DOCUMENTA MADRID 2010 May 7 to May 16, 2010

Documenta Madrid is an international film festival dedicated exclusively to documentary film. It is organized by the City of Madrid and is presently the city's most widely-attended festival.The festival was born for the purpose of strengthening and disseminating the documentary genre, in so far as it understood to be a reflection of the social, cultural, economic, artistic, environmental, and other realities that exist in the world.

About Elly ,Iranian film and Fishing Platform, Indonesian film share Suvarna Chakoram in the 14th edition of IFFK.

The 14th edition of the IFFK concluded today with a colorful closing ceremony . Suvarna Chakoram awards were given away by Chief Minister of Kerala V S Achuthanandan. M.A Baby , Minister for culture was present.
The Iranian film, About Elly directed by Asghar Farhadi shared with Ravi Bharwani’s Indonesian film Fishing Platform the prestigeous Suvarna Chakoram, ( the Golden Crow Pheasant award,). True Noon, directed by Nosir Saidov got Rajata Chakoram,( the Silver Crow Pheasant Award )for the best Director and Madoda Ncayiyana’s My Secret Sky received the Rajata Chakoram for the Best Debut Director. True Noon also bagged Rajata Chakoram selected by the audience. The other awards are : A Fly in Ashes by Argentinean filmmaker Gabriela David (FIPRESCI award for the best film); Joshy Mathew’s Train in the Tenth Floor (FIPRESCI award for the best Malayalam film); Fishing Platform by Ravi Bharwani (NETPAC award for the best Asian Film in competition section); Kerala Cafe by a group of ten Directors(NETPAC award for the best Malayalam film); Harishchandra’s Factory by Paresh Mokashi (Hassankutty Award for the best Indian debut director).
The jury who decided the Suvarna-Rajata Chakoram awards was chaired by the famous Kurdish director Bahman Ghobadi with the African film critic Balufu Bakupa- Kaninda, the dancer-actor Mamata Shankar, Sri Lankan filmmaker Prasanna Vithanage, Egyptian director Hala Khalil as members. The NETPAC jury consisted Renhua Na, Fatemeh Motamedarya and Cheran. The FIPRESCI jury was Daniela Bisogni, H N Narahari Rao and Ibrahim Ouf. Saeed Akhtar Mirza, Mohan Agashe and Anjali Menon decided on Hassankutty Award, constituted by Mira Nair in memory of her assistant director Hassankutty. Suvarna Chakoran carries a cash prize of Rs.10 lakhs. Rajata Chakoram for the best director carries Rs. 3 lakhs while the best debut director gets Rs. 2 lakhs.

Our space has been snatched away by conglomerate market forces

The colonial corporate market forces dominate the cinema culture of both Africa and Latin America, say the film directors from both the regions who participated in the open forum conducted at the sidelines of 14th International Film Festival of Kerala . Opening the discussion, noted African director June Giovanne said Hollywood films dominated the African film market and indigenous African films found it difficult to draw viewers around. ``Since film distribution is monopolised by US conglomerates , they won’t promote our films,’’ she said. Endorsing the opinion of his African counterpart Argentenian director Edwardo Spagnuolo said the cinema of his country faced the danger of double colonialism, the US colonialism on the market side and European colonialism on the cultural side. As a result 90 percent Argentinean films are entertainers. When asked about the involvement of cinema in the promotion of the ongoing mass movements there, he said there were cinemas which actively promote this aspect.Speaking on the occasion Director from Senegal, Mama Keita said the rampant corruption prevailed in African countries make things difficult. Enrique Angeleri, also from Argentina, said major colonial forces always tried to keep Argentina down the line politically, financially and culturally. ``Latin American market is enough for us and we need not go elsewhere for our survival. But the problem is that our space has been snatched away from us,’’ he said.

