By Sugandha Rawal
New Delhi, Dec 5 (Ians) Indo-Canadian filmmaker Richie Mehta does not seek validation from his International Emmy win for his web series, Delhi Crime, but by audience response. He says the real point of pride was when people resonated with everything that he was trying to convey with the story.
Last month, his web series "Delhi Crime" won the Best Drama Series award at the 48th International Emmy Awards. The show became the first Indian programme to win an International Emmy.
Overwhelmed after the win, Mehta told Ians: "It's the culmination of years of work for me and for hundreds of people."
The web series opens the files of the notorious December 2012 gangrape in Delhi that shook the world. The case made headlines around the world, and also started having a ripple effect on the image of the country. That bothered Mehta.
"It is also a kind of...
New Delhi, Dec 5 (Ians) Indo-Canadian filmmaker Richie Mehta does not seek validation from his International Emmy win for his web series, Delhi Crime, but by audience response. He says the real point of pride was when people resonated with everything that he was trying to convey with the story.
Last month, his web series "Delhi Crime" won the Best Drama Series award at the 48th International Emmy Awards. The show became the first Indian programme to win an International Emmy.
Overwhelmed after the win, Mehta told Ians: "It's the culmination of years of work for me and for hundreds of people."
The web series opens the files of the notorious December 2012 gangrape in Delhi that shook the world. The case made headlines around the world, and also started having a ripple effect on the image of the country. That bothered Mehta.
"It is also a kind of...
- 12/5/2020
- by Glamsham Editorial
- GlamSham
Alexander Abaturov’s “Paradise,” Lola Arias’ “Reas” and Yosep Anggi Noen’s “Voice of Baceprot” figure among 15 documentary features set to be pitched over April 27-28 at the 51st Pitching du Réel.
A co-production forum for creative documentaries, the Pitching is an industry centerpiece at Visions du Réel, one of Europe’s most prestigious documentary festivals.
These titles are joined by 12 others in a lineup which boasts well-known filmmakers, for example, Egypt’s Mohamed Siam, whose “Amal” opened 2017’s Idfa, Argentina’s Gaston Solnicki, director of Venice Horizons player “Kékszakállú, and Nelson Carlo de lo Santos, a Locarno Golden Leopard winner with “Cocote.”
It also takes in an extraordinary range of countries of origen led by France, with three titles in the section, and Switzerland, Argentina and Lebanon with a couple but including 18 territories, marked by a strong Middle East showing with further productions from Egypt, Syria and Quatar.
Projects...
A co-production forum for creative documentaries, the Pitching is an industry centerpiece at Visions du Réel, one of Europe’s most prestigious documentary festivals.
These titles are joined by 12 others in a lineup which boasts well-known filmmakers, for example, Egypt’s Mohamed Siam, whose “Amal” opened 2017’s Idfa, Argentina’s Gaston Solnicki, director of Venice Horizons player “Kékszakállú, and Nelson Carlo de lo Santos, a Locarno Golden Leopard winner with “Cocote.”
It also takes in an extraordinary range of countries of origen led by France, with three titles in the section, and Switzerland, Argentina and Lebanon with a couple but including 18 territories, marked by a strong Middle East showing with further productions from Egypt, Syria and Quatar.
Projects...
- 4/16/2020
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
“We finished the shoot for Ely Dagher’s Harvest just as the first case of Covid-19 was reported in Lebanon.”
Beirut-based producer Georges Schoucair is the founder and CEO of top Middle East independent film production house Abbout Productions and its more recently created sister company Schortcut Films.
The recent credits of Abbout Productions include Oualid Mouaness’s coming-of-age drama 1982, which was Lebanon’s submission to the Academy Awards’ best international film category this year; Ahmad Ghossein’s All This Victory, which premiered in Venice Critics’ Week; and Egyptian filmmaker Mohamed Siam’s feature-length documentary Amal.
Schortcut Films, which he...
Beirut-based producer Georges Schoucair is the founder and CEO of top Middle East independent film production house Abbout Productions and its more recently created sister company Schortcut Films.
The recent credits of Abbout Productions include Oualid Mouaness’s coming-of-age drama 1982, which was Lebanon’s submission to the Academy Awards’ best international film category this year; Ahmad Ghossein’s All This Victory, which premiered in Venice Critics’ Week; and Egyptian filmmaker Mohamed Siam’s feature-length documentary Amal.
Schortcut Films, which he...
- 4/15/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
“We finished the shoot for Ely Dagher’s film Harvest just as the first case of Covid-19 was reported in Lebanon.”
Beirut-based producer Georges Schoucair is the founder and CEO of top Middle East independent film production house Abbout Productions and its more recently created sister company Schortcut Films.
The recent credits of Abbout Productions include Oualid Mouaness’s bittersweet coming-of-age drama 1982, which premiered at Toronto and was Lebanon’s submission to the Academy Awards’ best international film category this year; Ahmad Ghossein’s All This Victory, which premiered in Venice Critics’ Week, winning three awards, and Egyptian filmmaker Mohamed Siam’s feature-length documentary Amal.
Beirut-based producer Georges Schoucair is the founder and CEO of top Middle East independent film production house Abbout Productions and its more recently created sister company Schortcut Films.
The recent credits of Abbout Productions include Oualid Mouaness’s bittersweet coming-of-age drama 1982, which premiered at Toronto and was Lebanon’s submission to the Academy Awards’ best international film category this year; Ahmad Ghossein’s All This Victory, which premiered in Venice Critics’ Week, winning three awards, and Egyptian filmmaker Mohamed Siam’s feature-length documentary Amal.
- 4/15/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
The 10th edition of the Durban FilmMart, which unspools parallel to the 40th Durban Intl. Film Festival, will feature 10 fiction and 10 documentary works-in-progress taking part in its annual Finance Forum. The leading co-production market on the continent, the Forum brings together producers, distributors, sales agents, broadcasters, funding bodies, and other industry players from across the globe for four days of pitching sessions and networking opportunities from July 19-22.
“The Dfm Finance Forum was always intended as a springboard platform for African filmmakers to access global markets,” says Durban Film Office and Dfm head Toni Monty. “When we began 10 years ago, only a handful of the filmmakers submitting to Dfm really understood how to prepare for the international market. Ten years on the applications have become much more sophisticated and competitive.”
Recent editions of the Finance Forum have helped launch the festival careers of films like Un Certain Regard selection “Rafiki,...
