VENICE FILM FESTIVAL honours Shekhar Kapur

Shekhar Kapur will be presiding over the 2012 Venice Film Festival's Lion of the Future "Luigi di Laurentiis" award, which will be granted to a debut film. He will be selecting the awarded film alongside Isabella Ferrari, Matt Reeves and Michel Demopoulos from the film fraternity and Bob Sinclar from the music world. Other personalities participating in the Biennale's jury for other sections include Laetitia Casta, Pablo Trapero (The Secret in their Eyes), Ari Folman (Waltz with Bashir), and Michael Mann, among others.



The jury shall select only one among all the debut feature-length films competing throughout the various sections of the Venice Film Festival (Official Selection and Independent Parallel Sections) to be awarded. The winner will be announced once the festival starts on August 29th. 

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HINDI CINEMA AT CANNES 2012 - Kashyap at the forefront

The Hindi Cinema Blog is gleefully watching how Anurag Kashyap has become the new Indian "coqueluche" at the Cannes cinema festival. The director that our partner CinemaHindi interviewed back in August 2009 (read the Exclusive Interview with Anurag Kashyap) will be showcasing 3 of his banner's films at the coveted screens of the festival:

PEDDLERS, by Vasan Bala (assistant in Gulaal and  Dev D), has been selected for the Semaine de la Critique (Cannes Film Critics Week). The film stars Gulshan Deviah (Hate Story) and Kriti Malhotra (acclaimed for her performance in Dhobi Ghat).

Moreover, none other than Kashyap's most recent film, GANGS OF WASSEYPUR (Parts I and II), starring Manoj Bajpayee and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, is one of the select group of films to be scheduled for the festival's Directors Fortnight.

Anurag Kashyap excitedly announced his participation in Cannes through Twitter "Three of our films; Peddlers, Gangs Of Wasseypur (I&II) at Cannes Film Festival. HUGE MOMENT OF PRIDE FOR US!' 'Waiting at theBrussels airport in a silent zone, wanting to scream out loud, off to Copenhagen.. I am very happy..really Happy today." 

Apart from Kashyap’s films, another Indian film, MISS LOVELY, by Ashim Ahluwalia will compete in the Un Certain Regard category, which has been selecting high quality cinema over the years.We are looking forward to see Nawazuddin Siddiqui performing in this film too and are delighted to see two of his films are being showcased.

Last but not least, the film DELHI BELLY by Abhinay Deo is allegedly set to be screened at the festival, off competition, and we wish it utmost success.

We hope this new wave of Indian cinema at the prestigious festival will set a precedent and will get the French audience increasingly acquainted with Indian cinema. It is high time!

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RIVER TO RIVER FF 2010 Screenings and Guests

One of the most complete and active Indian cinema festivals in Europe is the River to River Film Festival, held annually in the beautiful Italian city of Florence. The 2010 edition of the festival will take place from December 3 to 9 and will feature a retrospective dedicated to renowned director Satyajit Ray as well as the screening of all films who have been awarded during previous editions of the festival.

Films that we would like to highlight in the 2010 competition are:

* Iti Mrinalini, the festival's opening film. This is Aparna Sen's most recent opus, starring Aparna Sen and Konkona Sen Sharma.

* I am, by acclaimed director Onir, starring Nandita Das, Rahul Bose, Anurag Kashyap, Purab Kohli, Juhi Chawla. Onir and Rahul Bose will attend the screening.

* Peepli (Live), by Anusha Rizvi, one of 2010's most acclaimed films within and outside India. Q&A with actress Malaika Shenoy after the screening.
* India by Song, by Vijay Singh, a treat for the eyes and ears of Hindi cinema lovers as the film takes the audience through an overview of Indian history through its cinema.

* The Japanese Wfe, by Aparna Sen, who will attend the screening. Starring Raima Sen and Rahul Bose.

* Ishqiya, by Abhishek Chaubey, starring a wonderful cast: Vidya Balan, Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi, a film not to be missed.