‘Passion, Resentment or Derision’, IFFK seminar on the 50th year of film societies

‘Passion, Resentment or Derision’, a seminar on the 50 years of formation of film societies in India, held as part of the IFFK was inaugurated by Jose Thettayil Transport Minister . Mrinal Sen was the chief guestin the seminar, which was organised by the FFSI (Federation of Film Societies of India). Adoor Gopalakrishnan, presided over the function in which film critic Aruna Vasudev, Narahara Rao (Secretary, FFSI) and Sudhir Nandgaonkar, General Secretary of the FFSI participated in the deliberations. “The State Government would provide financial assistance for film societies in Kerala; a decision in this regard is being taken by the Finance and Culture departments,’’ Minister Jose Thettayil has said.. The seminar discussed the role of film societies in promoting good films and the functioning of the organisation over the years. Adoor Goplakrishnan said that the film festivals were taking over the function of film societies. Sudhir Nandgaonkar, spoke about the present scenario of the FFSI and observed that film societies were still vibrant in South India and also Maharashtra region. He was of the opinion that more youngsters should join the film societies. The book by Narahara Rao about the history of film societies was released during the function.

'Digital technology; a new trend in cinematic aesthetics’

A seminar on 'Digital technology; a new trend in cinematic aesthetics’ was held as a programme of The 14th International film festival of Kerala(IFFK) . The seminar was inaugurated by Cheran., Director . In his inaugural address Cheran called for the up gradation of the technical quality of the cinema houses in order to bring out the real aesthetics of technologically-advanced films. B.Ajith Kumar ,Editor ,while making the key note address said the digital technology kept distance in time and space from reality. Kameela Fox, HBO co-executive producer and Padmapriya , Actor participated in the seminar

Women in Malayalam cinema

Sharmila Tagore inaugurated an exhibition titled ‘Women in Malayalam Cinema’ in 14th of International Film Festival of Kerala. Sharmila said that the Malayalam cinema industry has a great range of women characters starting from Rosy, in 1928. Actors K.P.A.C Lalitha, Navya Nair, Menaka, Sona Nair, Scriptwriter Didi Damodaran, activist Dr. N. Seema, dubbing artists Anandavalli and Bhagyalakshmi flanked the occasion.
“What we see upfront doesn’t constitute the stark reality that goes behind the lives of the women actors”, reflected Sharmila while recalling her experiences as an actor. The situations are still not favorable to women to be successful without a male patron. Women shouldn’t be viewed upon as liability by the society; she said adding that she hails from a family of three daughters.Veteran Malayalam actor K.P.A.C Lalitha said women are being reduced to decorative roles nowadays unlike in the past when they have assigned character roles with strength.Navya Nair expressed anguish over the speechlessness experienced by women in cinema. The media too plays a role in reducing women to shadows and that leads to a certain fear to come out in the public. “Accessibility to the lives of actors have made them more pretentious”, said Navya. Didi Damodaran said the women behind camera have always been very less in number comparing to the number of women in other careers. This situation has to change. Dr. N.Seema maintained that the ideology behind this gesture signifies the huge need for the women to be heard and appreciated the academy for conducting the exhibition. The exhibition is being conducted as part of the academic exercise to document the history of women in Malayalam cinema in front of camera as well as behind the scenes. Beena Paul said that the exhibition would go around the country and state, expanding with fresh elements in course of time. Art Director Sabu designed the exhibition and contributed creatively to make this exhibition unique ,

Elegant start to 14th edition of IFFK 2009

The 14th edition of international film festival of kerala started elegantly with the renowned auteur Mrinal Sen inaugurating the festival by lighting the traditional lamp along with M.A.Baby, Minister for Cultural Affairs , Kerala, , Sharmila Tagore Actor of yester years and Chairperson Censor Board , actor Madhu , Jerome Bonnafont , French Ambassador to India , Binoy Viswam , Minister for Forest , Kerala, Sasi Tharoor , Minister of State for Foreign Affairs at Nisagandhi Auditorium here .Actor Navya Nair assisted the dignitaries to light the 14 lamps representing 14th edition. 164 films from around the world are showcased in the week-long festival .Minister M A Baby presented Mrinal Sen with the Lifetime Achievement Award, instituted by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy .This is the first award conferred to Mrinalda . Oscar winning sound engineer Resul Pookutty was also honoured at the inaugural function. ''A step into the darkness'' by Turkish director Atil Inac was the opening film.
International Jury consists of Bahman Ghobadi (Chairperson), Balufu Bakupa-Kanyinda, Mamta Shanker, Prassana Vithanarge and Hala Khalil. The NETPAC Jury has Renhua Na, Fatemeh Motamedarya and Cheran. FIPRESCI Jury has Daniela Bisogni and H N Narahari Rao. Hassan Kutty Award,constituted by MeeraNair , comprises Saeed Akhtar Mirza, Mohan Agashe and Anjali Menon.