“The Dfm Finance Forum was always intended as a springboard platform for African filmmakers to access global markets,” says Durban Film Office and Dfm head Toni Monty. “When we began 10 years ago, only a handful of the filmmakers submitting to Dfm really understood how to prepare for the international market. Ten years on the applications have become much more sophisticated and competitive.”
Recent editions of the Finance Forum have helped launch the festival careers of films like Un Certain Regard selection “Rafiki,...
- 7/17/2019
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Mohamed Siam, Emre Akay and Myriam El Hajj will be among the filmmakers heading to Turkey.
Mohamed Siam, Emre Akay and Myriam El Hajj will be among the filmmakers heading to Turkey for the 14th edition of the Meetings on the Bridge project meeting, running April 11-12 within the framework of the 38th Istanbul Film Festival (April 5-16).
Egyptian documentarian Mohamed Siam, whose last feature Amal opened the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (Idfa) in 2017, will present his first fiction feature project, Blood And Honey (Carnaval).
Siam describes it as comedy mixing ingredients from Amal – which followed a young female revolutionary...
Mohamed Siam, Emre Akay and Myriam El Hajj will be among the filmmakers heading to Turkey for the 14th edition of the Meetings on the Bridge project meeting, running April 11-12 within the framework of the 38th Istanbul Film Festival (April 5-16).
Egyptian documentarian Mohamed Siam, whose last feature Amal opened the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (Idfa) in 2017, will present his first fiction feature project, Blood And Honey (Carnaval).
Siam describes it as comedy mixing ingredients from Amal – which followed a young female revolutionary...
- 3/22/2019
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Writer and director Richie Mehta made promises in his latest project. With “Delhi Crime Story” he had an obligation to honor the story, be compassionate and be on the right side of the story of a 2012 New Delhi gang rape that lead to India changing laws and beginning to fix a broken system.
“Delhi Crime Story” is a seven-part police procedural drama based on the real-life gruesome gang rape of a young Indian woman in New Delhi. The series, detailing the fraught investigation and the race against the clock, follows a true-to-life, no-nonsense female police commissioner who begins to uncover the horrifying details of the fatal assault. The inquiry becomes a serpentine quest for clarity and justice within a corrupt government system and a pervasive culture of misogyny.
“Yeah, I made promises when they told me this stuff. I said, ‘I’m going to do the very best I can...
“Delhi Crime Story” is a seven-part police procedural drama based on the real-life gruesome gang rape of a young Indian woman in New Delhi. The series, detailing the fraught investigation and the race against the clock, follows a true-to-life, no-nonsense female police commissioner who begins to uncover the horrifying details of the fatal assault. The inquiry becomes a serpentine quest for clarity and justice within a corrupt government system and a pervasive culture of misogyny.
“Yeah, I made promises when they told me this stuff. I said, ‘I’m going to do the very best I can...
- 2/10/2019
- by Trey Williams
- The Wrap
Durban — With the four-day Durban FilmMart building a bridge between African filmmakers and the international market, 16 projects from across the continent arrive in South Africa this week for pitching sessions with potential co-producers, broadcasters, sales agents, investors, and other industry experts from around the world.
“The projects are at various stages of development. We do each year attempt to create a balance between what presents as strong projects, as well as new emerging talents,” said Toni Monty, head of the Durban Film Office, which jointly organizes the Dfm along with the Durban Int’l. Film Festival and the eThekwini Municipality. “This is important to ensure that we not only present filmmakers that have a fairly established profile and need to get their next project out there, but also to tap into the undercurrent and ensure we are bringing new talents into the marketplace.”
Here’s a look at the eight...
“The projects are at various stages of development. We do each year attempt to create a balance between what presents as strong projects, as well as new emerging talents,” said Toni Monty, head of the Durban Film Office, which jointly organizes the Dfm along with the Durban Int’l. Film Festival and the eThekwini Municipality. “This is important to ensure that we not only present filmmakers that have a fairly established profile and need to get their next project out there, but also to tap into the undercurrent and ensure we are bringing new talents into the marketplace.”
Here’s a look at the eight...
- 7/19/2018
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
MollywoodThe film is presented by Nazriya, who is also making her comeback as an actor, through Anjali Menon's 'Koode'.Tnm Staff"The Outsider!" Amal Neerad posted on his Facebook on Wednesday noon, announcing his new movie, Varathan, in Malayalam - The Outsider in English. The film has Fahadh Faasil in the lead. Amal, who is directing the film, has put out its first look poster, a visual of Fahadh wearing goggles, and four or five little figures in the background holding their lit torches. Aishwarya Lekshmi, coming straight out of her much-appreciated performance in Mayaanadhi, plays the female lead in the film. Best of all, the poster says, Nazriya Nazim presents Varathan. Nazriya too has been in the news for coming back to act in the Anjali Menon film Koode after a gap of four years, following her marriage to Fahadh. Amal will be producing the film with Nazriya. It'd be a joy to the fans that both Fahadh and Nazriya movies are coming out one after the other. Expected to be a thriller, the Fahadh film will release this Onam. He was last seen in Venu's Carbon, in which he played a man out to make some quick money and going through some out of the world experiences in a trip through the woods. Known for his ease in handling versatile characters, Fahadh is trusted with all sorts of roles, sometimes with negative shades. In Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum, a critically acclaimed film that came out last year, Fahadh had played a low level thief, with a strangely strong disposition. Little Swayamp, who is slowly making a name for himself after his exceptional work for Parava, is doing the cinematography. Sushin Syam is composing the music. Amal's previously announced Mammootty movie Bilal is also expected to release this year, which he is again directing and producing. It's more than 10 years since he last worked with Mammootty in Big B, Amal's first directorial, which had at the time created waves for its peculiar style of cinematography. Also read: Meet Anjali Patil: The fiery Puyal from 'Kaala' who has taken everyone by storm...
- 6/20/2018
- by Monalisa
- The News Minute
The Karlovy Vary Film Festival, the leading movie event in Central and Eastern Europe, will honor Tim Robbins with its award for outstanding contribution to world cinema, the fest announced Tuesday, and the actor will screen two pics he directed and wrote, the acerbic polemic “Bob Roberts” and the tribute to pre-wwii music and politics “Cradle Will Rock.”
