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Tag: Court

  • Chaitanya Tamhane’s ‘Court’ acquired by Zeitgeist Films for US distribution

    Chaitanya Tamhane’s ‘Court’ acquired by Zeitgeist Films for US distribution

    MUMBAI: Chaitanya Tamhane’s provocative film, Court, which premiered and won two major awards at the prestigious Venice Film Festival, has been acquired by New York based Zeitgeist Films, for US distribution. 

     

    Opening to rave reviews, Court won two coveted awards at Venice – the Orizzonti award for Best Film and the Lion of the Future award for a Debut Film. Lauded for its thought-provoking take on India’s judicial system, it generated a strong buzz on the festival circuit last year, playing at 19 festivals and winning sixteen awards.

     

    Zeitgeist is renowned for bringing path breaking, auteur-driven films to theatres, and has previously distributed films such as Abbas Kiarostami’s Taste Of Cherry, Christopher Nolan’s Following, Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Three Monkeys and many more. 

     

    Zeitgeist Films co-president Nancy Gerstman said, “Anyone who is interested in the constantly changing face of India — with its fascinating contradictions — will appreciate Court. We don’t use the word ‘amazing’ too often, but there is no other way to describe this film and the amount of awards it has collected confirms that others feel the same way.”

     

    Among its other accolades, Court won best film and best director in the international category, honouring the first film by a director, at the Mumbai Film Festival. This was the first time an Indian film won in this section. From there on, it went on to win a FIPRESCI award at the Vienna International Film Festival, the New Talent award at the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival, and the Grand Prix at the Auteur Film Festival in Serbia.

     

    The 27 year old debutant writer-director, Chaitanya Tamhane said, “We could not have asked for a better collaborator for our US release. Given the fact that over the past two decades, Zeitgeist has discovered and supported the films of some of my favourite filmmakers, this feels like a true honour.”

     

    The young producer, Vivek Gomber, who also stars in the film added, “I am thrilled to have Zeitgeist on board. As filmmakers, we want our work to reach as many audiences as possible, across the world. With such an established, well respected, and fearless distributor supporting us, I feel we are in good hands for our American release.” 

     

    A Zoo Entertainment production, Court is slated for an early summer release in India.

  • French sales agent acquires Tamhane’s ‘Court’

    French sales agent acquires Tamhane’s ‘Court’

    NEW DELHI: Artscope, the art film label of Paris-based international sales and production company Memento Films, has acquired Chaitanya Tamhane’s debut feature film Court which has already won several international awards.

     

    The film won the New Talent award at the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival where the Jury commented, “The production is well executed, making use of bold and creative film language, that supports an in-depth exploration of the themes. The film’s concerns for social conflicts can also inspire profound impacts on audiences outside India.”

     

    Earlier, the film won the Victor Turov Memorial Award for Best Film in the ‘Youth on the March’ Feature Films Competition at the 21st Minsk Film Festival Listapad in November last year and a special jury mention at the Molodist Film Festival in Ukraine.

     

    “A sewage worker’s dead body is found inside a manhole in Mumbai. An ageing folk singer is arrested and accused of performing an inflammatory song, which may have incited the worker to commit suicide. The trial unfolds in a lower court, where the hopes and dreams of the city’s ordinary people play out. Forging these fates are the lawyers and judge, who are observed in their personal lives beyond the theatre of the courtroom,” goes the official synopsis of Court. 

  • ‘Court’ once again wins accolades on the international circuit

    ‘Court’ once again wins accolades on the international circuit

    NEW DELHI: Chaitanya Tamhane’s Court, which has been on a winning streak for the past few months, has now won the FIPRESCI (The International Federation of Film Critics) Prize at the Vienna International Film Festival (Viennale).
     

    In the citation, the jury said: “This film is a quietly sophisticated, emotionally restrained yet hugely affecting account of the politics, incompetence and casual corruption of the Indian justice system, which has a universal resonance. While focused on legal procedure, glimpses into the everyday lives of the protagonists add depth and surprising humour to the iniquities within the court.”

