ITV

Tag: IFFI

  • Indo-Polish bilateral cooperation in films sector to be diversified

    Indo-Polish bilateral cooperation in films sector to be diversified

    NEW DELHI: India and Poland today agreed to consider an exchange of film festivals to familiarise people in both countries with their films.

    Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told Polish Culture and National Heritage Minister Bogdan Zdarajewski here today that Indian viewers gave a lot of importance to Polish cinema and an indication of this was the special section on contemporary Polish cinema at the forthcoming International Film Festival of India in Goa commencing on 23 November.

    The aim of increasing exchanges would be to diversify the levels of cooperation and exchange in the areas of film festivals, and exchange programmes between National Film Schools of both the countries.

    Films from Poland will also be screened in "Spotlight on Poland" section and in the "A Cut Above" section.

    Nine films from Poland will be screened at IFFI and Lech Majewski‘s film ‘The Mill and the Cross‘ will be featured in the international section. Some of the prominent films in the Spotlight Section on Poland include ‘The Winner‘ directed by Wieslaw Saniewski, ‘Heritage‘ directed by Andrzej Baranski and ‘The Entanglement‘ directed by Jacek Bromski.

    Regarding the proposed "Audio Visual Co-production Agreement" between the two countries, Soni told the Polish Minister that the due process of Inter Ministerial consultations would be completed shortly.

    Both Ministers discussed the possibility of exchange programme between the National Film Schools at Lodz, Poland and the Film and Television Institute of India at Pune and the Satyajit Ray Film and TV Institute in Kolkata. The latter has indicated that it would be interested in entering into an agreement with National Film Schools, Lodz, Poland. The agreement would focus on ‘Student Exchange Programmes‘ and ‘Faculty Exchange Programmes‘.

  • IDPA Awards for 2010 show variation in creativity in short films

    IDPA Awards for 2010 show variation in creativity in short films

    NEW DELHI: ‘A Drop of Sunshine‘ by Aparna Sanyal on disability and an advertising short on ‘Adidas‘ by Uzer Khan and Sebastian Narsing have won the highest number of awards in the annual Indian Documentary Producers Association (IDPA) Awards for 2010.

    While ‘A Drop of Sunshine‘ won five awards including best film on the theme of disability, the ‘Adidas‘ short received four including one for special effects. Other films to win more than one award were ‘Visible Bra Straps‘ by Ajitesh Sharma, ‘Inshallah, Football‘ by Ashvin Kumar, and the commercial ‘Airtel‘ by Uzer Khan.

    E Suresh and the team of Eekasaurus won as many as seven awards for different films, while institutions like the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute of India, Kolkata, the Whistling Woods International of Mumbai, the National Institute of Design of Ahmedabad, and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai also won awards.

    72 films have won Gold, Silver or Certificate of Merit in 26 categories presented for 2010, thus increasing the number of categories over 2009. The awards are being presented in Mumbai on 30 October.

    Some of the categories were Disability, Environment, Advertising films, public service, short fiction, animation, special effects, student films, and technical awards like editing, cinematography and script-writing.

    The winning film for environment is ‘Faith revisited‘ by Ishani K Dutta which explores how religion can be used to cleanse the environment, while senior filmmaker Umesh Aggarwal won the top award for his film ‘Annadata – Food for thought‘ in the non-fiction (under thirty minutes) category. The short fiction in animation went to ‘Fisher Women Trailer‘ by E Suresh of Studio Eeksaurus, while the short fiction award went to ‘Lonely Hearts‘ by Srijith Paul. ‘The Banana Pandit‘ by students of Whistling Woods International received the student award in the animation category.

    The films were seen in Mumbai and Delhi for each category by separate juries comprising over 35 eminent members who have excelled in their respective fields.

    The IDPA has been collaborating in organising the Mumbai International Film Festival for shorts, documentary and animation films organised by the Films Division, the Short Film Center at IFFI every year, and the Chhota Cinema here that help promote the documentary movement.

    The IDPA is one of the oldest film associations set up as a trust in 1956. It has been guided since its birth in 1956 by a galaxy of member filmmakers and producers from Satyajit Ray, Paul Zils, Shyam Benegal, Saeed Akhtar Mirza, Manmohan Shetty and others, many of whom started their careers with short films. Members of the IDPA have won several Awards including those given by international agencies including the United Nations.

  • Mike Pandey decries spat between I&B ministry and Goa govt

    Mike Pandey decries spat between I&B ministry and Goa govt

    MUMBAI: Chairman of the steering committee of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) Mike Pandey has opined that squabbling between the Information & Broadcasting (I& B) ministry and the Goa government over sharing the costs could weaken the event.