Robbins, who also wrote music for several of his films, including “Bob Roberts” with brother David, will perform with The Rogues Gallery Band. Terry Gilliam will also roll into the Czech Republic spa town for the fest, running June 29 to July 7, to screen “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote,” his disaster-prone take on the Cervantes classic that took 18 years to complete and premiered in Cannes.
Anna Paquin will also be feted, screening the family grief road movie “The Parting Glass” along with the film’s director, her husband Stephen Moyer, screenwriter and...
Robbins, who also wrote music for several of his films, including “Bob Roberts” with brother David, will perform with The Rogues Gallery Band. Terry Gilliam will also roll into the Czech Republic spa town for the fest, running June 29 to July 7, to screen “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote,” his disaster-prone take on the Cervantes classic that took 18 years to complete and premiered in Cannes.
Anna Paquin will also be feted, screening the family grief road movie “The Parting Glass” along with the film’s director, her husband Stephen Moyer, screenwriter and...
- 6/19/2018
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
Richie Mehta has signed on to direct the indie Baseballissimo, to star and be penned by Jay Baruchel and writing partner Jesse Chabot (Random Acts of Violence).
Mehta's latest movie is the documentary India in a Day, which was executive produced by Ridley Scott and which follows two earlier India-set theatrical dramas, Siddarth and Amal. Google partnered with The Martian director Scott, Indian helmer Anurag Kashyap and Mehta on the user-generated doc.
Mehta replaces fellow Canadian filmmaker Jacob Tierney as director of Baseballissimo while the project regroups after Star Trek actor Anton Yelchin was set for the lead...
Mehta's latest movie is the documentary India in a Day, which was executive produced by Ridley Scott and which follows two earlier India-set theatrical dramas, Siddarth and Amal. Google partnered with The Martian director Scott, Indian helmer Anurag Kashyap and Mehta on the user-generated doc.
Mehta replaces fellow Canadian filmmaker Jacob Tierney as director of Baseballissimo while the project regroups after Star Trek actor Anton Yelchin was set for the lead...
- 5/10/2017
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive/Film Bazaar: Siddharth director Richie Mehta is planning two new projects in Delhi, financing will determine which will shoot first.
Feature film A Last Life has Sienna Films (Canada) and Vivek Kajaria’s Holy Basil (India) producing, and backing from Telefilm Canada.
The original script is about an elite family in Delhi whose heiress daughter becomes involved with the cook’s son, who is involved in an attack that further complicates their relationship. To prove his innocence, she has to journey through parts of Delhi that open her eyes. “She goes from the mansion to the garbage dump, and she’s finally understanding where he comes from,” writer/director Mehta said.
A Last Life will be a musical in the style of 1950s/1960s Indian musicals, he added. The film will be in English and Hindi, with the songs in a mix of languages including Hindi and Urdu.
The other project is a TV series, as yet...
Feature film A Last Life has Sienna Films (Canada) and Vivek Kajaria’s Holy Basil (India) producing, and backing from Telefilm Canada.
The original script is about an elite family in Delhi whose heiress daughter becomes involved with the cook’s son, who is involved in an attack that further complicates their relationship. To prove his innocence, she has to journey through parts of Delhi that open her eyes. “She goes from the mansion to the garbage dump, and she’s finally understanding where he comes from,” writer/director Mehta said.
A Last Life will be a musical in the style of 1950s/1960s Indian musicals, he added. The film will be in English and Hindi, with the songs in a mix of languages including Hindi and Urdu.
The other project is a TV series, as yet...
- 11/23/2016
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive/Film Bazaar: Siddharth and India In a Day director Richie Mehta is planning two new projects in Delhi, financing will determine which will shoot first.
Feature film A Last Life has Sienna Films (Canada) and Vivek Kajaria’s Holy Basil (India) producing, and backing from Telefilm Canada.
The original script is about an elite family in Delhi whose heiress daughter becomes involved with the cook’s son, who is involved in an attack that further complicates their relationship. To prove his innocence, she has to journey through parts of Delhi that open her eyes. “She goes from the mansion to the garbage dump, and she’s finally understanding where he comes from,” writer/director Mehta said.
A Last Life will be a musical in the style of 1950s/1960s Indian musicals, he added. The film will be in English and Hindi, with the songs in a mix of languages including Hindi and Urdu.
The other project...
Feature film A Last Life has Sienna Films (Canada) and Vivek Kajaria’s Holy Basil (India) producing, and backing from Telefilm Canada.
The original script is about an elite family in Delhi whose heiress daughter becomes involved with the cook’s son, who is involved in an attack that further complicates their relationship. To prove his innocence, she has to journey through parts of Delhi that open her eyes. “She goes from the mansion to the garbage dump, and she’s finally understanding where he comes from,” writer/director Mehta said.
A Last Life will be a musical in the style of 1950s/1960s Indian musicals, he added. The film will be in English and Hindi, with the songs in a mix of languages including Hindi and Urdu.
The other project...
- 11/23/2016
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
In a Child’s Name: Mehta’s Sophomore Film a Gripping Ordeal
Following up on his 2007 debut, Amal, Toronto based filmmaker Richie Mehta returns to Delhi for his sophomore feature, Siddharth, a rather somber affair about one working class family’s tragedy. With narrative and visual strengths that recall the works of Satyajit Ray and Vittorio Di Sicca, Mehta’s film falls short of being a true comparison to scions of neorealism with a gradual dependence on manipulation via an ever encroaching score that hardly seems at home amidst the jarring bustle of urban squalor. Despite a tendency to force the tragic consequences of the situation, some first rate performances tend to override the film’s smaller faults to concoct a gravely serious and affecting film.
As the opening credits roll we overhear a father, Mahendra (Rajesh Tailang), bid adieu to his young son, Siddharth, off-screen. Upon returning home to his wife,...
Following up on his 2007 debut, Amal, Toronto based filmmaker Richie Mehta returns to Delhi for his sophomore feature, Siddharth, a rather somber affair about one working class family’s tragedy. With narrative and visual strengths that recall the works of Satyajit Ray and Vittorio Di Sicca, Mehta’s film falls short of being a true comparison to scions of neorealism with a gradual dependence on manipulation via an ever encroaching score that hardly seems at home amidst the jarring bustle of urban squalor. Despite a tendency to force the tragic consequences of the situation, some first rate performances tend to override the film’s smaller faults to concoct a gravely serious and affecting film.