    This is director and writer Chaitanya Tamhane’s first film.

     
    Court recently won the Golden Gateway award for Best Film, Best Director and Jury Special Mention for Ensemble Cast at the 16th Mumbai Film Festival. Besides, it also won the Turkish Film Critics’ Association (SIYAD) award for the Best Film at 51st International Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival.

     
    A folk singer who sings about social ills is charged with abetting the alleged suicide of a BMC worker and thrown into judicial custody. What follows is an acidic satire that shows the absurdity of the Indian legal system and society’s callousness with elegant savagery. Court manages to talk about everything from the need for judicial reform to freedom of expression without ever turning preachy or becoming self-indulgent. The cast is made up of theatre actors and non-actors who comfortably slip between Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati and English.

     

  • India in focus in the ‘New World View’ at Zurich Film Festival

    India in focus in the ‘New World View’ at Zurich Film Festival

    NEW DELHI: A total of 12 Indian features and six shortfilms are being showcased in the ongoing Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) in which India is the focus in the ‘New World View’ section.

     

    The Festival is being held from 25 September to 5 October. Chaitanya Tamhane’s ‘Lion of the future’ winner Court and recent festival favourites Anand Gandhi’s Ship of Theseus and Kanu Behl’s Titli are among the selected films.

     

    A package of shorts curated by Swiss Short Film Festival Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur will be on display as well. There are six shorts made by Anurag Goswami , Varun Chawla , Hossein Mozdgir Roozane , Rodd Rathjen , Payal Kapadia  and Gitanjali Rao.

     

    The other features include Fandry by Nagraj Manjule; Gulabi Gang by Nishtha Jain; I.D by Kamal K.M.; Katiyabaaz by Deepti Kakkar and Fahad Mustafa; Liar’s Dice by Geethu Mohandas (which is India’s selection for the Oscars); Lucia by Pawan Kumar; Monsoon Shootout by Amit Kumar; Soodhu Kavvum by Nalan Kumarasamy, and Sulemani Keeda by Amit Masurkar.

     

    Festival’s artistic director Karl Spoerri, one of the festival founders in October 2005, said, “The event will also include a Game Changer award for Mediakraft Networks president Christoph Krachten, honouring a visionary who breaks new ground while choosing to ignore convention and popular opinion”.

     

    ZFF will also introduce an out-of-competition strand to present television productions that have garnered international attention.

     

    The third International Film Music Competition will also be held during the festival and brings with it Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer, who will be honoured with a lifetime achievement award and a concert of his most famous works.        

     

    ZFF’s partnership with San Sebastian Film Festival will continue, with each hosting a window dedicated to films from their respective countries rather than competing for titles.

     

  • Zee 24 Gantalu scribes get court support

    Zee 24 Gantalu scribes get court support

    MUMBAI: The Hyderabad High Court in an order passed on 26 September regarding the two cases lodged against Telugu news channel Zee 24 Gantalu has asked the police to combine the two FIRs in one.  

    Two cases were filed against the channel for airing a video that had shown DGP V Dinesh Reddy going to two godmen and asking for their blessings. The DGP claims the video was morphed. The other case was filed by the Muslim godman, who claims that the channel called him a ‘black magician’.

    The channel says he has misinterpreted the words. The actual words it used were ‘mantra gaadu’ which means someone who performs mantras.

    The case that the DGP has lodged will be clubbed with the one that the Baba had lodged.

    Additionally, the court has also ordered the police to resist from arresting journalists of Zee 24 Gantalu without any prima facie evidence. Two journalists had been arrested by the police earlier and remanded in custody for two days. They are now on bail.

    The staff of the channel has taken anticipatory bail including the editor K Siva Prasad. He says that the bail is still valid because the bail was applied for the case one and now the second case will also be clubbed in the first case.

     “We are ready to fight the case,” says Prasad.

