News

The 24th edition of the biennial Europalia International Arts Festival in Europe will be dedicated to India to celebrate the centenary year of Indian cinema.

The festival will be held in several cities of Belgium and The Netherlands including Brussels, Antwerpen and Den Haag from October 4, 2013 – January 26, 2014.

Five of Kashyap’s films will be screened under the Anurag Kashyap Focus – Cinematek section: Ugly (2013), Black Friday (2004), Dev D (2009), Gulal (2009) and Gangs of Wasseypur I and II (2012). Besides, three films recommended by Kashyap will also be screened at the festival: Gurvinder Singh’s Anhey Ghorey Da Daan, Hansal Mehta’s Shahid and Satish Manwar’s Gabhricha Paus.

Pather Panchali, Aparajito, Apur Sansar and Jalsaghar will be presented as part of the Satyajit Ray Retrospective. Guru Dutt Retrospective will screen his films Baazi, Jaal, Baaz, Aar Paar, Mr. And Mrs. 55, Pyaasa, Sahib Biwi aur Ghulam and Kagaz Ke Phool.

Filmmakers Anurag Kashyap, Vikas Bahl...

London Indian Film Festival is a huge success with sold out shows, incredible films, amazing conversations after the screenings, and two outstanding masterclasses that have had audiences completely wowed! But they are not done yet, there are still four days to go and you still have a chance to see some fantastic films!

On Tuesday 23rd highlights include the prestigious Satyajit Ray Foundation’s Shorts Competition showcasing exciting new talent and the empowering film Josh which is Liff’s first ever selection from Pakistan and stars Urdu cinema superstars Aamina Sheikh and Mohib Mirza.

Wednesday 24th brings you a special Free screening of the moving, wryly funny and award winning docu-film Mapa, the enduring classic of Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Elippathayam (Rat Trap) and further screenings of Pune 52 and The Good Road.

And finally our crescendo, on Thursday 25th we are privileged to bring you the Cannes hit Bombay Talkies – this...

Legendary Indian film and documentary maker Adoor Gopalakrishnan attended an exclusive master-class at the British Film Institute (BFI) as part of this year’s London Indian Film Festival. Hosted by Derek Malcolm, the event reflected on the life and works of the great Malayalam director and screenwriter, who is a multiple National Award winner, a Dadasaheb Phalke awardee, as well as a recipient of the Padma Vibushan; India’s second highest civilian honour. Adoor is known for travelling to London on a rare basis, which made this event even more special for his fans and Indian film lovers alike.

Born in the South Indian city of Kerala in 1941, Adoor initially did not want to enter the Indian film industry and was working as a statistical investigator for the Government of India. He eventually embraced his passion for cinema and went onto study Screenplay Writing and Advanced Film Direction at the...

On the 19th of July 2013, Adoor Gopalakrishnan will be speaking about his work at the London Indian Film Festival. Gopalakrishnan is a pioneer in the world of South Asian film. His first film in 1972, Swayamvaram, had revolutionised Malayalam Cinema. It was through this film that the new wave cinema movement had begun in Kerala. Having won sixteen international awards, Gopalakrishnan has also been awarded the most prestigious award available in cinema by the Government of India, the Dadasaheb Phalke award in 2004.

Gopalakrishnan had given his first on stage performance at the young age of eight. He went on to study at the Gandhigram Rural Institute where he achieved a degree in Economics, Political Science and Public Administration. After working as a Government Officer, he decided to leave his job and study at the Pune Film Institute. He studied Film and Screenwriting. After that, he made history. He established the first...

Yesterday we gave you an overview about the exciting London Indian Film Festival that is running from July 18th to the 24th. Today we thought we would give you the full list of films and events that will be featured at the Beyond Bollywood film festival!

Films

B.A. Pass | Dir. Ajay Bahl | Hindi, Punjabi, with English subtitles

The Graduate meets film noir in this sizzling tale of seduction and betrayal where a young man is seduced by a gorgeous cougar who leaves him entranced, that is until she farms him out to entertain her lady friends with dangerous consequences. The film’s steamy trailer drew millions of hits on YouTube and the eroticism of the film has drawn the ire of India’s moral police.

Bombay Talkies | Dirs. Karan Johar, Zoya Akhtar, Dibakar Bannerjee, Anurag Kashyap | Hindi, Marathi with English subtitles | Closing Film.

