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Tag: Ritam Bhatnagar

  • IFP rings in fifteen years of creativity and culture

    IFP rings in fifteen years of creativity and culture

    MUMBAI: Fifteen and fabulous! India Film Project (IFP) is all set to celebrate its milestone 15th edition, returning to Mumbai’s iconic Mehboob Studios on 29 and 30 November for a weekend bursting with stories, art, and unfiltered creativity.

    What started as a spark between a few passionate creators has now grown into the world’s largest festival celebrating creativity x culture, a global platform where filmmakers, writers, designers, musicians, and dreamers come together to create, collaborate and reimagine storytelling.

    This year’s line-up is nothing short of stellar. The jury features cinematic heavyweights and creative icons including Dibakar Banerjee, Sheeba Chaddha, Hariharan, Bilal Siddiqi, Santhy Balachandran, Ravi Jadhav, Kanu Behl, Mukesh Chhabra, and Gajesh Mitkari, among others.

    At the festival’s heart lie the 50 hour creative challenges, IFP’s signature event where imagination meets the ticking clock. From filmmaking and music to design, photography, writing, and performing arts, this year’s challenges drew over 40,000 participants from 350 cities across 23 countries, a testament to IFP’s ever-growing creative tribe.

    Reflecting on the milestone, IFP founder Ritam Bhatnagar shared, “What began as a small dormitory idea is now one of the world’s biggest celebrations of creativity. Fifteen years later, IFP continues to be that space where creative people come together, experiment, and grow.”

    For filmmaker Dibakar Banerjee, being part of the jury felt like coming full circle. “Storytelling thrives on curiosity, and that’s what IFP embodies. Fifteen years in, it still surprises and inspires.”

    Echoing the sentiment, Sheeba Chaddha added, “There’s a rare joy in being part of IFP. It’s a space that lets artists express freely and evolve without boundaries.”

    Over the years, IFP has hosted over 1.2 lakh creators, 1400 speakers, and creative legends like Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Mira Nair, Vicky Kaushal, and Javed Akhtar, proving that it’s not just a festival, but a movement.

    This November, IFP once again promises two unforgettable days where every idea, big or small, finds its spotlight. So if creativity runs in your veins, Mehboob Studios is the place to be.

  • IFP season 14 concludes on a high note

    IFP season 14 concludes on a high note

    Mumbai: IFP’s 14th edition, held on 12-13 October 2024, at Mehboob Studios, Mumbai, attracted a footfall of over 15,000 attendees. The event celebrated creativity across films & OTT, music, literature, writing, storytelling, photography, design, art, and comedy, featuring a range of sessions, workshops, masterclasses, live performances, mixers, debate rings, and challenges.

    Day one opened with Hollywood actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Rajkummar Rao discussing the art of character embodiment and Gordon-Levitt’s HitRecord platform. Other notable sessions included a roundtable on film production with Aparna Purohit, Guneet Monga, and Ronnie Lahiri; Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s insights on becoming an auteur; and a conversation on reviving comedy with Rajesh A Krishnan and Kunal Kemmu. A special session, Making of Man Woman Man Woman, featured Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah, Imaad Shah, Sanah Abbott, and Tarun Dhanrajgir. Additional sessions included ‘The Comic Battle: Anybody Can Boing!’ with Aparshakti Khurana and Sayani Gupta, ‘Inside the Mind of a Music Supervisor’ with Ankur Tewari and Dot, ‘Aesthetics of the Gram: Vertical Cinema’ with Maroof Culmen, Dolly Singh, Sejal Kumar, and Mansi Ugale, ‘Journey of a Joke’ with Saurabh Shukla and Abish Mathew, and ‘Crew Cut’ with Jim Sarbh, Zoya Hussain, and Bosco-Caesar.

