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Ontario Creates’ International Financing Forum (Iff) will feature 40 projects from Canadian and international teams bringing new work from Malcolm McDowell, Clement Virgo, and Rafael Kapelinski, director of 2017 Berlin Crystal Bear winner Butterfly Kisses.

The forum, now in its 19th year, runs September 8-9 in Toronto in association with Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). It brings together jury-selected producers looking to find co-producers and secure financing for upcoming projects.

Canadian projects include The Benefactor starring McDowell from A Clockwork Orange and Mozart In The Jungle in the story of a widower who believes his house is haunted.

Ontario’s Byron A. Martin of Byron A.

It is hard to say anything about this well-executed political thriller without giving away the plot. Seldom has a thriller from this side of the world kept its promise of preserving its thrills right to the end , and that too without tripping over in anxiety.

No frills, and plenty of thrills, Ulajh has plenty going for itself, in addition to giving its leading lady Janhvi Kapoor an opportunity to explore the darker side of her personality.

Considering that the film’s director Sudhanshu Saria is as much of a political novice as his protagonist Suhana Bhatia, it is a miracle that Saria has crafted such a canny controlled and well-paced political thriller.

The elegance in the narration and the perpetual twists in the plot will take you by surprise. Who would believe that Sudhanshu Saria’s earlier film Loev didn’t even know how to spell correctly(ha ha). Saria has certainly evolved and,...

Lotus Visual Productions, the banner behind festival circuit film hits, SXSW awardee “Ek Jagah Apni” and Frameline winner “Sheer Qorma,” is pivoting to the mainstream space with “Once Upon a Crime in Borivali.”

The Mumbai-set thriller blending dark comedy with suspense elements follows two young men whose quest for excitement lands them in hot water.

Bombay Berlin Film Productions, known for “Loev”(featured at Tallinn Black Nights, SXSW, BFI Flare and Frameline) boards as creative producer.

Directing the project is Arunansh Bhatt, whose debut “Chamachh” played the festival circuit and racked up over a million views online. Bhatt previously worked on Netflix’s “Sacred Games” and “Ak vs. Ak.”

Laamba, seen in “Prague” and “Singh is Bliing,” is attached to star. His latest, “Avani,” is being prepped for festivals and distribution.

The script is by Bhatt and Chiranjeevi Bajpai.

Neeraj Churi, an Indo-British producer and the founder of Lotus Visual Productions,...

Exclusive: Bombay Berlin Film Productions (Bbfp) has revealed that August Diehl has been cast to play the role of German Olympic athlete Otto Peltzer in upcoming biopic The Distant Near.

Polish-uk filmmaker Rafael Kapelinski is set to direct the project, which has been selected for the Co-production Market of India’s Film Bazaar, currently taking place in Goa (November 20-24). The screenplay is written by UK writer James Pout with support from the Nipkow program of Medienboard.

Peltzer had an extraordinary life – an Olympic middle distance runner and former world record holder, he was persecuted by the Nazis for being gay and spent time in Mauthausen concentration camp. On his release, he moved to India to avoid further persecution, later becoming a coach for the Indian athletics team and inspiring them to victory over a visiting German team.

Diehl’s credits include Phillip Noyce’s Salt, alongside Angelina Jolie, Terrence...

Finally, a central minister has woken up to the vulgar and abusive content on the various Ott platforms. All in the name of freedom of expression – much more than what the century-old Indian film industry gets to enjoy.

It is rather strange that not only the country’s ruling elite, but even the courts think that the Ott platforms were entitled to freedom, while the feature films were not! After reports and comments on the overdose of vulgar content in the news and social media, Information & Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur has warned the Ott platforms that obscenity and abusive language cannot be tolerated.

But then, ministers are known to make grand statements, but the implementation of the warnings/laws remains ineffective.

Why make a statement and why not take concrete steps to settle the issue once and for all? After all, this trend of dishing out vulgar, violent, gory depictions...

Radhika Madan, star of 2018 Toronto winner “The Man Who Feels No Pain,” will play the lead in acclaimed Indian filmmaker Sudhanshu Saria’s “Sanaa.”

The film, a social drama, follows a headstrong and ambitious girl who is raging against an internal battle that is rooted in unhealed trauma.

Saria is writing, directing and producing via his Four Line Entertainment outfit.