Mumbai’s spectacular homage to 100 years of...

Amit Kumar’s Monsoon Shootout will be the opening night film of the 4th edition of the London Indian Film Festival (July 18-25).

Closing the festival will be Bombay Talkies directed by Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee, Karan Johar and Zoya Akhtar. Both these films premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this year.

The centrepiece ‘In conversation’ on Saturday 20th July at the BFI Southbank, will be with Actor Irrfan Khan talking to award winning director of Senna, Asif Kapadia. Read Irrfan Khan to conduct Masterclass at London Indian Film Festival

Adoor Gopalakrishnan will conduct a Masterclass ‘Life in Pictures’ on July 19.

The winner of the annual Satyajit Ray short film competition will be announced at the end of the festival.

Complete list of films to be screened at London Indian Film Festival:

Monsoon Shootout by Amit Kumar

Bombay Talkies by Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee, Karan Johar and Zoya Akhtar

Pune...

Pacha, a Bolivian film by Héctor Ferreiro will open the first edition of the Kochi International Film Festival today. The festival that will run from December 16-23 will be inaugurated by Kerala Chief Minister Oomen Chandy.

The festival will screen films from Latin America, Europe, Asia and USA, apart from films on the 100 Years of Indian Cinema and Centenary of Masters.

A total of 50 international films and 24 Indian films will be screened. Five films from Thailand, eight from Poland six films from Iran will be a part of the international section. While 18 Malayalam, one Tulu film and three Hindi films are in the line-up.

Line up of films:

100 Years of Indian Cinema

Malayalam Golden 10:

Elippathayam (The Rat Trap) by Adoor Gopalakrishnan

Chidambaram by G. Aravindan

Danny by T. V. Chandran

Amma Ariyan by John Abraham

Oppol by K. S. Sethumadhavan

Nirmalyam by M. T. Vasudevan Nair

Uppu by Pavithran

Olavum Theeravum by P.

Breaking myths and telling you everything that you should know about Indian films at Cannes Film Festival 2012

Which are the Indian films at 65th Cannes Film Festival?

Miss Lovely by Ashim Ahluwalia in Un Certain Regard

Peddlers by Vasan Bala in 51st Cannes Critics Week

Gangs of Wasseypur Part 1 & 2 in Directors’ Fortnight

Kalpana by Uday Shankar in Cannes Classics

Project ‘The Untold Tale’ by Shivajee Chandrabhushan in L’Atelier

Are Cannes Critics Week and Directors’ Fortnight official selections?

No. They are parallel sections of the Cannes Film Festival.

Then what is official selection?

Cannes Film Festival official selection comprises of Competition, Un Certain Regard, Out of Competition, Special Screenings, Midnight Screenings, Cannes Classics and the Cinéfondation.

The most important of the official selection are the Competition and Un Certain Regard. Films that are representative of “arthouse cinema with a wide audience appeal” are presented in Competition, and Un Certain Regard...

They(Cannes) have a very Euro-us centric view of cinema which we cannot conform to. We are neither the Far-east like Japan, nor the West in that sense. We are the in-between world. Our culture is very little understood in the West. To appreciate the cinema, you have to understand the culture and the people–Adoor Gopalakrishnan

Come May and the time seems rife for a critical analysis of the state of Indian cinema. The country that churns out the largest number of films in the world in a year doesn’t figure in the list of countries which will have their films presented at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. Does that reflect anything about the cinema in our country? The debate is pursued with a renewed interest and vigour every year. Well, some believe that our films are just not good enough while there are others who question the...

Vikramaditya Motwane’s “Udaan”, the film that made it to Un Certain Regard at Cannes International Film festival after seven years has been the talk of the town lately. With Udaan, Indian cinema’s seven year long jinxed relationship with the premier film festival has come to an end. Murali Nair’s Arimpara was the last film to have made it to Un Certain Regard, the section that carries the second most prestigious award, in the year 2003. Prior to that, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas was presented as a special screening out of competition at the festival in 2002.

Come to think of it, India and Cannes have had a cordial relationship right from the start. 1946, the year one of the oldest film festivals began at Cannes, Chetan Anand’s Neecha Nagar was screened as a Feature film in competition. Neecha Nagar was a pioneering effort in realistic Indian cinema and...