     

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    A post shared by IFP (@ifp.world)

     

    Day two began with Shoojit Sircar’s session on crafting subtlety in cinema. Other highlights included ‘Qisse with Kopal’ featuring Sharvari Wagh and Kopal Khanna, ‘Many Shades of Kartik Aaryan’ with Kartik Aaryan, ‘On Subverting Narratives’ with Chhaya Kadam, and ‘Collaborative Creation: Harnessing AI in Art and Cinema’ with Rob, Kabir Khan, and Toosid. Kanika Dhillon and Taapsee Pannu discussed ‘Making of a Modern Pulp’, while William Dalrymple spoke on ‘Walking the Golden Road’. The ‘Musicians Who Broke the Internet’ session featured Nikhita Gandhi, Sai Abhyankkar, Yashraj, and Chaar Diwaari, while the ‘Stars of Tomorrow’ panel included Sparsh Shrivastava, Tanya Maniktala, Abhay Verma, and Pratibha Ranta, and ‘Brut Generation’ featured Aditi Rao Hydari.

    The festival also honored winners of IFP’s 50-hour challenges across filmmaking, music, design, performing arts, writing, and photography, with over 54,000 participants globally. In addition to the sessions, the event featured debate rings, open mics, mixers, and live acts, capturing the festival’s creative spirit.

    IFP founder Ritam Bhatnagar expressed, “We are thrilled to announce that the fourteenth season of IFP has been truly extraordinary, marking a significant milestone in the festival’s history. Over the past thirteen years, we have consistently witnessed exceptional engagement from both participants and attendees. This year, however, surpassed our highest expectations. A standout moment was the inaugural visit of acclaimed actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt to India specifically for IFP. Furthermore, remarkable speakers from various creative fields greatly enriched the conversations. It’s worth noting that participants from 42 countries and attendees from nine countries joined us, making this a truly global festival.”

  • IFP Season 14 returns to Mumbai on 12 & 13 October

    IFP Season 14 returns to Mumbai on 12 & 13 October

    Mumbai: IFP (formerly India Film Project) is back, calling all creators, storytellers, and innovators! Whether writing is your escape, storytelling your passion, or transforming ideas into visual masterpieces your craft, this is your ultimate playground. For over a decade, IFP has been the leading festival for nurturing creative talent across films & OTT, music, writing, storytelling, photography, design, art, comedy, and more.

    Taking its glorious legacy of thirteen successful seasons forward, the 14th edition of this two-day festival is taking place on 12 and 13 October in Mumbai. The festival serves as a dynamic space for artists to showcase their work and connect with industry professionals. Featuring an eclectic array of sessions, workshops, masterclasses, live performances, and challenges, IFP Season 14 promises to inspire, educate, and empower participants to push the boundaries of creativity.

    The stage of IFP Season 14 will be graced by a stellar lineup of speakers, including prominent figures like Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah, Aditi Rao Hydari, Kabir Khan, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Shoojit Sircar, Guneet Monga, Saurabh Shukla, Sonam Wangchuk, Geetanjali Kulkarni, Vivek Gomber, Rajesh Krishnan, Kunal Kemmu, Ram Madhvani, Chhaya Kadam, Kavita Seth, Geetanjali Shree (International Booker Prize Winner, Author of Tomb of Sand), Vikas Swarup, William Dalrymple, Trinetra, and Avanti Nagral. Creators can look forward to great industry insights from these cultural icons. Boasting creative growth, collaboration opportunities, and insider viewpoints, this edition strives to take participants’ artistic journey to the next level.

    Staying true to its innovative roots, IFP brings back its signature series of 50-hour challenges in filmmaking, music, design, performing arts, writing, and photography to this season, with over 54,000 creative minds participating globally. These challenges will be evaluated by a powerhouse jury, featuring a diverse panel of experts such as Kabir Khan, Rob, Amit Sharma, Lilette Dubey, Lijo Jose Pellissery, Sandeep Modi, Sooni Taraporewala, Sushin Shyam, Chaaya Prabhat, Sabari Venu, Manoj Shah, and Sasha Jairam.

    Sharing his excitement about IFP season 14, IFP founder Ritam Bhatnagar said, “We are ecstatic to launch yet another exciting season of IFP, a nexus for everything creative and culture. We are delighted to see participation coming in from 44 countries this year. Our goal is to create a truly global festival that fosters a community of creative individuals and provides a place to collaborate with like-minded individuals, allowing them to break new ground with their craft. With a fantastic mix of challenges and speakers, we hope to inspire and empower artists of all ages and backgrounds through this festival in coming years”

    IFP Season 14 has something unique for everyone, from thought-provoking discussions to immersive experiences.