  • Zee 24 Gantalu seeks justice from court

    Zee 24 Gantalu seeks justice from court

    MUMBAI: Of late Zee 24 Gantalu, the Telugu news channel of ZMCL has been a plethora of cases being filed against it.  The latest is that it has decided to finally take a stand and say ‘enough is enough’. The channel has filed a writ petition in the Hyderabad High Court yesterday to seek relief from the FIR lodged against it by DGP V Dinesh Reddy.

    A case of ‘spreading communal tension’ has been lodged in the police against it following which two employees (journalists) had been arrested and remanded in custody for two days. They are currently on bail and several other staff members have also taken anticipatory bail including the chief editor K Siva Prasad and the input editor.

    The news report that is creating trouble is the one about the DGP (who is to retire soon) going to various babas (godmen) including a Hindu and a Muslim and touching their feet. He claims that the video has been morphed. The other case is where the Muslim baba has accused the channel of calling him a ‘black magician’.

    “The words we used were ‘mantra gaadu’ which does not mean black magician but someone who is performing mantras,” says Zee 24 Gantalu editor K Siva Prasad.
    The court’s order will come out tomorrow.

    Last month another notice was sent to the channel regarding a video telecast on TRS chief K Chandrashekhar Rao on the repatriation of Seemandhara region’s employees.

  • Salman Khan to appear in court today

    Salman Khan to appear in court today

    MUMBAI: Bollywood actor Salman Khan will appear before a Mumbai sessions court today in connection with the 2002 hit-and-run case.

    The Mumbai sessions court had previously rejected his review petition on 24 June. As a result, he will now be tried for culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 of IPC.

    Khan was earlier tried by a magistrate under lesser charge of causing death by negligence (Section 304A of IPC), that provides for a maximum punishment of two years in jail.

    The Bombay High Court had earlier held that Section 304 part II of the Indian Penal Code (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) was not applicable in this case and that the actor be tried under 304 A of IPC (rash and negligent driving) and other relevant sections.

    The metropolitan magistrate‘s court in Bandra had framed charges against the actor under Sections 304 A of the IPC (rash and negligent driving), 279 (rash driving), 337 (causing minor injuries), 338 (causing major injuries) and 427 (negligence).

    Salman‘s Toyota Land Cruiser vehicle had rammed into a bakery in suburban Bandra killing one and injuring four persons who were sleeping on a pavement on 28 September 2002.

  • Stage set for a court battle on DAS in Bengaluru

    Stage set for a court battle on DAS in Bengaluru

    MUMBAI: A battle royale is set to take place in the Karnataka High Court tomorrow. On the one hand are national and Karnataka‘s multi system operators (MSOs). And on the other side is the Karnataka Cable TV Operators Association (KCTVOA). The former are are all set to challenge the petition filed by the latter seeking extension of DAS (digital addressable system) in Bengaluru.

    Putting up a united front, the MSOs led by Hathway Cable & Datacom, InCable, Den Networks, Siti Cable and Atria Convergence Technologies will request the High Court to dismiss the writ petition filed by the KCTVOA.

    The MSOs have been made respondents to the petition filed by KCTVOA president V S Patrick Raju. The MSOs are expected to file their responses when the case comes up for hearing before the court tomorrow.

    Hathway Cable & Datacom MD and CEO Jagdish Kumar asserted that the MSOs will request the HC to strike down the KCTVOA‘s writ petition seeking extension of digitisation deadline.

    Kumar feels that there is no need for a stay on DAS in Bangalore as almost 75 per cent of the television households have already been seeded with STBs. The MSOs, he said, are equipped to seed STBs in the remaining 25 per cent homes.

    The Karnataka HC had had on 31 March extended DAS in Bengaluru till 5 April on a petition filed by Raju. The KCTVOA had requested the HC to postpone digitisation in Karnataka‘s capital city as there was no clarity on the set top boxes (STBs).