    In a letter to the Goa government dated 14 July, Pandey has also written to the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF) that the current goings-on between the two agencies were disturbing.


    “We need to get away from the syndrome of this is something ‘incurred by Goa state‘ or ‘that belongs to the Centre‘. Let us pool our strength, experience and hearts and work as one team,” averred Pandey.


    It was under the I&B Ministry‘s insistence that Pandey has been trying to sort out differences between the two entities.


    The DFF functions under the I&B ministry and the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG), a government society created to promote films in the state.


    The ESG, chaired by chief minister Digambar Kamat and the DFF, headed by a senior I&B official, have for years been at loggerheads over logistical and expense related issues of the IFFI, which is being held in Goa for several years now.


    The Goa government claims that it foots the bill of several crores of rupees every year but is not compensated enough.

  • CII to organise a Big Picture conference at intl film festival in Goa

    CII to organise a Big Picture conference at intl film festival in Goa

    MUMBAI: On the occasion of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa which kicks off later this month the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) will organise a conference Big Picture from 22-23 November 2006.

    The conference is dedicated to the changing face of Indian cinema and envisions to provide direction for catalysing growth of the Indian film entertainment space. Focussed on the content and financing aspects of the film business with individual sessions on film marketing, communication, co-production and new technologies, the CII endeavours to open new vistas through a series of keynotes, panel discussions and case studies, presenting growth opportunities and strategies to overcome challenges facing the Indian film industry. The conference provides an opportunity to network with the key executives from different organisations.

    The speakers include Silicon Image, USA president and CEO Steve Tirado, E&Y global media and entertainment head John Nendick,
    Kuwait National Cinema Co head Hisham Alghanim, Motion Pictures Association senior VP and regional director – Asia Pacific region Mike Ellis.

    There will be knowledge sessions on home entertainment, financing, mobile entertainment revenues, digital technology and co productions. There is so much talk about the emerging mobile entertainment in the small screen. Where are we headed and what’s the opportunity in this space? That is one of the questions this seminar will tackle.

    Around 180 movies will be screened over 11 days of the festival. The films that will be shown include the critically acclaimed Babel with Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett that could get a Best Picture Oscar nomination next year. It closes the festival. Volver from Spanish maestro Pedro Almodovar is the opening film of IFFI 2006. The country focus
    this year at IFFI will be Argentina. A retrospective of Spanish film actor Javier Bardem will also be part of the action.

    The majority of the Indian Panorama movies are available for overseas distribution and theatrical rights. Visitors can can meet the right holders at the Film Bazaar, The Indian Panorama section would feature 20 films, including Madhur Bhandarkar’s Corporate, Girish Kasaravalli’s Kannada film Nayi Neralu, K. Satyanarayan’s Telugu film Hope, Madhu Kaithapuram’s Malayalam film Ekantham and Cheran’s Dhavmai Dhavamirrunthu.

    In the cinema of the world section films that will be screened will include the American comedy Borat
    Cultural learnings of America for make benefit glorious nation of Kazakhs. Then there is the Italian film Le Caimanby from Nanni Moretti. The film tackles Italian politics and love as seen through the eyes of a failing film producer. From France there is Little Jerusalem by Kairn Albou The story focuses on sisters Laura (a philosophy student falling in love with an exiled Algerian Muslim) and Matilde (a devout mother of four torn by her husband’s infidelities).

    Following her characters from ancient religious rituals to contemporary situations, Albou vividly brings to life the challenges made to religious faith by secular society.

    This year the festival will feature a special retrospective of Prithviraj Kapoor’s films, and a special screening of Richard Attenborough’s oscar winner Gandhi will also be held to mark the centenary of Satyagraha movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi.

    Goa Chief Minister Shri Pratapsing Rane said, ‘Goa is slated to be India’s next entertainment super-hub and IFFI 2006 is spearheading its growing recognition as an International cinema destination. This year IFFI 2006 synergises global participation, high profile glamour, world-class entertainment and internationally applauded films. Add to that a beautiful locale and the frills and fancies that come with a red carpet event and you have the perfect concoction of fun, glitz and quality entertainment’.

    Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) CEO Nandini Paliwal says, ‘IFFI 2006 will offer the best of world cinema. With acclaimed films from across the globe, the festival represents a kaleidoscope of cultures and creates a medium to appreciate and share cinematic excellence. In fact, ESG is in the process of making a yearly event calendar encouraging associated ventures with international brands in the field of cinema and will work towards making Goa the entertainment heart of the country”.