ITV

Category: Movies

  • Bangladesh’s first film festival in India inaugurated by Jatua

    NEW DELHI: Inaugurating the first-ever Bangladesh Films Festival, Minister of state for Information and Broadcasting CM Jatua said this would contribute further to the people-to-people contacts between the two countries. He recommended that the films should be taken to other cities as well.


    Jatua felt the films would lead to a better understanding of the composite ethos of Bangladesh. The Minister said though the people of both countries lived separately, they shared a common bond with regard to history, culture and social values. In the current scenario, it was imperative that media played a pro-active role in familiarising the people in India with the cinematic brilliance of film directors from Bangladesh.


    Speaking on the occasion, Bangladesh High Commissioner Tariq A Karim said culture transcends all languages. He said recently Bangladesh cinema had seen a fresh upsurge with a fresh and intellectual capital in terms of new blood.


    Renowned actor and director Sarah Kabori, who is also a Member of Parliament, said India had helped Bangladesh in every sphere from the time of the freedom movement in 1971 to the present day.


    The three-day festival of films from Bangladesh has been organised by the Directorate of Film Festivals in collaboration with the Bangladesh High Commission from 16 to 18 April.at Sirifort Auditorioum II.


    In all, seven films will be screened: Ontorjatra, Joyjatra, Bachelor, Rupkathar Golpo, Matir Moina, Aha and ‘Ayna by Kabori which was the inaugural film.


    Other members of the Bangladesh delegation are distinguished film producer and Managing Director of Impress Telefilm Limited Faridur Reza Sagar, noted actor and director Tauquir Ahmed, talented actors from the new generation Aupee and Shahidul Alam.

  • Reliance Big Pictures to release Kannada film Ijjodu on 30 April

    MUMBAI: Screened at four domestic film festivals, Reliance Big Pictures is now set to release the MS Sathyu-directed Kannada film Ijjodu on 30 April.


    The story of Ijjodu is based in a remote area in Karnataka where photo journalist Ananda meets Chenni, a woman who was made a ‘Basavi‘ and was offered to the village goddess to save the superstitious locals from a devastating epidemic. Basavis, like Devdasis, often end up becoming sex workers.


    Ananda specialises in photographing ancient monuments and writing about various rituals and customs that have gone unquestioned. He soon gets obsessed by Chenni’s unusual life. In trying to explore more information about her, he discovers that she is a victim of blind faith and the story unfolds to change their lives forever.


    Says Sathyu, “Ijjodu is very close to my heart. The film takes a strong stand against the existent Devdasi pratha in the Yellama society in Karnataka. It has some excellent performances and music and I am happy that my 12-year long hiatus ends with such a beautiful film.”


    Adds Reliance Big Pictures CEO Sanjeev Lamba, “Ijjodu not only marks the return of a director par excellence but also explores a social practice which has officially been banned from our society. Reliance Big Pictures is proud to be associated with such meaningful cinema.”


    Scripted by the national award winner Sathyu himself, Ijjodu has noted South Indian actress Meera Jasmine, essaying the role of the female lead Chenni. The film also stars popular Kannada actor Aniruddha Jatkar as the male protagonist.

  • Jim Morrison-inspired film in the offing

    MUMBAI: Writer-director Robert Saitzyk will write and direct The Last Beat a drama inspired by the last days of Jim Morrison, for Zero Gravity Management.


    Shawn Andrews, who starred in Saitzyk‘s After the Flood will star in the film produced by Mark Holder and Christine Holder. The film will go on the floors in Paris in October.


    A non-traditional biopic, Beat will track the final days of Jay Douglas, a famous American rock star in the early ‘70s, as he navigates his relationships with two women in Paris — a glamorous French Countess named Clemence and his California “soulmate,” Valerie Eason.


    Saitzyk has also written and directed White of Winter and Godspeed.


    Zero Gravity recently produced The Canyon and Malice in Wonderland that will premiere on DVD later this month.
     

  • Countries close to reaching anti-piracy agreement

    MUMBAI: Countries negotiating a deal to curb trade in fake and pirated goods are likely to reach an agreement. They are in talks that have raised concerns among digital rights advocates.


    Said Nefeterius McPherson, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Trade Representative‘s office, said in a statement,”The agreement can be concluded soon if other participants make it a priority to achieve such progress now.”


    Digital rights advocates have feared the proposed anti-counterfeiting trade agreement could allow customs agents to confiscate laptop and music devices if they contain illegal downloads, while other groups have worried it could restrict trade in low-price generic drugs.


    In a joint statement, negotiators from the U.S., the European Union, Japan and other countries that met this week in New Zealand said those fears were unjustified.


    To further allay concerns, the countries have agreed to release a consolidated “bracketed text” on Wednesday.The brackets surround parts of the agreement that are still under negotiation and will be the focus of the next round of talks in June in Switzerland.
     

  • NFDC organises workshop for scriptwriters

    MUMBAI: In keeping with its mandate of promoting the development of cinemas of India, the National Film Development Corporation Ltd. (NFDC), in association with Binger Filmlab and Locarno International Film Festival, has decided to conduct Screenwriters‘ Lab 2010, a 2-part screenwriters‘ workshop for writing and selling original Indian screenplays.


    The workshop will aim at improving a completed screenplay in its final stages and to increase the international marketability of the same.


    The first session will be held during the Locarno International Film Festival, Switzerland, from 7 to 9 August this year where participants will get first-hand experience of the workings of the international film community and get to train with their screenplay mentors.


    The 2nd session would be held at Film Bazaar, Goa, from 23 to 26 November where participants will apply their training and pitch their revised screenplays to participants at the film market.