As the opening credits roll we overhear a father, Mahendra (Rajesh Tailang), bid adieu to his young son, Siddharth, off-screen. Upon returning home to his wife,...
- 6/23/2014
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Opening tomorrow, June 6, in limited release is Richie Mehta's time travel drama/thriller, I'll Follow You Down. Mehta's brief CV is quite impressive, starting with Amal back in 2007, and moving on to last year's Siddharth (Todd Brown's top film of 2013). I'll Follow You Down premiered at last year's Fantasia Film Festival where our Kurt Halfyard hemmed and hawed about the film, praising Mehta's writing abilities but somewhat less effusive about his directorial abilities.The good people at Well Go USA have, once again, served us up an exclusive clip to whet the appetite of viewers and readers eager for a new time travel story. Kurt places I'll Follow You Down's story alongside formidable company like Rian Johnson's Looper, and such immortals as Back to...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 6/5/2014
- Screen Anarchy
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
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
Richie Mehta’s Siddharth and Anup Singh’s Qissa will compete under the Narrative Competition and New Horizons Competition respectively at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival (October 24 – November 2 , 2013).
Besides these, Aparna Sen’s The Jewellery Box and Nagraj Manjule’s Fandry will be screened under the Showcase section, while Guru Dutt’s Pyaasa, Ritwik Ghtak’s Subarnarekha, Mani Kual’s Duvidha, M S Sathyu’s Garam Hawa and Jahnu Barua’s Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai will be showcased in the Special Programmes section.
The Narrative Competition section showcases original storytelling from international filmmakers. In Siddharth, Mahendra sends his son far away to earn and contribute to the family’s meagre income. But the son, Siddharth is lost and nowhere to be found. Mahendra sets out in search of his son, travelling all over India. This is Richie Mehta’s second feature film after Amal. The film was screened at the 57th BFI London Film Festival,...
Besides these, Aparna Sen’s The Jewellery Box and Nagraj Manjule’s Fandry will be screened under the Showcase section, while Guru Dutt’s Pyaasa, Ritwik Ghtak’s Subarnarekha, Mani Kual’s Duvidha, M S Sathyu’s Garam Hawa and Jahnu Barua’s Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai will be showcased in the Special Programmes section.
The Narrative Competition section showcases original storytelling from international filmmakers. In Siddharth, Mahendra sends his son far away to earn and contribute to the family’s meagre income. But the son, Siddharth is lost and nowhere to be found. Mahendra sets out in search of his son, travelling all over India. This is Richie Mehta’s second feature film after Amal. The film was screened at the 57th BFI London Film Festival,...
- 10/2/2013
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
Canadian director Richie Mehta follows the success of his 2007 film Amal (which also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and went on to win numerous awards) with this emotional and devastating story of a Delhi chainwala’s search for his missing son.
Mahendra Saini (Rajesh Tailang) has sent his 12-year-old son Siddharth (Irfan Khan) hundreds of miles away to Ludhiana, in Punjab. The family is in a bad way financially; Siddharth will work in the factory of the distant cousin of Mahendra’s brother-in-law. The family hears from Siddharth when he arrives, promising his sister he’ll return to celebrate Diwali with the family in a month’s time. Diwali arrives, but Siddharth does not, and Mahendra begins a search to find out what happened to his son.
This is, not surprisingly, no easy task. Mahendra has no money. He’s illiterate, and doesn’t even know how to...
Mahendra Saini (Rajesh Tailang) has sent his 12-year-old son Siddharth (Irfan Khan) hundreds of miles away to Ludhiana, in Punjab. The family is in a bad way financially; Siddharth will work in the factory of the distant cousin of Mahendra’s brother-in-law. The family hears from Siddharth when he arrives, promising his sister he’ll return to celebrate Diwali with the family in a month’s time. Diwali arrives, but Siddharth does not, and Mahendra begins a search to find out what happened to his son.
This is, not surprisingly, no easy task. Mahendra has no money. He’s illiterate, and doesn’t even know how to...
- 9/10/2013
- by Katherine Matthews
- Bollyspice
Fortissimo Films takes rights to Richie Mehta’s second feature, which will receive its world premiere at Venice.
Fortissimo Films has acquired worldwide rights, excluding Canada and India, to Siddharth, Canadian director Richie Mehta’s follow-up to Amal.
The Canadian-Indian co-production will receive its world premiere at the 70th Venice International Film Festival in Venice Days, followed by its North American premiere in Toronto at Tiff in the Contemporary World Cinema section.
Written and directed by Mehta, Siddharth centres on an itinerant labourer who embarks on a journey across India in search of his 12-year-old son, who disappeared without a trace after working at a factory.
The film was produced by Steven N. Bray, David Miller and Mehta under their A Poor Man’s Productions label.
Siddharth stars Rajesh Tailang, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Anurag Arora, Geeta Agrawal Sharma and Naseeruddin Shah.
The deal was handled by Fortissimo managing director Nelleke Driessen and the film’s producers Bray and...
Fortissimo Films has acquired worldwide rights, excluding Canada and India, to Siddharth, Canadian director Richie Mehta’s follow-up to Amal.
The Canadian-Indian co-production will receive its world premiere at the 70th Venice International Film Festival in Venice Days, followed by its North American premiere in Toronto at Tiff in the Contemporary World Cinema section.
Written and directed by Mehta, Siddharth centres on an itinerant labourer who embarks on a journey across India in search of his 12-year-old son, who disappeared without a trace after working at a factory.
The film was produced by Steven N. Bray, David Miller and Mehta under their A Poor Man’s Productions label.
Siddharth stars Rajesh Tailang, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Anurag Arora, Geeta Agrawal Sharma and Naseeruddin Shah.
The deal was handled by Fortissimo managing director Nelleke Driessen and the film’s producers Bray and...
- 8/27/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
A still from “Siddharth”
Fortissimo Films has acquired world sales right excluding India and Canada to Richie Mehta’s Siddharth (India, Canada) ahead of its premiere at Venice Days.
The film has been selected for Venice Days, an independent sidebar of the Venice International Film Festival that runs from August 28-September 7, 2013, following which it will be screened at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Siddharth features Rajesh Tailang, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Anurag Arora, Shobha Sharma Jassi, Geeta Agarwal Sharma and Naseeruddin Shah.