Saria said: “I’ve always believed in making films that are ambitious in quality and rich in story and messaging. I’ve nurtured this dream for seven years and I couldn’t be more excited that Radhika Madan agreed to bring my titular character to life. The film is a powerful conversation starter and I hope it resonates with audiences worldwide. I hope the film makes it harder for people to judge women.”

Madan added” “As an actor, I’m always looking to play impactful characters that make a difference.

To keep connected and support the South Asian community, 3rd i’s eighteenth annual San Francisco International South Asian Film Festival: Bollywood and Beyond (Sfisaff) will be offered for Free this year as a completely virtual experience, Oct 23-25, 2020. Festival attendees can access scheduled screenings and filmmaker discussions from the safety of their homes, after registering online. The three-day Festival will screen a select program of narrative features and shorts by independent filmmakers from South Asia and its Diaspora, including stories from India, South Africa, and the Pakistani and Sikh communities in the USA.

This year’s festival presents an homage to one of the greats of Indian cinema, Irrfan Khan, who was lost too soon in a battle with cancer in early 2020. Khan made a phenomenal crossover from Bollywood films to International acclaim, starring in some of the most memorable films of the last few decades including “The Lunchbox...

Sudhanshu Saria created waves when he premiered his new film at the prestigious Busan International Film Festival last year. Now, the film will be available for public viewing on a streaming platform from September 15.

Titled "Knock Knock Knock", the psychological thriller written and directed by Saria features Shantilal Mukherjee and Phuden Sherpa in the cast. The story revolves around an elderly Bengali man who designs crosswords and a Nepalese boy who decides to interrupt his day to befriend him.

Saria is known for his same-sex love story of 2015, "Loev", which did the rounds of several international film festivals.

"The love and adulation the film has received has surpassed my greatest expectations. I'm glad to live in these times when distribution avenues and platforms exist to allow filmmakers to tell whatever story they want, regardless of language, subject matter or duration," said the director while discussing "Knock Knock Knock", which will drop on Mubi.

Katharina Suckale and Arfi Lamba’s Bombay Berlin Film Production has lined up a number of upcoming productions for both the big and small screen as it moves more mainstream with the likes of O’Neil Sharma’s comedy road movie “The Big B.”

It’s a change of pace for the company, whose arthouse hits in recent years have included “Loev,” “The Road to Mandalay” and, more recently, “Trijya – Radius,” which premiered last year at the Shanghai Film Festival.

Suckale and Lamba are currently meeting potential co-producers from the U.K. for “The Big B” during this week’s Cannes virtual market.

In the vein of “Hangover,” “The Big B” follows three British-Indian lads who travel in a van from London to Berlin and on the way get stuck in Münster, grapple with a clash of cultures, sex, drugs and an unexpected revelation.

Bombay Berlin is also supporting Mumbai-based sales company HD Moviez,...

Is in Berlin talking to potential partners.

Indo-German production outfit Bombay Berlin Film Productions (Bbfp) has optioned rights to graphic novel A Gardener In The Wasteland: Jotiba Phule’s Fight For Liberty, which it is setting up as an international film or high-end TV series.

The company is in Berlin talking to potential partners about the project, a hard-hitting and witty critique of India’s caste system, written by Srividya Natarajan and illustrated by Aparajita Ninan.

Published by Navayana Publications, it tells the story of real-life couple Jotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule, who fought against caste prejudice in British Raj-era...

Please welcome new contributor Seán McGovern to Tfe

Lgbt titles on Netflix are tricky – how to see cute boys, feel all fuzzy and yet be artistic? Enter last year's critically acclaimed Loev, which breezed its way onto Netflix everywhere last week. Loev, Sudhanshu Saria's dreamy and offbeat romance from India was both a critical and audience favorite of the festival circuit in 2016.

Western viewers may take for granted the quality and significance of some Lgbt film out there, but having gay central characters in Indian cinema is still greatly taboo and faces serious challenges by the cencors – upbeat Bollywood films such as Kapoor & Sons take on an extra sense of daring when viewed by different sets of eyes (and yep, still make boffo box office).

Navigating romance was only part of it for Saria who I spoke with earlier today...

