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Tag: Raam Reddy

  • IFFLA 2025 opens with Bad Girl, closes with Little Jaffna, expands reach

    IFFLA 2025 opens with Bad Girl, closes with Little Jaffna, expands reach

    MUMBAI: The 23rd Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) returns with a stellar lineup, reaffirming its status as the premier showcase for South Asian cinema in the U.S. This year’s festival, running from 6-10 May 2025 at Landmark Theatres Sunset and WGA Theatre, opens with Varsha Bharath’s directorial debut Bad Girl and concludes with Lawrence Valin’s Little Jaffna, both deeply rooted in south Asian narratives.

    IFFLA 2025 also expands its Industry Day into a two-day forum, connecting south Asian filmmakers with Hollywood executives and offering a $10,000 Pitch Competition Grant to support emerging talent.

    The festival will screen 27 films, spanning India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the U.S., the U.K., and Canada, alongside international co-productions from France, Singapore, and Norway. This year’s slate includes two world premieres, six north American premieres, three U.S. premieres, and 14 Los Angeles premieres, reflecting a dynamic mix of new voices and bold storytelling.

    “Beyond individual highlights, this year’s lineup celebrates the rich diversity of south Asian cinema with a strong emphasis on female-driven narratives both in front and behind the camera,” said IFFLA’s artistic director Anu Rangachar. “We are thrilled to present an expanded lineup that not only showcases an exciting mix of talent, ranging from fearless new voices to returning alums and established auteurs, but also sparks vital conversations.”

    Among the must-watch films is Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears), fresh off its Grand Jury win at Sundance. Directed by Rohan Kanawade, the film is a groundbreaking exploration of queer intimacy within India’s rigid societal norms.

    Other standout features include, north American premiere of Raam Reddy’s The Fable – a gripping mystery starring Manoj Bajpayee, Priyanka Bose, and Tillotama Shome, Deepak Rauniyar’s Pooja, Sir – a tense police procedural set in a Nepalese border town, Rima Das’ Village Rockstars 2 – continuing her acclaimed coming-of-age saga, Aranya Sahay’s Humans in the Loop – exploring AI ethics through the life of a single mother working as a data annotator.

    The documentary A Fly on the Wall, from Nilesh Maniyar and Shonali Bose (Margarita with a Straw), delivers an unflinching look at one man’s quest for autonomy over his final moments.

    IFFLA 2025 will also host the Los Angeles premiere of the psychological drama DUI Shaw by Bangladeshi filmmaker Nuhash Humayun, blending supernatural horror with south Asia’s stark realities. A special masterclass with the filmmaker will follow the screening.  

  • IFFI 2016: 32 films for pitching in Film Bazaar

    IFFI 2016: 32 films for pitching in Film Bazaar

    NEW DELHI: A total of 32 films are being screened in the Film Bazaar Recommends section of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) at Panaji, which are all aimed at pitching for distribution or selection for international film festivals.

    The films including five feature documentaries and 27 fiction features in 14 languages will pitch their trailers in the ‘Investor’s Pitch’ at 10th NFDC Film Bazaar 2016. Film Bazaar Recommends are feature length films recommended specially by the Film Bazaar team from among the film submissions to the Viewing Room.

    Other sections in the market include Open Pitch, which is in its second edition, and where filmmakers present their ideas and requirements to an audience of film industry members.

    Producer Miriam Joseph, OLFFI Managing Director Ilann Girard and Pallas Films producer Thanassis Karathanos discussed the importance and challenges of public funding and a clear emphasis emerged on developing the project thoroughly before looking for funding. “For independent films, it is always challenging to find funding,” Ilann Girard said, adding, “It is a multi-path relationship, and you have to look at the whole picture and understand the organic needs of your project, so there is a balance creatively and financially. It is very important to remain true to yourself.”

    The section on Film Festivals And Markets – Building Audiences And Business Opportunities was moderated by Deepti D’Cunha and the panelists at this session included Festival Programmers Paolo Bertolin and Uma D’Cunha, Sales Agent Chris Paton, and filmmakers Raam Reddy (Thithi) and Kanu Behl (Titli), whose debuts have received much critical acclaim. There was an engrossing and riveting conversation on the intricacies of the business side of the film industry. The importance of promoting films was emphasised.