The film revolves around Mahendra who works on street corners as a chain-wallah (a zipper-fixer), while his wife Suman stays at home with their two young children, twelve-year-old Siddharth and his sister. To contribute to the family income, the boy is sent far away from home, from New Delhi to Ludhiana, where a relative has a job for him and a place to sleep. It seems like a dream come true to his father,...
Fortissimo Films has acquired world sales right excluding India and Canada to Richie Mehta’s Siddharth (India, Canada) ahead of its premiere at Venice Days.
The film has been selected for Venice Days, an independent sidebar of the Venice International Film Festival that runs from August 28-September 7, 2013, following which it will be screened at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Siddharth features Rajesh Tailang, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Anurag Arora, Shobha Sharma Jassi, Geeta Agarwal Sharma and Naseeruddin Shah.
The film revolves around Mahendra who works on street corners as a chain-wallah (a zipper-fixer), while his wife Suman stays at home with their two young children, twelve-year-old Siddharth and his sister. To contribute to the family income, the boy is sent far away from home, from New Delhi to Ludhiana, where a relative has a job for him and a place to sleep. It seems like a dream come true to his father,...
- 8/27/2013
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
We recently posted three big announcements from the Fantasia Film Festival which included Edgar Wright’s The Worlds End (closing the fest), a special Live theatre event for Clive Barker’s A History of the Devil, and a lifetime achievement award for Andrzej Żuławski. Additional first wave highlights have also been announced, and so far the line-up is shaping up to be better than last year’s batch. Hit the jump to view the current roster.
****
Across The River
Italy Dir: Lorenzo Bianchini
A brilliant opposition of new and old narratives, this chilling discovery from Italy is the most downright efficient atmospheric horror film you’ll see anywhere this year, haunting with a slow-building, intense crescendo approach to its atmosphere of disorientation and dread. From the director of Custodes Bestiae.
World Premiere.
Big Bad Wolves
Israel Dirs: Aharon Keshales & Navot Papushado
Described in its official marketing as “a brutal comedy...
****
Across The River
Italy Dir: Lorenzo Bianchini
A brilliant opposition of new and old narratives, this chilling discovery from Italy is the most downright efficient atmospheric horror film you’ll see anywhere this year, haunting with a slow-building, intense crescendo approach to its atmosphere of disorientation and dread. From the director of Custodes Bestiae.
World Premiere.
Big Bad Wolves
Israel Dirs: Aharon Keshales & Navot Papushado
Described in its official marketing as “a brutal comedy...
- 7/1/2013
- by Kyle Reese
- SoundOnSight
While we here in the States are getting ready for San Diego Comic-Con, our friends to the North are prepping for the grandaddy of film fests, Fantasia, which kicks off at the same time.
Here's the first announcement of what you crazy Canucks and your guests from around the world will see there.
From the Press Release:
The Fantasia Film Festival is coming back, and coming soon. From July 18 to August 6, Montreal will be home to a showcase of over 100 feature films from around the world, along with a wealth of special events, conferences, and parties. Audiences can look forward to discovering numerous World and International premieres, as well as the Canadian debuts of some of the most acclaimed genre works from this year’s Cannes, Sundance, SXSW, Berlin, and Tribeca film festivals. The festival’s full lineup of screenings and events will be announced on July 9. For now, we...
Here's the first announcement of what you crazy Canucks and your guests from around the world will see there.
From the Press Release:
The Fantasia Film Festival is coming back, and coming soon. From July 18 to August 6, Montreal will be home to a showcase of over 100 feature films from around the world, along with a wealth of special events, conferences, and parties. Audiences can look forward to discovering numerous World and International premieres, as well as the Canadian debuts of some of the most acclaimed genre works from this year’s Cannes, Sundance, SXSW, Berlin, and Tribeca film festivals. The festival’s full lineup of screenings and events will be announced on July 9. For now, we...
- 6/27/2013
- by The Woman In Black
- DreadCentral.com
While Fantastic Fest seems to satisfy my needs when it comes to a genre film festival, I have always wanted to attend Fantasia. I have heard & seen so much about it that, as a genre fan, it makes me salivate. Luckily, Fantastic Fest seems to nab some titles from their extraordinary lineup so I get to experience some of their programming.
Today, Fantasia has released their first wave of titles. Those lucky bastards get to see live Clive Barker stage theater, see the finale of the Cornetto trilogy and more. Read below for the full list.
Fantasia 2013′S First Wave Of Incredible Titles Has Been Announced!
The Fantasia Film Festival is coming back, and coming soon. From July 18 – August 6, Montreal will be home to a showcase of over 100 feature films from around the world, along with a wealth of special events, conferences, and parties. Audiences can look forward to discovering numerous World and International premieres,...
Today, Fantasia has released their first wave of titles. Those lucky bastards get to see live Clive Barker stage theater, see the finale of the Cornetto trilogy and more. Read below for the full list.
Fantasia 2013′S First Wave Of Incredible Titles Has Been Announced!
The Fantasia Film Festival is coming back, and coming soon. From July 18 – August 6, Montreal will be home to a showcase of over 100 feature films from around the world, along with a wealth of special events, conferences, and parties. Audiences can look forward to discovering numerous World and International premieres,...
- 6/27/2013
- by Andy Triefenbach
- Destroy the Brain
The Fantasia Film Festival is taking place from July 18th to August 6th in Montreal and will feature over 100 films from around the world. The initial lineup has just been announced and includes The World’s End, The Conjuring, and a number of horror films making their world premiere:
Official Closing Film – Edgar Wright’s The World’s End (Canadian Premiere)
Fantasia 2013 will come wildly to a close on the night of August 6 with the Canadian premiere of UK filmmaker Edgar Wright’s hotly anticipated apocalyptic comedy The World’S End, starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Rosamund Pike and Martin Freeman. As Fantasia was the site of the Canadian Premieres of Wright’s landmark 2004 debut Shawn Of The Dead as well as his most recent Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, we couldn’t think of a better way to close this year’s festival.
Joining us in Montreal will be...
Official Closing Film – Edgar Wright’s The World’s End (Canadian Premiere)
Fantasia 2013 will come wildly to a close on the night of August 6 with the Canadian premiere of UK filmmaker Edgar Wright’s hotly anticipated apocalyptic comedy The World’S End, starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Rosamund Pike and Martin Freeman. As Fantasia was the site of the Canadian Premieres of Wright’s landmark 2004 debut Shawn Of The Dead as well as his most recent Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, we couldn’t think of a better way to close this year’s festival.
