost his parents as a child, Shawn doesn’t believe this unsettling revelation of his past….until strange things start to happen.
Unable to explain the threats and fearing for his life, Shawn turns to Gabriel (Ray Park) and Father Westhoff (William Atherton), a mysterious duo claiming to have answers. With their help, and the aid of Ali (Faran Tahir), a shackled mental patient,...
Unable to explain the threats and fearing for his life, Shawn turns to Gabriel (Ray Park) and Father Westhoff (William Atherton), a mysterious duo claiming to have answers. With their help, and the aid of Ali (Faran Tahir), a shackled mental patient,...
- 4/5/2014
- by Stacey Yount
- Bollyspice
From April 8th to the 11th, Indian films will once again be showcased in the Us at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (Iffla). In its 12th year, Iffla boasts an incredible lineup of fabulous films that reflects the rich diversity of Indian cinema. Iffla’s Artistic Director Jasmine Jaisinghani says, “I’m thrilled and proud that Iffla’s line-up this year includes an especially diverse range of cinematic experiences, covering many regions of India and the diaspora.”
Iffla 2014 presents 33 films that include feature films, documentaries and shorts. The festival will have three world premieres, six North American premieres, six U.S. premieres, and 16 Los Angeles premieres. The films feature 10 different languages, from Hindi to Marathi, to Russian to Bengali. Additionally, Iffla supports American, Australian, British, Canadian, and European diaspora filmmakers from nine different countries telling their stories.
Bollywood will be well represented with three outstanding films all showing during the festival’s run.
Iffla 2014 presents 33 films that include feature films, documentaries and shorts. The festival will have three world premieres, six North American premieres, six U.S. premieres, and 16 Los Angeles premieres. The films feature 10 different languages, from Hindi to Marathi, to Russian to Bengali. Additionally, Iffla supports American, Australian, British, Canadian, and European diaspora filmmakers from nine different countries telling their stories.
Bollywood will be well represented with three outstanding films all showing during the festival’s run.
- 3/21/2014
- by Stacey Yount
- Bollyspice
2013 has been somewhat of a good year for Bollywood. There were the hits, the flops, the critically acclaimed and the critically panned releases that touched the hearts of millions of film fanatics. To celebrate the best which Bollywood has offered in 2013, BollySpice presents to you our official countdown list. We have made it all the more interesting by dividing the Best Films category by genre. This is largely because of the fact that we feel that films which belong to different genres cannot be included in one single list. For example, a comedy cannot be compared with a drama due to their content being significantly different. We hope you agree with our choices for 2013 and also hope that it will tempt you to watch some of these amazing releases if you have yet to see them!
Best Films: Drama
3. Raanjhanaa – Director: Anand L. Rai. Producer: Krishika Lulla
Raanjhanaa marked the...
Best Films: Drama
3. Raanjhanaa – Director: Anand L. Rai. Producer: Krishika Lulla
Raanjhanaa marked the...
- 1/13/2014
- by Bodrul Chaudhury
- Bollyspice
Punjabi period drama debuted at Toronto.
The Match Factory has sold Anup Singh’s Qissa, which recently received its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, (Tiff) to Canada’s Studio Film Group (Sfg).
Set amongst displaced Sikh families in the aftermath of India’s Partition in 1947, the Punjabi-language film won the Netpac Award for Best Asian film at Tiff for its “thoughtful and challenging depiction of displacement and identity issues”.
The cast is headed by Irrfan Khan, Tisca Chopra, Tillotama Shome and Rasika Dugal.
The film was produced by Germany’s Heimatfilm and India’s National Film Development Corporation (Nfdc) with the Netherlands’ Augustus Film and France’s Cine-Sud Promotion (France) as co-producers.
“Writer/director Anup Singh has pushed stylistic and artistic boundaries,” said Sfg managing director Nadia Sandhu. “I grew up around Punjabi film sets and I hope Qissa will inspire and encourage other Punjabi filmmakers to challenge storytelling conventions.”...