* Raajneeti, by Prakash Jha, starring established and promising actors such as Ajay Devgan, Ranbir Kapoor, Nana Patekar and Naseeruddin Shah in a family/political saga.

Visit the official River to River Florence Film Festival 2010 website for more information on the film programme and additional India themed activities and exhibitions.

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ROAD, MOVIE: The Power of Cinema

Are you keen to watch an ode to the magic of cinema? ‘Road, Movie’ is the subtle answer. Dev Benegal, known for ‘English August’, pays tribute through this new film to the father of modern home cinema: yes sir, the good ol’ moving cinema, capable of taking fantasy, drama and laughter to India’s most remote corners.

Vishnu (Abhay Deol) sees the opportunity to drive an uncle’s old truck across the desert, in quest of anything that takes him far away, towards a life of adventure. During the course of his journey, he constantly strives to find water, both to quench his thirst and in seeking a seaside town as his destination. His travels are punctuated by encounters with those who will become his companions along the way: a child (Mohammed Faisal); a mechanic (Satish Kaushik) and a mysterious gypsy woman (Tannistha Chatterjee). As they travel, they discover that the truck actually carries an eclectic collection of film reels and two old film projectors. Alike Shehrazade in ‘1001 Nights’, their ticket to safety and freedom throughout their trip is to screen the best films they carry to rural audiences in the middle of the Kutch desert or the landscapes of Rajasthan.

The film is Benegal's tribute to great movies that stand the test of time by featuring snippets of Amitabh Bachchan or Dev Anand classics, as well as Guru Dutt’s outstanding ‘Pyaasa’ (and its lively song ‘Sar jo tera chakraye’) or a delightfully funny Charlie Chaplin starrer.

Despite a lukewarm response from the Indian box office, the film is clearly set to be an art house hit and has been appreciated by audiences attending film festivals in Berlin and Toronto. The rhythm and treatment of the film are indeed quite different from run-of-the-mill mass entertainers and therefore audiences should not expect a typically commercial plot. If you are nevertheless looking for a very slow paced and quiet road-trip fairy tale with good performances, a discrete but suitable background score (no item numbers here) and an occasional spoof thrown in here and there, you should certainly give ‘Road, Movie’ a watch.

Director / Writer: Dev Benegal
Release Date:5 March 2010
Length: 95 minutes

Cast:
Abhay Deol
Mohammed Faisal
Satish Kaushik 
Tannishtha Chatterjee

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'PEEPLI LIVE': FIRST TIME'S A CHARM

Anusha Rizvi's maiden directorial venture has been selected to participate in one of the prestigious meccas of independent and world cinema, the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, USA.

'Peepli Live' is the first Indian feature film to participate in the festival's World Cinema Dramatic competition and also coincidentally the first film that Aamir Khan has produced with the deliberate purpose of entertaining an international audience. The series of seemingly auspicious first experiences linked to the film lead us to think that "first" may indeed rhyme with "outstanding".

Additionally, 'Peepli Live' stars newcomers  Omkar Das and Shalini Vatsa alongside some of India's most notable actors, Raghuvir Yadav and Naseeruddin Shah.

Much speculative talk about the film in past months had reduced its plot to a serious and almost documentary approach on the issue of farmer suicides in India. Rizvi seems however to have taken the challenge further by scripting a film on such a delicate subject with black humour, concentrating on rural life, politics and the media's thirst for "scoops".

Tickets for the first show (January 24) are sold out but viewers able to attend the festival may buy tickets for subsequent screenings from January 26-29 here.

Watch video below of Aamir Khan in Sundance, speaking about 'Peepli Live':

For more promos, image downloads and information on 'Peepli Live' visit the Official 'Peepli Live' website

Director

Anusha Rizvi

Screenwriter

Anusha Rizvi
Cast

Omkar Das, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Raghuvir Yadav, Shalini Vatsa

Produced by

Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao

Coproducer

Ronnie Screwvala

Composer

Mathias Duplessy

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