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Tag: IFFI

  • Gurvindrer Singh’s film bags Golden Peacock at IFFI

    Gurvindrer Singh’s film bags Golden Peacock at IFFI

    MUMBAI: Debutante director Gurvinder Singh, whose film Anhey Ghorey Da Daan (Alms for the Blind Horse) has won praises and prizes in film festivals all around the world, is on cloud nine with his film bagging the coveted Golden Peacock Award at the International Film festival of India (IFFI) that concluded in Goa yesterday.

    First to congratulate Singh was Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari. In his message, Tewari said: "Your success will spur the growth of Punjabi cinema and will encourage young directors to direct films that reflect concerns of society at large. Your achievement is an important milestone for the growth of regional cinema in the country."

    Produced by the National Film Development Corporation and based on Punjabi novelist Gurdial Singh‘s novel, the film attempts to translate to screen the effect years of subordination can bring to struggling masses in the face of events spinning beyond their control.

    Incidentally, Anhey Ghorey Da Daan has already won three National awards.

  • 43rd IFFI goes live on social media with dedicated link on YouTube

    43rd IFFI goes live on social media with dedicated link on YouTube

    PANAJI: Even as the national television network Doordarshan aired live the grandeur of the opening ceremony of the Festival on 20 November, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry came out with a new initiative by streaming live the entire programme for about three hours on YouTube.

    While the Ministry had gone on YouTube just over two months earlier, it has attempted to bring to life the IFFI through its link http://www.youtube.com/user/INBMINISTRY/videos where it is also placing short promotional of various films of the festival, and will also carry interviews of important dignitaries.

    The objective of launching the channel was to reach out to the young population of the country, sensitizing them about the Government’s policies and programmes. At the same time, the channel has provided a window to disseminate information on key issues and events regularly in an effective manner.

    Since its launch, the channel has successfully incorporated a bouquet of programmes on the platform catering to different cross sections. The uploaded programmes include Live streaming of events, news capsules of two to three minutes duration, campaign spots, short films and documentaries, classical music, inspirational speeches, etc. The response has been overwhelming. Till date the channel has received about 25000 video views and has approximately 295 subscribers.

    The channel has provided the Ministry the opportunity to integrate communication and content on a newly emerging platform. The content is regularly updated on a day to day basis through the social media cell set up for this purpose.

    The 43rd IFFI is being publicized and promoted in a big way through the channel thereby giving it a better profile on the social media network.

    Some of the Events proposed to be covered on a daily basis are: Interviews of Film Directors and Producers of National and International Fame; Tributes and Retrospectives of Indian Panorama; Master Classes for budding filmmakers; some sideline stories about Goan culture, heritage etc.; and Cultural Performances of Goa.

  • Restored print of Garam Hawa to screen at IFFI on 25 November

    Restored print of Garam Hawa to screen at IFFI on 25 November

    MUMBAI: The Balraj Sahni-starrer Garm Hava, directed by M S Sathyu, considered a milestone in Indian cinema, that has been fully restored, will be screened at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa scheduled to go underway today.

    According to IFFI officials, the film that also stars Geeta Siddharth, Farooq Shaikh, the late A K Hangal and Jalal Agha, will be screened on 25 November as part of commemoration of 100 years of Indian cinema.

    The 1973 Hindi-Urdu classic based on an unpublished Urdu short story by Ismat Chughtai and adapted for screen by Kaifi Azmi, will also be released theatrically soon.

    The film deals with the plight of a North Indian Muslim family post-Partition as the protagonist (Sahni) faces the dilemma of whether to move to Pakistan or stay back. One of the most poignant films ever made on the Partition, it was also India‘s official entry to the Oscars in 1974.

    Since the film‘s negative was in a bad shape, Mumbai-based distributor Subhash Chheda who also runs a DVD label Rudraa Chheda proposed to Sathyu that he be given the responsibility of restoring of both the audio and video segments of the film to which the director easily obliged.

    Thus began Chheda‘s two-year-long elaborate effort to have an upgraded 5.1 and Dolby mixed version of Garm Hava, which was almost lost in the annals of time.

    “Restoration of a classic is very tricky and complex, as people remember the original movie forever – frame-by-frame, dialogue-by-dialogue, word-by-word,” he says.

    “The project stayed under the scanners of the best creative and technical experts around the world for about a year. Almost 2,00,000 frames of 2K resolution were observed by all these experts again and again. The restoration and post-restoration of the movie consumed more than 5,00,000 man-hours of our technical and creative team and terabytes of space of our computers,” Chheda said in a statement.

    However, no portion of the film has been deleted nor anything added. “Everything has merely been enhanced to give a complete theatrical experience to the modern viewer,” Chedda concludes.

  • IFFI to stage 20-minute dialogue between Dadasaheb Phalke and wife

    IFFI to stage 20-minute dialogue between Dadasaheb Phalke and wife

    MUMBAI: 2012 marks the centenary year of Indian cinema and what better way to celebrate the same by paying a tribute to the Father of Indian cinema, Dadasaheb Phalke. The 43rd international film festival will stage a 20-minute play with a dialogue between Phalke and his wife Savitri.