    “It is difficult for independent films in India to get selected at a festival like Venice Film Festival, and whenever a filmmaker does get the rare opportunity to promote their film, they should grab it. After years, there were two Indian films, `Court’ and `Visaranai’, that were screened there,” Paolo Bertolinsaid. “Although this piece of advice is getting more and more controversial, you should get a sales agent, because they are the ones who know how to maximise your positioning within the festival and who already know how to work with and within the festival. You are faced with many challenges, and you don’t need to do this alone. If you don’t manage to get a sales agent, you should at least get a press agent, so that the film gets the widest exposure and reaches your target audience.”

    “NFDC Film Bazaar really changed my life, and it gave me a wealth of knowledge. I was completely clueless when I came here,” Raam Reddy said candidly, highlighting, “I owe my entire career to NFDC Film Bazaar because I received so much constructive criticism and feedback from the Work-In-Progress Lab. Dreams can be built here.”

    The Virtual Reality Lounge, powered by Samsung Gear VR Premiere and introduced for the first time, had A R Rahman’s ‘Live-In-VR Experience’ Vande Mataram as the premiere, which also allowed participants to curate their viewing experience uniquely with a range of Virtual Reality (VR) film experiences to choose from.

    The Industry Screenings segment opened with Suhas Bhosale’s ‘Koti’, an acclaimed Marathi film about a young transgender in a rural village and went on to screen titles like ‘Trap’ by B Madhusudhan Reddy and `Aloko Udapadi’ (Sinhala) by Chathra Weeraman amongst others.

    The Bazaar will conclude on 24 November 2016.

  • IFFI 2016: 32 films for pitching in Film Bazaar

    IFFI 2016: 32 films for pitching in Film Bazaar

    NEW DELHI: A total of 32 films are being screened in the Film Bazaar Recommends section of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) at Panaji, which are all aimed at pitching for distribution or selection for international film festivals.

    The films including five feature documentaries and 27 fiction features in 14 languages will pitch their trailers in the ‘Investor’s Pitch’ at 10th NFDC Film Bazaar 2016. Film Bazaar Recommends are feature length films recommended specially by the Film Bazaar team from among the film submissions to the Viewing Room.

    Other sections in the market include Open Pitch, which is in its second edition, and where filmmakers present their ideas and requirements to an audience of film industry members.

    Producer Miriam Joseph, OLFFI Managing Director Ilann Girard and Pallas Films producer Thanassis Karathanos discussed the importance and challenges of public funding and a clear emphasis emerged on developing the project thoroughly before looking for funding. “For independent films, it is always challenging to find funding,” Ilann Girard said, adding, “It is a multi-path relationship, and you have to look at the whole picture and understand the organic needs of your project, so there is a balance creatively and financially. It is very important to remain true to yourself.”

    The section on Film Festivals And Markets – Building Audiences And Business Opportunities was moderated by Deepti D’Cunha and the panelists at this session included Festival Programmers Paolo Bertolin and Uma D’Cunha, Sales Agent Chris Paton, and filmmakers Raam Reddy (Thithi) and Kanu Behl (Titli), whose debuts have received much critical acclaim. There was an engrossing and riveting conversation on the intricacies of the business side of the film industry. The importance of promoting films was emphasised.

    “It is difficult for independent films in India to get selected at a festival like Venice Film Festival, and whenever a filmmaker does get the rare opportunity to promote their film, they should grab it. After years, there were two Indian films, `Court’ and `Visaranai’, that were screened there,” Paolo Bertolinsaid. “Although this piece of advice is getting more and more controversial, you should get a sales agent, because they are the ones who know how to maximise your positioning within the festival and who already know how to work with and within the festival. You are faced with many challenges, and you don’t need to do this alone. If you don’t manage to get a sales agent, you should at least get a press agent, so that the film gets the widest exposure and reaches your target audience.”

    “NFDC Film Bazaar really changed my life, and it gave me a wealth of knowledge. I was completely clueless when I came here,” Raam Reddy said candidly, highlighting, “I owe my entire career to NFDC Film Bazaar because I received so much constructive criticism and feedback from the Work-In-Progress Lab. Dreams can be built here.”

    The Virtual Reality Lounge, powered by Samsung Gear VR Premiere and introduced for the first time, had A R Rahman’s ‘Live-In-VR Experience’ Vande Mataram as the premiere, which also allowed participants to curate their viewing experience uniquely with a range of Virtual Reality (VR) film experiences to choose from.

    The Industry Screenings segment opened with Suhas Bhosale’s ‘Koti’, an acclaimed Marathi film about a young transgender in a rural village and went on to screen titles like ‘Trap’ by B Madhusudhan Reddy and `Aloko Udapadi’ (Sinhala) by Chathra Weeraman amongst others.

    The Bazaar will conclude on 24 November 2016.