We’ve seen the talented Shiv Pandit make a solid impact in Bejoy Nambiar’s Shaitaan. Now the young actor returns in director Sudhanshu Saria’s Loev in a bold avatar as a closeted gay Nri yuppie, discovering acknowledging and celebrating his sexual orientation in the company of a young out-of-the-closet gay young man, played by the veryRead More

The post “I felt no qualms about playing a gay character” – Shiv Pandit appeared first on Bollywood Hungama.

Loev, Sudhanshu Saria's debut feature film about two men who move between friends and lovers in India, has been making the festival rounds for the past 18 months, including winning Audience Awards at Frameline and TLVFest. In my review from 2015, I noted that the film is a "sensitive yet open portrait of love and sexuality". The film is now available to watch worldwide on Netflix, and for the occasion, a new poster has been issued. The poster was designed by Indian based design house Pigeon & Co. with oversight from Jahan Singh Bakshi and features the work of artist Rohan Pore. It's a gorgeous work of art, an artistic rendering of a shot from the film that perfectly captures the love and intimacy between...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Exclusive: Netflix has picked up worldwide rights to Sudhanshu Saria's debut feature Loev, a gay love story set against the backdrop of an road trip in India. The film, which premiered at SXSW last year before screening at Talinn Black Nights, Jeonju, Frameline and Inside Out, is set to receive a worldwide release on the service on May 1. Loev tells the story of two friends with a complicated past: Wall Street dealmaker Jai, played by Shiv Pandit, and Mumbai-based music…...

Exclusive: Debut slate includes I Am Here from Loev [pictured] director Sudhanshu Saria.

India and UK-based boutique studio Cinestaan Film Company (Cfc) has unveiled its debut slate of productions, including new projects from rising Indian film-makers Gitanjali Rao, Akshat Verma and Atul Manjrekar.

The company, which aims to produce India-related films for both Indian and international audiences, has also acquired adaptation rights to Vaseem Khan’s best-selling novel The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra.

Rao is directing animated feature Bombay Rose for the start-up studio. A co-production with France’s Les Film d’ici, the film marks Rao’s feature debut following her 2006 short Printed Rainbow, which won three awards at Cannes. The film is scheduled for delivery in early 2018.

Verma, who wrote hit youth-themed comedy Delhi Belly, is currently shooting his directorial debut Kalaakaandi for Cinestaan. Also scripted by Verma, the dark ensemble comedy stars Saif Ali Khan, Deepak Dobriyal, Vijay Raaz and Sobhita...

UK dystopian drama starring Jonathan Pryce and Agyness Deyn will have its international premiere at the festival.

Estonia’s Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (Nov 11-2) has revealed the line-up for this year’s First Features Competition, which is returning after a successful debut in 2015.

Comprised of 14 world and international premieres, the programme includes the international premiere of Alex Helfrecht and Jorg Tittel’s The White King, which world premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in June.

The dystopian drama stars Jonathan Pryce, Greta Scacchi and Agyness Deyn in the story of a precocious 12-year-old coming to grips with his father’s abduction and internment at the hands of the totalitarian state he calls home. The film shot entirely on location in Hungary.

World premieres in the selection include Hadi Ghandour’s Lebanon-France co-pro The Traveller (Le Voyageur), Kira Kovalenka’s Russian drama Sofichka, and Iranian director Navid Danesh’s debut feature Duet.

Festival director...

The Jio Mami Mumbai Film Festival with Star is less than a month away from offering the city a movie extravaganza unlike any other. In its 18th edition, the festival announced its stellar line-up for the year at its annual press conference held on Thursday, 29th September in Mumbai. The festival is set to kick off on 20th October. The press conference began with the announcement of the festival’s new brand identity.

Jio Mami with Star, Festival Co-Chairperson, Kiran Rao said, “It’s been a very exciting year for the Academy. Firstly, we are now a year around presence. We launched the Mami Film Club in May with a conversation between Sir Ian McKellen and Aamir. We’ve followed that up with India premieres of films such as Brahman Naman and India in a Day. The Academy is committed to bringing you great film content and conversations not just...

Miguel Gomes [pictured] and Reha Erdem to head international competition and India Gold juries, respectively; fest also unveils line-up and Jia Zhangke award.

Portuguese filmmaker Miguel Gomes (Arabian Nights) is heading the jury for the international competition at this year’s Mumbai Film Festival, while Turkish director Reha Erdem will preside over the jury for the India Gold section.