    The workshop will be conducted by Marten Rabarts, artistic director, Binger Filmlab, aided by experienced international guest mentors.

  • Weinsteins fashion winning bid for Miramax Films

    MUMBAI: In its bid to take over Miramax Films, the studio they founded in 1979 and sold to Walt Disney Co. in 1993 for $80 million, Weinstein brothers have fashioned a unique winning bid.


    Harvey and Bob Weinstein had been building enough financial power to put together an offer of $600 million or thereabouts in its attempt to top bids from rival suitors like Alec and Tom Gores and Hollywood wheeler-dealer David Bergstein.


    The Weinsteins have been in talks with billionaire financier Ron Burkle throughout the auction process. In addition to Burkle‘s Yucaipa Group, the duo‘s backers include hedge funds Fortress and Colbeck Capital.


    In effect, Burkle and friends would be the official buyers, but the Weinsteins would effectively run the operation.


    For months, Disney has been soliciting offers for the recently shut specialty-film unit and its 611-title library. However, there was no word on when an official announcement of the deal would be made as lawyers representing Disney were in the process of going through the financial details provided by the Weinsteins.
     

  • Domestic rights of Al Qaeda documentary in HBO lap

    MUMBAI: HBO Documentary Films has lapped up the domestic TV rights of the feature-length documentary My Trip to Al Qaeda.


    The film, directed by Oscar winner Alex Gibney, described as part documentary and part performance piece, is a joint venture of Gibney and Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist Lawrence Wright. 


    Based on Wright‘s one-man play and developed from Wright‘s 2006 book ‘The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11‘ My Trip to Al Qaeda chronicles fundamentalist Islam‘s rise to power and the dilemma he faces as a writer in maintaining his objective.


    The film, a 2010 Tribeca Film Festival selection and HBO‘s second collaboration with Gibney will be shown on HBO in fall 2010.
     

  • Bangladesh film festival first time in India

    NEW DELHI: The first ever festival of films from India’s closest neighbour Bangladesh will be inaugurated tomorrow in the capital by Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Choudhury Mohan Jatua.


    The three-day festival of films from Bangladesh has been organised by the Directorate of Film Festivals in collaboration with the Bangladesh High Commission from 16 to 18 April.at Sirifort Auditorioum II.


    It is expected that the festival will facilitate more cultural exchange programmes between the countries. In all, seven films will be screened: Ontorjatra, Joyjatra, Bachelor, Rupkathar Golpo, Matir Moina, Aha and Ayna.


    Renowned actor and director Sarah Kabori, distinguished film producer and managing director of Impress Telefilm Faridur Reza Sagar, noted actor and director Tauquir Ahmed, talented actors from the new generation Aupee and Shahidul Alam will participate in the festival.
     

  • UTV syndicates movies to Middle East channels

    MUMBAI: UTV has signed movie syndication deals with four Middle East channels – MBC, Infinity TV, Kuwait TV and Abu Dhabi TV.


    UTV will be exploiting new revenues from its 10 movies, which are to be dubbed in Arabic, over a period of 18 months. The deals vary with the different broadcasters, ranging between 12-to 18 months, with limited airing rights.


    MBC, the free to air satellite channel, will telecast four UTV movies – Chance Pe Dance, What’s Your Raashee, Wake Up Sid and Main Aurr Mrs Khanna.


    The other three channels, Infinity TV, Abu Dhabi TV and Kuwait TV, will telecast the old lot of six UTV movies – Fashion, Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!, Jodhaa Akbar, Race, Kaminey and Kismat Konnection on their networks.


    UTV had first signed the deal with MBC two years back and aired the dubbed version of Jodhaa Akbar in the Middle East, sensing the demand for this kind of content will pick up.


    UTV VP international distribution and syndication Amrita Pandey said, “We’re happy with our continued association with MBC on our content since two years. We look forward to our movies airing on channels like Abu Dhabhi TV, Infinity TV and Kuwait TV that widen our audience in Middle East and North Africa Region.”


    MBC is the leading free-to-air, pan-Arab, news and entertainment channel in the Middle East. Satellite transmission for MBC first started from London in September 1991, making MBC the first independent Arabic satellite TV station.


    Abu Dhabi TV is an Arabic television station owned and managed by the United Arab Emirates‘ largest media group, Abu Dhabi Media Company.


    Infinity TV, launched in October 2004, offers entertaining and educational programmes that appeal to members of the whole family. Infinity broadcasts movies, musicals, sitcoms, children shows.


    Earlier, UTV had syndicated these movies to Colors, NDTV Imagine, B4U (international) and Channel 4 (UK).

  • Russel Crowe to star in Hindi film

    MUMBAI: Russel Crowe has been signed to star in a Hindi film Amrit Kumbh that also stars Paoli Dam.


    Crowe plays a middle-aged German writer John Wonders who travels to witness Kumbh Mela to attain moksha and falls in love with a 21-year old Bengali girl.


    Set in Hardwar, Amrit Kumbh is the journey of a Los Angeles based writer John Wonders (Crowe) to the sacred Hindu pilgrimage Kumbh Mela. From the moment John launches his journey on the Indian train en route to the mela, he is submerged in a world of different languages, castes, backgrounds and the personal hopes and dreams of over a million pilgrims.


    He is shocked by what he finds, including the love of a beautiful young woman and easy friendships among his fellow travelers despite language and cultural barriers.


    Produced by Ricky Sinha and directed by Sudipto Sen, the film has music from AR Rahman.


    The film is also being made in English and is titled In Search of Morality. It has Prem Chopra, Farida Jallal, Divya Dutta, Raghubir Yadav and Tisca Chopra.