Joining us in Montreal will be...
- 6/27/2013
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Toronto – In early October, Tiff Bell Lightbox will be hosting two special events that aim to provide insight and discourse into contemporary and international cinema. Filled with onstage discussions with eminent and respected figures in the field, Tiff Bell Lightbox will be transformed into what can only be described as a temporary lecture hall for Cinema 101.
Events include:
Onstage Conversation with Slavoj Žižek – October 1 @ 7 pm
Slavoj Žižek is a man of many hats. At any given time, he can be recognized as a visiting professor at numerous American universities (Columbia, Princeton, New York University, University of Michigan), the “Elvis Presley of philosophy”, an “academic rock star”, a pop culture critic, and the trenchant presenter of Sophie Fiennes’ three-part documentary The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema (2006).
Following a screening of The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema: Part 3, in which he literally inserts himself into famous film scenes to discuss a wide...
Events include:
Onstage Conversation with Slavoj Žižek – October 1 @ 7 pm
Slavoj Žižek is a man of many hats. At any given time, he can be recognized as a visiting professor at numerous American universities (Columbia, Princeton, New York University, University of Michigan), the “Elvis Presley of philosophy”, an “academic rock star”, a pop culture critic, and the trenchant presenter of Sophie Fiennes’ three-part documentary The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema (2006).
Following a screening of The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema: Part 3, in which he literally inserts himself into famous film scenes to discuss a wide...
- 9/28/2012
- by Justin Li
- SoundOnSight
Though Gillian Anderson is best known for her role as Dana Scully on The X-Files, the actress is also a classically trained thespian who has used her talents in such varied fare as the Bleak House mini-series, the Royal-focused series Any Human Heart, and at least two television takes on classic material – Moby Dick and Great Expectations. What we’re saying is, she’s not just Scully, but damn if Anderson doesn’t know her way around some good sci-fi, so it’s heartening news that she’s joined a very intriguing new project with just that kind of bent. Deadline Quantico reports that Anderson has joined Haley Joel Osment, Rufus Sewell, and Victor Garber in Richie Mehta‘s (Amal) new film, I’ll Follow You Down. While we don’t yet know too much about the film (and with its mysterious logline, it’s likely to stay that way), we do know that it centers on...
- 5/30/2012
- by Kate Erbland
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
• Jason Bateman, Zac Efron, Goldie Hawn, Leslie Mann, Malin Akerman, and Jason Sudeikis are all in negotiations to star in the ensemble comedy This is Where I Leave You, author Jonathan Tropper’s adaptation of his own novel about four grown siblings who return home to grieve their deceased father. Adam Shankman is attach to direct. [Deadline, Variety]
• Michelle Pfeiffer is in talks to play Robert DeNiro’s wife in the dark comic thriller Malavita, about a mob family that moves to France under witness relocation, and falls back on old habits. Director Luc Besson adapted the script from Tony Benacquista’s unfortunately titled book Badfellas.
• Michelle Pfeiffer is in talks to play Robert DeNiro’s wife in the dark comic thriller Malavita, about a mob family that moves to France under witness relocation, and falls back on old habits. Director Luc Besson adapted the script from Tony Benacquista’s unfortunately titled book Badfellas.
- 5/30/2012
- by Adam B. Vary
- EW - Inside Movies
Given that she spent a healthy chunk of her early career hunting down supernatural and other mysteries, we imagine Gillian Anderson will feel right at home joining the cast of Richie Mehta’s new film I’ll Follow You Down. The movie, which already features Haley Joel Osment, Rufus Sewell and Victor Garber, concerns a scientist (Sewell) who vanishes without trace during a business trip. The incident leaves his wife (Anderson) and his son shocked and saddened.But then, years later, the son (now played by Osment) and his grandfather (Garber) make a startling discovery. They invent New Coke! No, they actually just find information that points to Sewell still being among the living.Mehta wrote the script and is currently cranking the cameras in Toronto with a cast that also features Catherine Bruhier, John Paul Ruttan, Sarah Manninen and Rupinder Nagra, who starred in Mehta’s first film, Amal.
- 5/29/2012
- EmpireOnline
Soumitra Chatterjee
Soumitra Chatterjee has been my way of life. He is, for many Bengalis even if he passed our stage of life three decades ago. This is one classic test that he endured like his mentor Satyajit Ray. But even apart from the towering shadow of Ray, Soumitra carved out an image for himself which he fostered over a period of time, so much so that even younger generations can’t but try to emulate him.
Be it the dreamer in Apu (Apur Sansar) or Amal (Charulata), the charismatic sleuth in Feluda (Sonar Kella), the casual romantic in Teen Bhuvaner Paare (twisting his way to impress Tanuja) and Basanta Bilap or the fairy-tale villain Mayur Bahan in Jhinder Bandi, Soumitra has played it all. He had been a successful hero, second only to Uttam Kumar in popularity perhaps but never shied away from doing character roles even then. How...
Soumitra Chatterjee has been my way of life. He is, for many Bengalis even if he passed our stage of life three decades ago. This is one classic test that he endured like his mentor Satyajit Ray. But even apart from the towering shadow of Ray, Soumitra carved out an image for himself which he fostered over a period of time, so much so that even younger generations can’t but try to emulate him.
Be it the dreamer in Apu (Apur Sansar) or Amal (Charulata), the charismatic sleuth in Feluda (Sonar Kella), the casual romantic in Teen Bhuvaner Paare (twisting his way to impress Tanuja) and Basanta Bilap or the fairy-tale villain Mayur Bahan in Jhinder Bandi, Soumitra has played it all. He had been a successful hero, second only to Uttam Kumar in popularity perhaps but never shied away from doing character roles even then. How...
- 3/22/2012
- by Amitava Nag
- DearCinema.com
Two bits of geek casting news have popped up today. Haley Joel Osment (The Sixth Sense) has been cast in I’ll Follow You Down, according to Deadline. Richie Mehta (Amal) wrote and directed the film, which follows "a scientist who mysteriously disappears after a business trip, only to have his son Erol (Osment), make an eerie discovery about his whereabouts, several years later."