    Made by Phalke‘s grand niece, the play throws light on what inspired Phalke to make India‘s first full-leagth feature film Raja Harishchandra in 1913. “We have a biography on Dadasaheb Phalke made by his grand niece which we will showcase on November 21. We wanted to celebrate the 100 years of cinema and what better way to do it than this. It is a 20-minute dialogue between Phalke and his wife Savitri which will be adapted into a play,” said IFFI director Shankar Mohan in a statement.

    Besides this, the 11-day festival will also screen 26 feature films and 36 documentary and non-feature films to commemorate the centenary year of Indian cinema. “It is a special time this year as we complete 100 years, and so we have a collection of movies which will be screened. IFFI has changed a lot over the past years in terms of content and delivery and we aim to make it better each year,” Mohan added.

    The IFFI, that starts from 20 November will open with the screening of Oscar-winning filmmaker Ang Lee‘s Life Of Pi while it will close with Mira Nair‘s The Reluctant Fundamentalist.

  • This year Turkey is Country Focus of IFFI

    This year Turkey is Country Focus of IFFI

    MUMBAI: The 43rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) has announced that this year, Turkey would be its Country Focus.

    The ‘Country Focus‘ section intends to promote a greater understanding of the traditions and cultures of the focused country‘s society. It will showcase the way of life in Turkey through the intricately woven stories of the films.

    The section, that will showcase handpicked cinema from the culture and society of Turkey, will present a package of eight films that will include films like Do Not Forget Me Istanbul, ‘Hidden Lives, Love and Revolution, The Son, The Stranger, Trace, Voice of My Father and Where the Fire Burns.

    Showcasing films which are true reflections of life and times of the people of Turkey, the section brings works by Turkish directors like Aida Begic, Eric Nazarian, Hany Abu-Assad, Josefina Markarian, Omar Shargawi, Stefan Arsenijevic, Stergios Niziris, A. Haluk Ünal, F. Serkan Acar, Attila Cengiz, Filiz Alpgezmen, Tayfur Ayd?n, Orhan Eskiköy and ?smail Güne?.

    The IFFI would be held in Goa from 20 to 30 November.

  • Akshay Kumar to inaugurate IFFI this year

    Akshay Kumar to inaugurate IFFI this year

    MUMBAI: It‘s official. Akshay Kumar will inaugurate the ten-day International Film Festival of India (IFFI) that gets underway 20th November in Goa.

    It needs to be noted that the name of Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan was doing rounds to inaugurate the annual film festival.

    “Akshay Kumar will be inaugurating the IFFI this year,” said Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) vice chairman Vishnu Wagh.

    Wagh also said that the inauguration of the IFFI this time around could move from being ritually held indoors to a picturesque river jetty located in the city itself.

    “It will be a much grander event this year with over 2,500 people attending it, as against the 1,000 odd invitees, who were traditionally invited every year,” Wagh observed.

    “The government of Goa would be spending around Rs.9 crore for the 10-day event. The central government will only foot the bill for the inaugural and closing ceremonies,” he added.

  • I&B Ministry seeks to placate irate film fraternity over IFFI

    I&B Ministry seeks to placate irate film fraternity over IFFI

    NEW DELHI: The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has assured the film fraternity that it had never intended to keep out representatives from the organisation of the International Film Festival of India.

    I&B Joint Secretary (Films) Raghavendra Singh told a delegation of the Film Federation of India that the he would examine their grievances but requested them to cooperate with the organisation of the Festival, being held in November in Panaji, Goa.

    Singh, an Indian Administrative Service officer of the 1983 batch from the West Bengal cadre, said he had been in the Ministry for just a few weeks and would study their issues.

    The FFI was represented by its President Vinod Lamba, Secretary General Supran Sen, and Vice-Presidents L Suresh and Ravi Kottarakara, Rajendra Singh from Delhi, and Ramesh Tekwani from Mumbai among others.

    The move comes just over a week after the FFI, the apex body of the film industry, decided to boycott all activities of the IFFI to protest its being by-passed and not being called to any meeting of the Steering and other Committees.

    The members present told Raghavendra Singh that they were told of the Industry Coordination Committee meeting as late as August-end by which time some major discussions that are normally taken at this meeting had already been taken by the Directorate of Film Festivals and IFFI Secretariat.

    The Federation in its Annual General Meeting earlier this month in Mumbai unanimously decided that FFI will not participate in any of the activities of IFFI.

    FFI has always been an essential component of the Steering Committee and its members actively involved in various other committees and sub-committees such as Theatre, Technical, Hospitality and others. But this has not happened in recent years and ‘FFI can only assume that either the committees have been discontinued or FFI has been kept out of them.’

    The IFFI by its very tenets is a festival held jointly by the Government and the Indian Film Industry, and the Film Federation of India being the apex body of the industry ‘has been playing their part with total sincerity and efficiency.’

  • IFFI inauguration to be held in outdoor AC dome

    IFFI inauguration to be held in outdoor AC dome

    MUMBAI: The opening and closing ceremonies of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa this year would be held in a specially built outdoor air-conditioned dome.