    Raju says that he had filed a RTI request with the nodal officer in Bengaluru 10 days ago, seeking information on the extent of set top box seeding in the city, but he had not got a response as yet. He says that the entire digitisation process will result in cable TV operators becoming a bill collector and the revenue share of 65:35 in favour of the MSO is not acceptable at all. “We have invested so much in our cable TV networks and by collecting Rs 1,400 for a set top box, the MSO will get our subscriber who is asking us for bills for the set top box, for warranty for mobility to other areas of the city,” he says. “Also the MSOs have not given us a rate card for the channels that they want us to carry.”

    The sunset date for phase II of digitisation covering 38 cities was 31 March however the Information & Broadcasting ministry on 2 April allowed a 15 day grace period to the industry to allow smooth transition from analogue to digital cable.

    The HC is also expected to hear tomorrow a petition filed by Mysore Cable TV Operators Association seeking extension in Mysore due to shortage of STBs.

  • Court to hear on false TV sting on 15 November

    NEW DELHI: Discharging school teacher Uma Khurana who had been accused in a fake sting operation on a prostitution racket, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Alok Aggarwal today fixed 15 November for argument on charges against the other three accused — tv reporters Prakash Singh and Rashmi Singh, and Virender Arora.

    The police have charged the trio for criminal conspiracy for using forged electronic record. 

    The teacher has been discharged following a report by Delhi Police that it had no evidence against her. 

    Delhi Police had informed the court two days earlier that it had filed the first charge-sheet against the television channel reporters and Arora who also took part in the false sting. 

    In its final investigation report, the Delhi Police had told Aggarwal that no substantial evidence had been found against Khurana for her trial under the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act. 

    The sting two months ago purportedly showed the 41-year-old teacher forcing her girl students into prostitution and pornography. Following the telecast, an angry mob had attacked the school, torched several vehicles parked on the road, and manhandled the teacher. She was dismissed from service by the Delhi government on 1 September and arrested the next day.

    A week later, it was discovered that the operation was a hoax and the girl ‘victim’ shown in the TV sting was, in fact, TV journalist Rashmi Singh. Khurana was granted bail on 11 September.

    Prakash Singh was arrested and booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including those related to cheating and criminal conspiracy.

  • Court seeks guidelines on stings, status of Broadcast Bill

    NEW DELHI: Pointing out that it was the responsibility of the Government to act if any television channel concocted a sting operation, the Delhi High Court today sought to know the provisions drawn up in this regard.

    The Court also wanted to know the status of the Broadcasting Bill, on which discussions had been going on for some time. The ministry was asked to file its reply by 17 September. 

    Hearing a public interest litigation by social worker Rahul Verma seeking to regulate sting operations by TV channels, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice M K Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Khanna noted: “There have been discussions regarding the bill. The Minister (for Information and Broadcasting) has said that the government is bringing the bill. What has come out so far?” 

    Referring to the recent report of the fake sting operation by Live India channel, the court said: “If the sting is concocted, it is your responsibility to take action. Some kind of restriction has to be there. It is not about an individual case but about broader policy.” 

    The court made a reference to the “sting operation” purportedly showing government schoolteacher Uma Khurana as running a prostitution racket, though the police found it to be a fake report. 

    The telecast of the sting by Live India last month triggered mob violence in and around the school in central Delhi where Khurana taught mathematics. She was soon arrested and sacked from the job. However, Khurana was released on bail earlier this week as no evidence was found against her.

    The Centre today informed the Court that the I&B ministry had issued a show cause notice yesterday to ‘Live India’ channel to respond within three days as to why action against it should not be taken for irresponsible reporting in the fake sting operation involving the school teacher. Not satisfied by that reply, the Court asked, ”Under which provision of the law you have issued the show cause notice. If offence is committed, you have to register a case and start criminal proceedings.”

    The Court had in fact taken suo motu notice of the case on 7 September and had issued notice to the Government and the Police. Interestingly, the police has in its reply told the court that it has not given a clean chit to the teacher. The police had arrested reporter Prakash Singh and his associate Rashmi Singh after booking him under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including those relating to cheating and criminal conspiracy.

    The fake sting reports have come at a time when broadcasters are opposing the ministry’s proposal in the bill to bring in a Content Code to regulate news and current affairs content.