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Rajnesh Domalpalli’s debut feature and thesis for Columbia University’s graduate film program was made on a shoestring budget using a cast of non-professional first-timers for two and a half months, but was a crowning success nevertheless, screening and winning awards from festivals all around the world, including a Best Debut one from Berlin.

Vaneja is screening at Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles

Vanaja, a 15-year-old girl whose mother has died and her father is a poor, alcoholic fisherman, sees her whole life changing when a soothsayer predicts that she will become a great dancer one day. Rama Devi, an elderly dancing legend and local landlady, takes her in as a servant, but also in order to teach her the secrets of Kuchipudi dance, with the girl and her father also hoping that her wage will alleviate his debts and allow him to buy a new boat. Vanaja...

Exclusive: India’s National Film Development Corporation (Nfdc) and France’s Catherine Dussart Productions have boarded Rajnesh Domalpalli’s rural fable Avani as co-producers.

Michael Henrichs of Die Gesellschaft Dgs is the lead producer on the Telugu-language project, which has also secured $37,000 (€30,000) from the EU’s Creative Europe Media Development Fund.

Set at a time when the monsoons have failed two years in a row, Avani tells the story of an eight-year-old girl who learns new respect for life on Earth while bringing her family together.

“Avani will build on the tone that the director developed in his first film, Vanaja. We expect to close the financing over the next nine months and begin shooting in mid-December 2015,” said Henrichs.

Dussart and Nfdc recently co-produced Gurvinder Singh’s The Fourth Direction, which is in production, with Kartikeya Narayan Singh’s The Film Café and Sunil Doshi’s Handmade Films. Dussart’s credits also include Rithy Panh’s The...

Mumbai Mantra, the media and entertainment division of the Mahindra Group, is  collaborating with Sundance Institute for the inaugural Mumbai Mantra Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab 2012. Eight feature film projects have been selected through a rigorous evaluation process of submissions from Indian screenwriters from around the world . These Screenwriting Fellows will have the opportunity to work intensely on their feature film scripts with the support of Creative Advisors (established Screenwriters and Directors) in an environment that encourages innovation and creative risk-taking. Through one-on-one story sessions with the Creative Advisors, the Screenwriting Fellows will engage in an artistically demanding process that offers indispensable lessons in craft, a fresh perspective on their work and a platform to fully realize their material.This year.s Screenwriting Fellows who will go through an immersive five day workshop (March 11-16) at a Club Mahindra Resort are: .    Charudutt Acharya (Sonali Cable Centre).    Shonali Bose & Nilesh Maniyar (Margarita,...

Mumbai Mantra | Sundance Institute Screenwriters’ Lab 2012 announced eight feature-film projects for its inaugural edition. Anusha Rizvi and Mahmood Farooqui’s Opium and Shonali Bose and Nilesh Maniyar’s Margarita, With a Straw are two of them.

The selected 8 Screenwriting Fellows will get an opportunity to develop their works under the guidance of Creative Advisors at a workshop for 5 days from March 11-16, at Club Mahindra Resort in Lonavala.

The selected 8 projects are:

• Charudutt Acharya (Sonali Cable Centre)

• Shonali Bose & Nilesh Maniyar (Margarita, With a Straw)

• Vikas Chandra (Toothache)

• Rajnesh Domalpalli (Avani)

• Prashant Nair (Umrica)

• Anusha Rizvi & Mahmood Farooqui (Opium)

• Ajitpal Singh (Manjhi)

• Kartik Singh (Public School).

The group of Creative Advisors include Guillermo Arriaga (Amores Perros, 21 Grams), Marcos Bernstein (Central Station, Foreign Land), Michael Goldenberg (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Contact),Asif Kapadia (The Warrior, Senna), Shekhar Kapur (Bandit Queen, Elizabeth), Kasi Lemmons (Talk to Me, Eve’s Bayou), Anjum Rajabali (Rajneeti,...

A bouquet of films from India, from different genres and regions, is being showcased at the 64th Locarno International Film Festival here in an effort to dispel the notion that the Indian film industry, one of the largest in the world, means just Bollywood song and dance. .The aim was to familiarise the Locarno audience and give them an overview of the development of Indian cinema. Now that.s very difficult when you think of what a vast country we are and to do it in about 13-15 films,. said Uma Da Cuna, programmer for the Indian films at the Open Doors section at the ongoing fest. .So I started with silent cinema .Prapancha Pash. (1929) by Franz Osten and from there we went progressively to Guru Dutt and Raj Kapoor. It can.t be a very comprehensive programme, but just enough to show over the decade what we were doing,...

A still from Aag

India has much to look forward to, at the 64th edition of the Locarno International Film Festival that begins on Wednesday, July 3, 2011. The festival has lined up quite an eclectic and exciting mix of Indian films; from the masters Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak to the contemporary Umesh Kulkarni and Vikramaditya Motwane.

Locarno Open Doors, an initiative that focuses on a region where independent cinema is in developmental stage every year has its eyes set firmly on India in the 2012 edition.

A still from Udaan

Open Doors screening will present thirteen “Indian classics” which include Raj Kapoor’s Aag, Jahnu Barua’s Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai (The Yellow Birds), Girish Kasaravalli’s Kanasembo Kudureyaneri (Riding the Stallion of a Dream), Shyam Benegal’s Manthan, Ritwik Ghatak’s Meghe Dhaka Tara, Aparna Sen’s Mr. and Mrs. Iyer, Chetan Anand’s Neecha Nagar, Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Nizalkkuthu...

Mr. and Mrs. Iyer

The Open Doors screening at Locarno International Film Festival 2011 will present thirteen “Indian classics” and a retrospective of Satyajit Ray, through the restored copies of his work.