    “The thought has come up that both the ceremonies should be held outdoors in an open air-conditioned dome so that we can invite more people,” said Entertainment Society of Goa vice chairman Vishnu Wagh.

    “The seating capacity of the existing theatres where ceremonies are held is less and hence even members of the legislative assembly cannot be invited,” he said.

    Meanwhile the organisers have invited Amitabh Bachchan for both the opening and the closing ceremonies of the festival.

    At least 3,000 to 4,000 people would be accommodated in the outdoor facility.

    IFFI 2012 would be held from 20 to 30 November in Panaji.

  • Funeral of Anthony Gonsalves on Saturday

    Funeral of Anthony Gonsalves on Saturday

    MUMBAI: The burial ceremony of legendary music arranger and composer Anthony Gonsalves who passed away on Wednesday will be held in Goa after his son Kiran arrives from the US. Gonsalves is survived by wife Melita, daughter Laxmi and a son.

    The 84-year-old, who was the inspiration behind the track My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves from the hit film Amar Akbar Anthony, was admitted to Goa Medical College on account of pneumonia on Sunday.

    Having started off as an obscure violinist with renowned music composer Naushad‘s group in 1943, Gonsalves moved on to work with biggies like Anil Biswas, Gulam Haidar, Shyam Sundar, Sachin Dev Burman, R D Burman and Laxmikant Pyarelal among others.

    Tweeted Amitabh Bachchan on Gonsalves’ demise, "Anthony Gonsalves…passes away….talented musician with LP and on his name my character name for Anthony was put..prayers."

    He is remembered for his musical arrangements in Mahal, Naya Daur, Dillagi and Pyaasa to name a few films. The noted arranger is also credited with founding an Indian symphony orchestra featuring Lata Mangeshkar and Manna Dey as soloists.

    It may be recalled that a 58-minute film was screened at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in his honour in 2010.
     

  • Colombian film bags top award at 42nd IFFI

    Colombian film bags top award at 42nd IFFI

    PANAJI: The Colombian film ‘Porfirio‘ by Alejandro Landes took away the Golden Peacock for best film, while Iranian director Asghar Farhadi got the Silver Peacock for best director for the film ‘Nader and Simin, a Separation‘.


    While Alejandro and his producer Francisco Allure received Rs 4 million each, Asghar got Rs 1.5 million.


    The best actor award went to Sasson Gabay for the Israeli film ‘Restoration‘ by Joseph Madmony while the best female actor award went to Nadezda Markina for the Russian film ‘Elena‘ directed by Andrei Zvyagintev. Both received the Silver Peacock and a cash component of One million each.


    The Indian (Malayalam) film ‘Abu. Son of Adam‘ (Adaminte Makan Abu) by Salim Ahamed received the Special jury award comprising cash component of Rs 1.5 million apart from a Silver Peacock.


    The five-member International Jury was headed by famed filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan judging 14 films. Seven outstanding films which could not make it to the competition are being shown in a section known as ‘A Cut Above‘.


    Earlier, Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting CM Jatua said IFFI provides a platform for cinemas of the world to promote excellence and promote friendships amongst people.


    Chief Guest and actor Surya said movies are all about desires that drive the people to do better. He said in south India, where he came from, cinema was a culture and not just entertainment. But it was unfortunate that regional language cinema was not getting the kind of attention that Hindi cinema got, though “we build a lot of bridges”. He said filmmakers in the south shared creative content.


    He made a special appeal that awarded films should be shown in all parts of the country with English subtitles, to help the untapped talent.


    Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat said the festivals had led to more films being shot in Goa – 67 in recent months – and the motto of the festival had been to see satisfaction on the faces of the delegates. He noted that the Festival coincided with the Golden Jubilee of ‘Operation Vijay‘ which resulted in the liberation of Goa.


    Festival Director Shankar Mohan proposed the vote of thanks at the finale which was attended among others by Goa Speaker Pratap Singh Rane, Goa Information Secretary Rajiv Verma, Panaji Mayor Yatin Parikh, I&B Ministry Joint Secretary (Films) DP Reddy, Goa Chief Secretary Sanjay Srivastava, actors Kangana Ranaut and Bhumika, filmmaker Rajendra Ahire, cameraman Madhu Ambat, and producer Sohail Khan. The programme was presented by actors Samir Soni and Mandira Bedi.


    The festival closed with the French film ‘The Lady‘ by Luc Besson on the life of Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar.


    The programme commenced a minute‘s silence to pay homage to Brazilian filmmaker Oscar Marron Filho who had died of a heart attack during the festival.
    The colourful function included a dance ensemble representing dances from different parts of the country performed by Terence Lewis and his troupe with actress Isha Koppiker as the guest dancer.


    A total of 167 films from 65 countries were screened at the Festival which commenced on 23 November. Renowned French filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier received the Lifetime Achievement award from Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni.


    This award, which had been started around a decade earlier and later abandoned, has been revived and will include a cash award of Rs one million.


    The Festival was inaugurated by Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan and opened with the Portuguese film ‘The Consul of Bordeaux‘ by Francisco Manso and Joao Correa.