Mehta was nominated for 6 Genie Awards for Amal in 2009, including Best Film, Direction, and Screenplay. The sci-fi film will be produced by Lee Kim under his Resolute Films and Entertainment banner, with filming slated for May in Toronto, Canada. The screenplay was developed with financial support from Telefilm Canada and the Harold Greenberg Fund. Here is what Kim had to say about the project:
Richie has penned a script that tells an emotionally charged, thrilling story while staying true to the sci-fi genre. Our main challenge...
Mehta was nominated for 6 Genie Awards for Amal in 2009, including Best Film, Direction, and Screenplay. The sci-fi film will be produced by Lee Kim under his Resolute Films and Entertainment banner, with filming slated for May in Toronto, Canada. The screenplay was developed with financial support from Telefilm Canada and the Harold Greenberg Fund. Here is what Kim had to say about the project:
Richie has penned a script that tells an emotionally charged, thrilling story while staying true to the sci-fi genre. Our main challenge...
- 2/10/2012
- by Tiberius
- GeekTyrant
Exclusive: While he looks a lot different than the kid who saw dead people in The Sixth Sense, Haley Joel Osment is back in science fiction/mystery mode. He’ll star in I’ll Follow You Down, which will be directed by Richie Mehta from his own script. The film follows the story of a scientist who mysteriously disappears after a business trip, only to have his son Erol, played by Osment, make an eerie discovery about his whereabouts, several years later. The film is Mehta’s follow up to Amal, a film that was nominated for 6 Genie Awards in 2009, including Best Film, Direction and Screenplay. Lee Kim will produce under his Resolute Films and Entertainment banner, with filming commencing in May in Toronto, Canada. The screenplay was developed with financial support from Telefilm Canada and the Harold Greenberg Fund. “Richie has penned a script that tells an emotionally charged,...
- 2/9/2012
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
The 11th Annual Filmi: Toronto.s South Asian Film Festival (Fsaff) will be presented September 30th . October 3rd, 2010 at the Ago, Revue Cinema and Bloor Cinema. The vision of Filmi: Toronto.s South Asian Film Festival is to promote, discover, introduce and celebrate cinematic endeavours by talented South Asian filmmakers, and highlight works with South Asian themes that can be brought to a mainstream audience. All films at this year's Filmi are Premiere's.Opening Night Film . Canadian Premiere . .Ashes.. is a cautionary tale of mental illness, greed, and the definition of family both real and imagined. The story of two brothers living in the inner city, as one descends into the grips of manic depressive schizoid disorder, the other, Ashes, absconds from his responsibility and tries to become a wealthy drug dealer. Fraught with contradiction, the story is a meditation on how easy it is to fall through the cracks...
- 9/22/2010
- Filmicafe
Ten American and international filmmakers have been chosen to participate in AFI Project 20/20, following screenings of their films at AFI Fest 2009.
The cultural exchange program is supported by the AFI in conjunction with the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
The 2010 participants are:
“Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo,” directed by Jessica Oreck (Us)
“First of All, Felicia,” co-directed by Melissa de Raaf and Razvan Radulescu (Romania)
“Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench,” directed by Damien Chazelle (Us)
“Icons Among us,” co-directed by Lars Larson, Michael Rivoira and Peter Vogt (Us)
“London River,” directed by Rachid Bouchareb (France)
“Room and a Half,” directed by Andry Khrzhanovsky (Russia)
“Sita Sings the Blues,” directed by Nina Paley (Us)
They will join two artists from the 2009 program: Kief Davidson (“Kassam the...
The cultural exchange program is supported by the AFI in conjunction with the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
The 2010 participants are:
“Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo,” directed by Jessica Oreck (Us)
“First of All, Felicia,” co-directed by Melissa de Raaf and Razvan Radulescu (Romania)
“Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench,” directed by Damien Chazelle (Us)
“Icons Among us,” co-directed by Lars Larson, Michael Rivoira and Peter Vogt (Us)
“London River,” directed by Rachid Bouchareb (France)
“Room and a Half,” directed by Andry Khrzhanovsky (Russia)
“Sita Sings the Blues,” directed by Nina Paley (Us)
They will join two artists from the 2009 program: Kief Davidson (“Kassam the...
- 10/29/2009
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television had announced the winners of the 2009 Genie Awards on Saturday night, April 4, and "Passchendaele" came up victorious. On the awards ceremony held at Canada Aviation Museum in Ottawa, the World War I drama was announced this year's Best Motion Picture in addition to receiving five other nods.
Being the one which collected the most prizes on the special night, this Paul Gross-directed war movie also won kudos for Achievement in Art Direction/Production Design, Achievement in Costume Design, Achievement in Overall Sound and Achievement in Sound Editing. It brought home the Golden Reel Award as well for being the biggest box office gross of the year.
"The Necessities of Life" was another big winner as the movie about an Inuit hunter stranded in a Quebec hospital grabbed four kudos at the awards. It collected Best Director title for Benoit Pilon and Best Leading Actor for Natar Ungalaaq.
Being the one which collected the most prizes on the special night, this Paul Gross-directed war movie also won kudos for Achievement in Art Direction/Production Design, Achievement in Costume Design, Achievement in Overall Sound and Achievement in Sound Editing. It brought home the Golden Reel Award as well for being the biggest box office gross of the year.
"The Necessities of Life" was another big winner as the movie about an Inuit hunter stranded in a Quebec hospital grabbed four kudos at the awards. It collected Best Director title for Benoit Pilon and Best Leading Actor for Natar Ungalaaq.
- 4/6/2009
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
2009 Genie Awards 2009 Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television’s Genie Award nominations: Feb. 10, 2009 2009 Genie Award winners: Ottawa, April 4, 2009 ("*" denotes the winner in each category) Best Motion Picture / Meilleur Film Amal - David Miller, Steven Bray Ce qu’il faut pour vivre / The Necessities of Life - Bernadette Payeur, René Chénier Normal - Andrew Boutilier, Carl Bessai * Passchendaele - Niv Fichman, Francis Damberger, Paul Gross, Frank Siracusa Tout est Parfait / Everything is Fine - Nicole Robert Best Documentary / Meilleur Documentaire Infiniment QUÉBEC - Jean-Claude Labrecque, Yves Fortin, Christian Medawar My Winnipeg - Guy Maddin, Phyllis Laing, Jody Shapiro * Up The Yangtze - Yung Chang, Mila Aung-Thwin, John Christou, Germaine Ying-Gee Wong Best Direction / Meilleure RÉALISATION Richie Mehta - Amal Lyne Charlebois - Borderline * Benoit Pilon - Ce qu’il faut pour vivre / The Necessities of Life Carl Bessai - Normal Yves-Christian Fournier - Tout est Parfait / Everything is Fine Performance By...