Gomes will be joined by filmmakers Tala Hadid and Anurag Kashyap, producer Christine Vachon and Hot Docs president Chris McDonald. Titles selected for the International Competition for first-time filmmakers include Israeli filmmaker Elite Zexer’s Sand Storm and Diamond Island, from French-Cambodian filmmaker Davy Chou (see full line-up below).

Erdem recently won the Special Orizzonti Jury Prize at Venice for Big Big World. He will be joined on the India Gold jury by composer Mychael Danna (Life Of Pi), Hong Kong director Yonfan (Peony Pavilion), Polish director Tomasz Wasilewski (United States Of Love) and critic Stephanie Zacharek.

The festival...

Exclusive: Ice Poison director Midi Z directs the drama, which is in post-production.

Bombay Berlin Film Production (Bbfp) has boarded Midi Z’s The Road To Mandalay as an official German co-producer.

The film, which was selected for Cannes co-production platform L’Atelier in 2015, is also produced by Taiwan’s Flash Forward Entertainment and Seashore Image Productions, France’s House On Fire Films and Myanmar’s Montage Film.

Berlin film festival’s World Cinema Fund and Cnc’s Cinemas du Monde are both supporting the film.

The film, in post-production, follows two illegal immigrants who meet at the Thai border and then struggle to establish their new lives in Bangkok.

“Midi Z has a unique sensibility and a very humane approach,” said Bbfp’s Katharina Suckale. “We find this project is very relevant to the issue of migration that the world is facing now.”

Midi Z, a Myanmar-born, Taiwan-based filmmaker, has credits...

Sudhanshu Saria wrote and directed the film Loev, which stars Bollywood leading man Shiv Pandit as a gay Wall Street banker, who ends up falling for an old pal and consequently becomes embroiled in a love triangle. Sudhanshu Saria & Shiv Pandit On ‘Loev’ Saria started writing the script for Loev as a way of […]

The post Director Sudhanshu Saria And Shiv Pandit On ‘Loev,’ Gay Life In India [Exclusive Video] appeared first on uInterview.

Exclusive: France’s Wide has secured a raft of deals on Indian gay love story Loev.

Writer-director Sudhanshu Saria’s feature debut has been sold to Italy (The Open Reel) and Poland (Film Village) on top of previously announced sales to Germany (Pro Fun Media), Taiwan (Swallow Wings) and Estonia (Menufilmid).

The film made its world premiere in the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival’s inaugural Tridens First Features Competition, is screening at the SXSW fest and set for its UK premiere at the BFI Flare London Lgbt Film Festival next week.

“More than being an Indian art house film or an Lgbt film, this is a romance that works beyond those two niches and Wide’s careful sales strategy reflects that,” said Saria.

“They want to identify buyers that love the film and finding love always takes a little bit more time.”

“Given the political situation in India around Lgbt rights, people are naturally...

Same-sex activity is illegal in India, punishable by imprisonment. The release there of Deepa Mehta's film Fire, about a love affair between two women, incited violent protests in 1998. So the fact that Sudhanshu Saria's debut feature Loev was made at all is something of a miracle. (Indeed, the entire cast and crew worked in complete secrecy.) Still, the film must be judged on its own merits; luckily, Loev is a strong debut, a film more influenced by American and European cinema, but nonetheless part of its originating culture, an open and intimate examination of love and sexuality that is dangerous not only politically, but personally.Jai (Shiv Pandit), currently working in New York, has come home to Mumbai for a few days on business, but plans...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

The 19th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival reeled out its inaugural black carpet on Friday (Nov 13) for its opening night, which included a screening of silent comedy My Grandmother (1929).

Banned in its time for denunciating bureaucracy, the satirical film was directed by Georgian actor, director and cartoonist Kote Miqaberidze.

The Georgian Philharmonic Orchestra enhanced the evening with a live accompaniment led by conductor Nikoloz Rachveli who is both the principal conductor of the Georgia National Symphony Orchestra and head of the Georgia National Music Center.

Rachveli also led the orchestra to an original piece played over excerpts of notable Georgian films (to be showcased in a retrospective at the festival), winning a standing ovation from the audience at the Nordea Concert Hall.

Mikheil Giorgadze, Georgian Minister of Culture and Monument Protectorate of Georgia, was in attendance and said: “Today, at this great platform, you will witness filmmakers works that have been prohibited and censored by the Soviet...