  • Helo and India Film Project partner for ‘Campus Connect season 2’

    Helo and India Film Project partner for ‘Campus Connect season 2’

    MUMBAI: Helo and India Film Project have partnered for season 2 of Campus Connect. The partnership aims to encourage content creators at grassroots level and provide them a platform to showcase their talent to a wider audience.The association also allows Helo’s diverse community to explore fresh and professionally generated content in addition to learning filmmaking techniques directly from IFP’s reputed mentors.
    As part of this initiative, Helo and IFP are organising workshops followed by a 24-Hour filmmaking challenge in 20 of India's leading colleges including IIM Ahmedabad, IIT (Bombay, Madras, Kharagpur, Hyderabad), Hindu College, DTU etc. Helo is also hosting an in-app contest called #IFPMyMovie2020, for users to engage and create videos across various themes such as education, social responsibility, emotions, food, entertainment and humour. The winners of the contest stand a chance to win exciting prizes, including a chance to feature their videos in flagship India Film Project event in October.

    Helo has emerged as one of the biggest hubs for the most innovative user and professionally generated content in 14 different Indian languages. The project has been successfully executed in 16 colleges until now and has till today witnessed a participation from over 8000 students. Campus Connect in the second season is looking forward to witnessing more than 800 short films made in multiple Indian languages as well as more than 10,000 enthusiastic creators across the workshops held in different parts of the country sharing their ideas and love for the films.

    Helo Creator Strategy and Growth head Raj Mishra said, “At Helo, we are committed to empower budding content creators with best possible opportunities to showcase their creativity through our platform. Our partnership with IFP for campus connect 2 is a testimony of our endeavour to bring the best quality content on our platform and foster an enabling environment of cross learning. We have received an overwhelming response from our existing users and are confident that this association will further motivate and encourage like minded people to connect, create and share quality content in their native languages.

    India Film Project founder Ritam Bhatnagarsaid, “At IFP we strive to bring the best experience and opportunities to content creators across the country. Campus Connect helps us connect, encourage, interact and help the young talent that our country has. With Helo’s large and growing user base, we are able to provide a huge audience to the young filmmakers who are usually looking for more viewers. We are glad to have Helo on board with all the opportunities, exposure and incentives they have to offer for the participants.”

    Helo users can participate in the contest by creating videos under hashtags #IndiaFilmProject2020, #IFPMyMovie2020. The national project is slated to end on 30th April 2020.

  • 9th Season of Asia’s largest content festival, India Film Project concluded with the celebration of creative minds

    9th Season of Asia’s largest content festival, India Film Project concluded with the celebration of creative minds

    Mumbai: Happiness, enthusiasm and festive fervour prevailed over the last weekend at Mumbai’s Mehboob Studios as Asia’s largest content festival India Film Project was concluded with much fanfare.One of the most anticipated events of the year IFP, in its 9th edition, witnessed over 35000 participants from across the boundaries and over 100 celebrities from films, digital, music and literature. The attendants amassed valuable insights from the masterclasses, celebrity panel discussions and numerous workshops. The sessions highlighted the various nuisances of the artistic, storytelling and creative aspects of filmmaking.

    Talking about the much-awaited event, Ritam Bhatnagar, Founder, India Film Project, said, “I am overwhelmed by the response that we have received for IFP this year. This festival was conceptualised to offer a learning& networking opportunity across all domains of films, digital,literature and music.. Filmmaking and creative arts in India have come a long way, and it’s great to witness young minds illustrating their narratives. The success of this seasonhas yet again proved that good storytelling can come from anywhere & can transcend existing boundaries of thought and imagination.”

    Nikhil Taneja, festival creative director said "Every year, it is so gratifying to see yet again that India Film Project has become the one-stop destination for over 12,000 young people from 130 cities across the country, to learn from, interact with and collaborate on other young and old filmmakers and film fans like them. This year, we saw full houses for masterclasses and conversations featuring legends like Naseeruddin Shah, Javed Akhtar and Manoj Bajpayee and for youth icons like Zakir Khan, Prajakta Koli, Kusha Kapila and Ishaan Khatter. Every conversation was house full, every masterclass was overbooked and every workshop found massive attendance. It means so much to us that this is the only youth festival in the country that appeals to both the minds and the hearts of the people. We are so grateful to everyone who attended and we can't wait for Season 10 next year!"

