ITV

Tag: Melbourne

  • Vidya Balan for Melbourne to promote Indian film fest

    Vidya Balan for Melbourne to promote Indian film fest

    MUMBAI: Vidya Balan, who has been named the ambassador of Indian Film Festival in Melbourne, is set to visit the city to promote the forthcoming annual festival to be held in June, according to Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu.

    Baillieu said the Victorian coalition government was committed to strengthening ties between the Victorian and Indian film industries, and was pleased to be delivering the Indian Film Festival election pledge.

    “The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne will showcase the extraordinary depth and diversity of the Indian film industry, and create a greater understanding and shared experiences between Victoria and India. The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne will offer diverse screenings in a variety of Indian languages, host prominent Indian filmmakers and screen professionals, and provide an interactive programme of master classes,” Baillieu said in a statement.

    Louise Asher, the minister for Innovation, Services and Small Business said that having Balan as the ambassador for the inaugural festival has further enhanced Victoria‘s reputation as an international film hub.

    “The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne joins our already rich roster of screen events and activities including the Melbourne International Film Festival, St Kilda Film Festival and the recently-secured Screen Producers Association of Australia annual conference,” she observed.

    The festival that runs from 11 to 22 June is being organised by Mind Blowing Films.

  • 3 creative teams get Screen Australia’s short film initiave’s funding

    3 creative teams get Screen Australia’s short film initiave’s funding

    MUMBAI: Screen Australia‘s Springboard Short Film Initiative has ensured that three creative teams receive investment for their upcoming projects. The idea behind the Springboard Short Film Course is to offer creative teams the opportunity to make a short film that will be the grounding for a feature film idea.

    Screen Australia‘s head of development Martha Coleman said, “This year‘s Springboard workshop has encouraged participants to focus on providing an intense emotional experience by combining a great script with a strong director‘s vision.”

    While writer-director Nicholas Verso and producer John Malloy will make The Last Time I Saw Richard, writer-director Miranda Nation along with producer Lyn Norfor will make Perception. Lastly, writer-director Sean Kruck will make Snowblind with producer Caroline Barry.

    It may be noted that previous recipient writer-director Zak Hilditch made the short film Transmission with producer Liz Kearney that was selected for this year‘s Tribeca Film Festival. The Springboard Short Film Initiative also helped the makers to get finance for their feature These Final Hours.
    Another previous recipient was Grant Scicluna whose film The Wilding won at this year‘s Melbourne Queer Film Festival for Best Australian Short and was in competition at this year‘s Berlin Film Festival.

    Five teams were selected for the Springboard course with convenor Paul Welsh. The teams will receive up to $150,000 each to make a short film.

  • Milkha Singh biopic to be filmed in Melbourne

    Milkha Singh biopic to be filmed in Melbourne

    MUMBAI: Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (Run Milkha Run), the latest film by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, will shoot key scenes in Melbourne, according to the Premier of Victoria and minister for the Arts Ted Baillieu.

    The film will tell the story of the legendary Indian runner Milkha Singh, known as the ‘Flying Sikh‘, who won 77 of the international races out of the 80 that he entered in. Singh first represented India at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics that introduced him to the world stage and launched his international running career.

    “India is one of the busiest film production destinations in the world, and its burgeoning film industry offers vast opportunities for Victorian co-production projects, building on our strengths in the creative arts,” Baillieu observed. “Victoria is gaining recognition as a leading film production destination with world-class studio facilities at our disposal, such as the Docklands Film and Television Studios.”

    Baillieu said that the length of the shoot in Melbourne was anticipated to be between two and three weeks, which will generate more than $1 million in local economic activity.

    Produced by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Productions (ROMP) and Viacom18 India, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag will be directed by Mehra. It features Farhaan Akhtar and Sonam Kapoor. Tourism Victoria will leverage the release of the movie through a marketing campaign in India featuring the key locations from the film.

    Other Indian films shot in Melbourne were Salaam Namaste and Chak de! India.

  • CNN scores with air travelers

    CNN scores with air travelers

    CNN International has another set of numbers to thump its chest about. The International Air Travelers survey (IATS Asia 7) – conducted by the European Data & Research Ltd (EDR) between March and April 2000 in the international departure/gate areas of ten major airports in Sydney, Melbourne, Manila, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Singapore and Taipei – has revealed that CNN reaches more than twice the number of international air travelers than its nearest rival the Beeb.

    The survey shows that CNNI reaches 37 per cent of international air travelers on a weekly basis as against BBC World’s 19 per cent and CNBC Asia’s 15.4 per cent. IATS Asia 7 also confirmed that CNN International reaches 50 per cent of all senior business executives surveyed, the CNN press release states.

    “This is a very positive result for CNN International. (It) endorse(s) our investment in regionalisation, which has meant a significant amount of extra spending to increase the localized content available to our viewers, ” says CNN International managing editor, Asia Pacific Bill Baggitt.