- 4/5/2009
- by Deborah Arthur
- Alt Film Guide
The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television (Acct) have announced the nominees for the 29th Annual Genie Awards. Leading the pack for the awards honoring the best in Canadian film was "The Necessities of Life". The movie about an Inuit hunter stranded in a Quebec hospital collected eight gongs, including best picture, best director for Benoit Pilon and best original screenplay for Bernard Emond.
In the category of best pictures, Pilon's film will be up against "Amal", "Normal", "Passchendaele" and "Everything Is Fine". Meanwhile, for the best original screenplay title, it placed Bernard Emond in competition with Deepa Mehta of "Heaven on Earth", Travis McDonald of "Normal", Randall Cole of "Real Time" and Guillaume Vigneault of "Everything Is Fine".
While "The Necessities of Life" took the most nominations, "Fugitive Pieces", the Samuel Goldwyn Films drama based on best-selling novel by Canadian poet Anne Michaels grabbed six nods. Some of the...
In the category of best pictures, Pilon's film will be up against "Amal", "Normal", "Passchendaele" and "Everything Is Fine". Meanwhile, for the best original screenplay title, it placed Bernard Emond in competition with Deepa Mehta of "Heaven on Earth", Travis McDonald of "Normal", Randall Cole of "Real Time" and Guillaume Vigneault of "Everything Is Fine".
While "The Necessities of Life" took the most nominations, "Fugitive Pieces", the Samuel Goldwyn Films drama based on best-selling novel by Canadian poet Anne Michaels grabbed six nods. Some of the...
- 2/11/2009
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
Santa Barbara winners announced
Suzanne Chisolm and Michael Parfit's documentary Saving Luna, which recounts efforts to save a lone baby killer whale, was voted the audience choice for best feature at the 23rd annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival, which concluded Sunday.
The fest winners were announced at the Closing Night ceremonies, which also included the U.S. premiere of Giuseppe Tornatore's The Unknown Woman.
Richie Mehta's Amal was awarded the Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema, recognizing an indie feature made outside mainstream Hollywood.
The Heineken Red Star Award, set aside for "the most progressive and gifted independent film director," went to Tao Ruspoli for his Fix, starring Shawn Andrews and Olivia Wilde, which offers up a one day-odyssey through the Los Angeles as two documentary filmmakers try to get a young man from jail to rehab.
The German feature Beautiful Bitch, directed by Martin Theo Krieger, was named best foreign film.
The Nueva Vision Award for the best Spanish-language film went to La edad de la peseta (The Silly Age), directed by Pavel Giroud.
The fest winners were announced at the Closing Night ceremonies, which also included the U.S. premiere of Giuseppe Tornatore's The Unknown Woman.
Richie Mehta's Amal was awarded the Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema, recognizing an indie feature made outside mainstream Hollywood.
The Heineken Red Star Award, set aside for "the most progressive and gifted independent film director," went to Tao Ruspoli for his Fix, starring Shawn Andrews and Olivia Wilde, which offers up a one day-odyssey through the Los Angeles as two documentary filmmakers try to get a young man from jail to rehab.
The German feature Beautiful Bitch, directed by Martin Theo Krieger, was named best foreign film.
The Nueva Vision Award for the best Spanish-language film went to La edad de la peseta (The Silly Age), directed by Pavel Giroud.
- 2/4/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- The Toronto International Film Festival Group (Tiffg) announced this year's top ten Canadian feature films including higher-profile pics and items from a set of new-comers. In addition, this year's group of 10 is actually a group of 20 - they've included a ten-list of short films as well. Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski's Madame Tutli-putli (whom we featured here on Ioncinema.com - read our Q and A with the pair of filmmakers here) is the short film that has fairly great chances at making an appearance at this year's Acamdey Awards. The top ten list is part of a series of Q&As by filmmakers and panel discussions to be held in Canada's cap - from January 25 to February 5 at Cinematheque Ontario in Toronto. In alphabetical order:l’ÂGE Des TÉNÈBRES – Denys Arcand (Alliance Odeon Films)Amal – Richie Mehta (Seville Pictures)Continental, Un Film Sans Fusil – Stéphane Lafleur (Christal Films
- 12/12/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
'Darkness,' 'Promises' on Toronto top 10
TORONTO -- Denys Arcand's The Age of Darkness and David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises on Tuesday landed on the Toronto International Film Festival's top 10 list of Canadian films for 2007.
Other titles making the Toronto festival cut include Peter Raymont's A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman, Richie Mehta's Amal, Martin Gero's Young People Fucking and Yung Chang's Up the Yangtze.
Also turning up on the annual list, which is chosen by a 10-member panel of industry professionals, is Stephane Lafleur's Continental, Un Film Sans Fusil, Jeremy Podeswa's Fugitive Pieces, Guy Maddin's My Winnipeg and Bruce McDonald's The Tracey Fragments.
The Toronto festival list encompasses home-grown films that opened in 2007, or appeared in a Canadian festival.
Toronto also released for the first time a top 10 list of home-grown short films, which includes works by Canadian directors Chris Lavis and Maciek Szcerzerbowski, Jeff Barnaby and Cam Christiansen.
"Both the top 10 features and shorts demonstrate the exceptional vitality and the cinematic achievements of our industry," said Piers Handling, director and CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival Group.
Other titles making the Toronto festival cut include Peter Raymont's A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman, Richie Mehta's Amal, Martin Gero's Young People Fucking and Yung Chang's Up the Yangtze.
Also turning up on the annual list, which is chosen by a 10-member panel of industry professionals, is Stephane Lafleur's Continental, Un Film Sans Fusil, Jeremy Podeswa's Fugitive Pieces, Guy Maddin's My Winnipeg and Bruce McDonald's The Tracey Fragments.
The Toronto festival list encompasses home-grown films that opened in 2007, or appeared in a Canadian festival.
Toronto also released for the first time a top 10 list of home-grown short films, which includes works by Canadian directors Chris Lavis and Maciek Szcerzerbowski, Jeff Barnaby and Cam Christiansen.
"Both the top 10 features and shorts demonstrate the exceptional vitality and the cinematic achievements of our industry," said Piers Handling, director and CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival Group.
- 12/12/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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