    Sharin Bhatti, festival curator for literature and music said "I am thrilled and delighted to have had the opportunity to curate the literature and music conversations for India Film Project in their 9th year. The idea was to get the best in their craft to gather on stage and engage in meaningful and relevant conversations for the creators of tomorrow. It was endearing to see the reactions of all the participants. From Devdutt Pattanaik to Shelleji, screenwriter Kamna Chandra with her talented daughters Tanuja Chandra and Anupama Chopra to Harinder Sikka and Female authors. Naezy to Ritviz, spoken word artists to lyricists- the range of conversations were truly entertaining and rewarding. I hope to continue working with IFP to keep getting cooler and bigger artists and creators on the same stage."

    The two-day content festival witnessed speakers from different fields of art ranging from films, comics, literature, music and hosted a series of interesting conversations, AMA’s and workshops. Celebrities like Rajkumar Rao, Javed Akhtar, Naseeruddin Shah, Manoj Bajpayee, Swara Bhaskar, Ishaan Khatter, Jim Sarbh, Vikramaditya Motwane, Nitesh Tiwari, Radhika Madan, Kirti Kulhari, Anand Gandhi, Devdutt Pattnaik, Ravinder Singh, Abish Mathew, Zakir Khan, Prajakta Koli, Kusha Kapila, Aparshakti Khurana,  Divya Dutta, Abhishek Chaubey, Apurva Asrani, Ritviz, Anupama Chopra, Divya Dutta, Kubrra Sait, Sumukhi Suresh,Beer Biceps, Flying Beast, Ravinder Singh, The Jordindian, Be YouNick and many more have shared their experiences with the audiences present at the venue.

    Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah spoke at the conversation titled ‘Making of a Legend – A Masterclass in acting’ whereas the conversation titled ‘Cardinal Sins of Cinema’ witnessed legendary writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar as a guest speaker talking about the golden era of cinema and how every decade has it's good and bad aspects. Segment moderated by Faridoon Shahryar, ‘The Showcase: Sheer Qorma’ saw actors Divya Dutta&Swara Bhaskar along with the makers Faraz Ansari and Marijke D’Souza giving an ode to female queer love story and unveiling the movie poster. The conversation titled – ‘Cultural Impact: What is the key to creating Authentic and real LGBTQ characters on screen’ witnessed Kubra Sait, Apurva Asrani, and Onir as panellists. The session moderated by Renil Abraham spoke about the portrayal of the LGBTQ characters on screen and their characterization. Aparshakti Khurrana moderated of Manoj Bajpayaee titled as ‘Signature Masterclass: The Making of a Legend’.

    The gala event was concluded with the award ceremony for 50 hours filmmaking challenge. This year Bollywood bigwigs Abhishek Chaubey, Pradeep Sarkar, Apurva Asrani, Bhavani Iyer, amongst others, were on board to judge the series of challenges. Here is a comprehensive list of the winners.

    Professional Category

    Team

    Movie Name

    City

    Platinum Film of the Year

    @not.just.a.dentist

    Paul

    Nagpur

    Gold Film of the Year

    Word of Mouth Media

    GAURA

    Dehradun

    Silver Film of the Year

    Candor Bros Entertainment

    Perfect Gods

    Chennai

    Bronze Film of the Year

    Brand Icon Studio

    Inside

    Indore

    #5 Film of the Year

    Lights On Films

    Tales of Passion – A biopic of an environmentalist

    Mumbai

    My Signature Award

    EBC Originals

    Mere Papa Google Par

    Mumbai

    Amateur Category

    Team

    Movie Name

    City

    Platinum Film of the Year

    Vilvanaram

    Janu

    Chennai

    Gold Film of the Year

    22nd Society

    Thanthooni Thuruthu

    Kochi

    Silver Film of the Year + Best use of Adobe Premiere Pro for Editing

    90's Kids

    Mehsoos

    Mumbai

    Bronze Film of the Year

    Pichchar

    Anjaan

    Dehradun

    #5 Film of the Year + Best use of Mirrorless Camera for Cinematography

    Nature Surferers

    BANDISH

    Mumbai

    Mobile Category

    Team

    Movie Name

    City

    Platinum Film of the Year

    UA Productions

    Kheer

    Kolkata

    Gold Film of the Year

    BistroBethak

    Itwar

    Mumbai

    Silver Film of the Year

    EkJagaah

    FLAWED

    Mumbai

    Bronze Film of the Year

     

    Shot Down

    Mumbai

    #5 Film of the Year

    Abhraneel & Bros.