Locarno Open Doors, an initiative that focuses on a different region every year—is focused on India. These screenings are open to the public.

Open Doors seeks to highlight films and filmmakers from countries in the South and East where independent cinema is still developing.

Indian classics

Aag by Raj Kapoor – India – 1948 – 138 min

Halodia Choraye Baodhan (The Yellow Birds) by Khai Jahnu Barua – India – 1987 – 120 min

Kanasembo Kudureyaneri (Riding the Stallion of a Dream) by Girish Kasaravalli – India – 2010 – 110 min

Manthan (The Churning) by Shyam Benegal – India – 1976 – 134 min

Meghe Dhaka Tara (The Cloud-Clapped Star) by Ritwik Ghatak – India – 1960 – 126 min

Mr. And Mrs. Iyer by Aparna Sen – India – 2002 – 123 min

Neecha Nagar (Lowly City) by Chetan Anand – India – 1946 – 122 min

Nizhalkkuthu (Shadow Kill) by...

NEW DELHI -- The fifth Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles concluded Monday night at ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood with the U.S. premiere of Rajnesh Domalpalli's South Indian film Vanaja.

The screening was followed by the awards ceremony during which director Pan Nalin's epic love story Valley of Flowers won the grand jury prize for best feature while the audience choice award went to John Jeffcoat's romantic comedy Outsourced.

Revolving around a young girl who battles odds to become a classical dancer, Vanaja, which received a special mention for debut feature, received the Berlin International Film Festival's best debut feature award in February.

"Q2P" directed by Paromita Vohra won the grand jury prize for best documentary, and best short went to Tea Break by Srinivas Sunderrajan. The animated short Printed Rainbow by Gitanjali Rao received a special mention.

Audience award winners were the documentary Divided We Fall by Sharat Raju and the short Monsoon by Shyam Balse.

"Over the past six days, we have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from filmmakers, audiences, sponsors and press," festival director Christina Marouda said.

NEW DELHI -- The fifth Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, set for April 17-22, will open with "Provoked", starring Naveen Andrews, Miranda Richardson and former Miss India-turned-actress Aishwarya Rai.

IFFLA will close with the South Indian film "Vanaja", directed by Rajnesh Domalpalli.

According to a statement Wednesday, IFFLA will also honor acclaimed Indian actress-photographer Deepti Naval, for which The Hollywood Reporter is the Media Sponsor.

"It is really exciting to celebrate our fifth anniversary with the L.A. premieres of such important films like 'Provoked' and 'Vanaja, ' " IFFLA director Christina Marouda said. "Last year we opened with Deepa Mehta's 'Water, ' and we can truly say that Indian cinema is growing in popularity and is here to stay. Our festival showcases the best of Indian cinema and launches the careers of new Indian filmmakers while celebrating the careers of those that have contributed to the success of Indian cinema."

IFFLA will be held at the ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood, and the six-day festival will feature cultural events including an opening-night DJ set by the Bombay Dub Orchestra.

NEW YORK -- The Hamptons International Film Festival, which runs Oct. 19-22, has unveiled its lineup of 53 features, a conversation with Robert Altman, career achievement awards for Ellen Burstyn and Ted Hope and festival panels with Christine Vachon and Darren Aronofsky. The fest opens with Philip Haas' Iraq war drama The Situation and closes with the Polish brothers' sci-fi drama The Astronaut. Between those films are six features in the Golden Starfish Feature competition and five in the Golden Starfish Documentary race. Narrative features vying for more than $190,000 in goods and in-kind services to be used toward the filmmakers' next feature are Brad Gann's coming-of-age drama Black Irish; Jens Lien's existential Norwegian feature, The Bothersome Man; Sven Taddicken's German romance, Emma's Bliss; Guy Moshe's slavery study, Holly; Dina Zvi-Riklis' intergenerational Israeli saga, Three Mothers; and Rajnesh Domalpalli's exploration of class divisions, Vanaja.

NEW YORK -- The Hamptons International Film Festival, which runs Oct. 19-22, has unveiled its lineup of 53 features, a conversation with Robert Altman, career achievement awards for Ellen Burstyn and Ted Hope and festival panels with Christine Vachon and Darren Aronofsky. The fest opens with Philip Haas' Iraq war drama The Situation and closes with the Polish brothers' sci-fi drama The Astronaut. Between those films are six features in the Golden Starfish Feature competition and five in the Golden Starfish Documentary race. Narrative features vying for more than $190,000 in goods and in-kind services to be used toward the filmmakers' next feature are Brad Gann's coming-of-age drama Black Irish; Jens Lien's existential Norwegian feature, The Bothersome Man; Sven Taddicken's German romance, Emma's Bliss; Guy Moshe's slavery study, Holly; Dina Zvi-Riklis' intergenerational Israeli saga, Three Mothers; and Rajnesh Domalpalli's exploration of class divisions, Vanaja.

NEW YORK -- With a recurring theme of women and children caught in war zones, the 14th annual Hamptons International Film Festival unveiled a lineup of 18 features in competition and its opening-night film: the world premiere of Philip Haas' Iraq war drama The Situation. Six narrative and six documentary features will compete for Golden Starfish Awards, and six other pictures are part of the Films of Conflict and Resolution competition. "Submissions went up 30% this year, which has made it more competitive for our films," artistic director Rajendra Roy said. Brad Gann's Black Irish, Jens Lien's The Bothersome Man, Sven Taddicken's Emma's Bliss, Guy Moshe's Holly, Dina Zvi-Riklis's Three Mothers and Rajnesh Domalpalli's Vanaja will compete for the narrative award, which includes more than $190,000 in goods and in-kind services.