The Match Factory has sold Anup Singh’s Qissa, which recently received its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, (Tiff) to Canada’s Studio Film Group (Sfg).
Set amongst displaced Sikh families in the aftermath of India’s Partition in 1947, the Punjabi-language film won the Netpac Award for Best Asian film at Tiff for its “thoughtful and challenging depiction of displacement and identity issues”.
The cast is headed by Irrfan Khan, Tisca Chopra, Tillotama Shome and Rasika Dugal.
The film was produced by Germany’s Heimatfilm and India’s National Film Development Corporation (Nfdc) with the Netherlands’ Augustus Film and France’s Cine-Sud Promotion (France) as co-producers.
“Writer/director Anup Singh has pushed stylistic and artistic boundaries,” said Sfg managing director Nadia Sandhu. “I grew up around Punjabi film sets and I hope Qissa will inspire and encourage other Punjabi filmmakers to challenge storytelling conventions.”...
- 9/19/2013
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Magnolia Pictures has acquired North American rights from TrustNordisk to Lukas Moodysson’s We Are The Best!.
We Are The Best! premiered at Venice last month and centres on three young outsiders in 1980s Stockholm who form a punk band. Magnolia plans a 2014 release. The film will open in Sweden on October 11.
Lars Jönsson produced for Memfis Film. We Are The Best! is co-produced by Film I Väst, Svt and Zentropa in co-operation with Danish Broadcasting Corporation and with support from the Swedish Film Institute, The Danish Film Institute and Nordisk Film and TV Fond.
Magnolia director of acquisitions Peter Van Steemburg negotiated the deal with TrustNordisk head of sales Susan Wendt.
Studio Film Group has secured all Canadian rights to the Punjabi-language Qissa, winner of the 2013 Netpac Award winner for Best Asian film in Toronto. nQissa takes place in post-Partition India as a Sikh attempts to forge a new life for his family. Anup Singh directs...
We Are The Best! premiered at Venice last month and centres on three young outsiders in 1980s Stockholm who form a punk band. Magnolia plans a 2014 release. The film will open in Sweden on October 11.
Lars Jönsson produced for Memfis Film. We Are The Best! is co-produced by Film I Väst, Svt and Zentropa in co-operation with Danish Broadcasting Corporation and with support from the Swedish Film Institute, The Danish Film Institute and Nordisk Film and TV Fond.
Magnolia director of acquisitions Peter Van Steemburg negotiated the deal with TrustNordisk head of sales Susan Wendt.
Studio Film Group has secured all Canadian rights to the Punjabi-language Qissa, winner of the 2013 Netpac Award winner for Best Asian film in Toronto. nQissa takes place in post-Partition India as a Sikh attempts to forge a new life for his family. Anup Singh directs...
- 9/18/2013
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Over the past few weeks, the Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) began unveiling the films that will feature as part of this year’s festival line-up. Although this year features fewer films from India and the Indian diaspora (not surprising since last year’s focus on Mumbai in the City to City programme gave viewers an incredibly rich line-up of films), there are, still, some wonderful viewing opportunities in store for South Asian film fans at Tiff 2013.
Two Indian films will receive Gala Premieres this year. The festival will present the North American Premiere of The Lunchbox, written and directed by Ritesh Batra. The film, which was well received at this year’s Cannes film festival, traces the unexpected friendship that develops between two strangers, middle-class housewife Ila and lonely office worker Saajan, after a mix up in the delivery of a lunchbox intended for Ila’s husband. The film stars Irrfan Khan,...
Two Indian films will receive Gala Premieres this year. The festival will present the North American Premiere of The Lunchbox, written and directed by Ritesh Batra. The film, which was well received at this year’s Cannes film festival, traces the unexpected friendship that develops between two strangers, middle-class housewife Ila and lonely office worker Saajan, after a mix up in the delivery of a lunchbox intended for Ila’s husband. The film stars Irrfan Khan,...
- 8/18/2013
- by Katherine Matthews
- Bollyspice
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