    The Dream Project

    Kolkata

    India Film Project has also joined hands with two giants of the entertainment industry, PVR Cinemas and MTV who were on board as partnersthis season. The winning titles will be theatrically released in PVR cinemas across Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad, and Chandigarh. Furthermore, these movies will also be premiered on MTV over weekends on a prime-time slot for 6 months.

    As this year’s edition of India Film Project marked its end, all those present at the event parted with a heart full of joy and memories to cherish.
    India Film Project season 9 was presented by Signature, with a common aim to enable passionate creators by providing them a relevant platform
     

  • Asia’s largest content creation festival, India Film Project is back with its 9th Season!

    Asia’s largest content creation festival, India Film Project is back with its 9th Season!

    Witnessing enormous growth in building a community of content creators across the varying forms of art since its inception in 2011, Asia’s largest content creation festival, India Film Project marks it’s come back this year with season 9. With an aim to encourage the budding talents and their enthusiasm for 8 years, this season will be a notch higher as the winning titles of 50 hour filmmaking challenge will be premiered across PVR Cinemas in the country and will also be televised on world’s premier youth brand, MTV.

    With an increasing community of 6.5 million filmmakers and content creators coming together on 12th and 13th of October 2019 at Mehboob Studios, Bandra, Mumbai. This year more than 35000+ filmmakers are expected to participate from across 300+ cities, and 22+ countries making 1500+ short films over a weekend. Bollywood bigwigs Abhishek Chaubey, Pradeep Sarkar, Apurva Asrani, Bhavani Iyer, amongst the other have been brought on board to judge the series of challenges.

    The two-day content creation festival at Mumbai will not only have speakers from different fields of art ranging from films, comics, literature, music but also hosts a series of interesting panel discussions, AMAs, workshops and screenings. Apart from eminent juries, speakers and talent, India Film Project has also joined hands with two giants of the entertainment industry, PVR Cinemas and MTV who are on board as sponsors this season.

    Challenging the enthusiasts from diverse spaces, India Film Project brings an exciting line up of contests this year too. With its flagship property 50-hour filmmaking where the participants are challenged to create content from scratch which includes scripting, shooting and post production in a span of 50 hours. This mega challenge is slated to happen from 27th September, 8 pm to 29th September, 10 pm.

    Apart from this, IFP also has other exciting contests ranging from Short Scriptwriting Challenge where contestants are supposed to submit an original script, to a Storytelling Challenge where one is expected to submit an original spoken word poetry, to Poster-Designing Challenge where the budding talents will have to recreate a Film Poster based on the given theme. The entries for these challenges are open till 15th September 2019. Each challenge promises to be distinctive in their own space not only appealing the participants but also the audiences.

    Ritam Bhatnagar, Festival Director, India Film Project, and comments on the announcement of Season 9 “We, at IFP, aim at discovering the creators, valuing and showcasing their creation for the world to see. With this season, we aim to reach out to maximum content creators and make them the part of IFP community. From the beginning, we seek to solely provide a platform where creators can learn, create, network and share content. In this season, we plan to get bigger and better and provide an opportunity for the creators to portray the story to the audiences which they wish to.”

    In association with PVR Cinemas and MTV, the winning titles will be theatrically released in cinemas across Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad, and Chandigarh. Furthermore, these movies will also be premiered on MTV over weekends on a prime time slot for 6 months.

    “With this collaboration, we aim to provide a multimedia platform for the emerging content creators. We are looking forward to associating with PVR and MTV for the one of its kind experience for the winners”, signs off Ritam Bhatnagar.