A STEP INTO THE DARKNESS-BUYUK OYUN-OPENING FILM OF 14TH IFFK 2009

International film Festival of Kerala will declare open on 11th of December in Thiruvananthapuram ,the capital city of kerala with the lighting of traditional lamp by the renowned film maker Mrinal Sen.M.A.Baby ,Minister for Cultural Affairs ,Sharmila Tagore ,Actor of yester years, Jerome Bonafond, Ambassoder to France will participate.the opening film would be A STEP INTO THE DARKNESS-BUYUK OYUN by Atil Inac ,Turkish director.The story tells the ordeal plight of a young women. An entire village in northern Iraq is wiped out when misinformed and panicked American soldiers stage a nighttime raid there. Cennet, a young Turkmen girl who has never before left home and is the only survivor of the raid on her village, has no choice but to set out for Kirkuk in search of her elder brother. There she learns that he was wounded by a bomb and taken to Turkey for treatment. Desperate to track him down, Cennet sets off on an arduous journey. The journey continues with haunting and miserable experiences .The film is directed by Atil Inac ,Turkish director

Mrinal Sen will inaugurate the 14th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK)

Renowned filmmaker Mrinal Sen will inaugurate the 14th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) at the Nishagandhi ,Thiruvananthapuram on December 11. Actor of yester years Sharmila Tagore and French Ambassador to India Jerome Bonnafont will be the chief guests at the function. M.A. Baby ,Minister for Cultural Affairs will preside over the function. The Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Mrinal Sen. Oscar winning sound editor and designer Resul Pookutty will also be honoured at the inaugural function. Shashi Tharoor , Minister of State for External Affairs will deliver the keynote address while Benoy Viswom Minister for forest will release the festival catalogue. A step into the darkness a Turkish film directed by Atil Inac will be the inaugural film. The festival will also pay homage to Murali ,Adoor Bhavani, Kamala Surayya,Rajan P.Dev, etc.the veteran artistes of Malayalam film industry who passed away in the last one year including actors Murali, Adoor Bhavani and Rajan P. Dev ,Sobhana Parameswaran Nair and K.P.Thomas. For the Golden Crow Pheasant award, 14 films, including three Indian films will compete . There will be a homage section to pay the respect to the departed artistes .

40th IFFI-The Golden Peacock award for Best Film went To “I Can’t live with out you ( No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti )” ,a Thaiwanese film directed by Leon Dai

THE 11-day long 40th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) is coming to a close this evening with the screening of Spanish film Broken Embraces by Pedro Almodóvar. Renowned actor Mammootty was the chief guest at the closing ceremony being held at the Kala Academy in Panaji.
The Golden Peacock awards for Best Film went to I can’t live with out you ,a Thaiwanese film directed by Leon Dai and Ounie Lecomte , Korean-born French director won the Silver Peacock for best director for her film A brand new life , which carries a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh , and the Special Jury Award to the Other Bank a Georgian film by Gagma Napiri, which carries a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh..Total prize money of $1,40,000 was declared in the closing ceremony.
The special jury award went to Georgia-Kazakhstan film 'The Other Bank' (Gangma Napiri) directed by George Ovashivili. The award also carries a Silver Peacock and cash prize of Rs 15 lakh. The awards were given by the Governor of Goa, Dr. S. S. Sidhu in presence of the Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Shri S. Jagathrakshakan, the Chef Minister of Goa, Shri Digambar Kamat and the Chief Guest of the Closing Function Mammooty. Films from India,Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Kazakhstan, Iran, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Argentina competed for these awards.
Brazilian director João Batista de Andrade, Vic Sarin (Canada), Kenichi Okubo (Tokyo), Sarika (India) and Jean-Michel Frodon (France) served as the jury. The film festival, which was inaugurated by actors Waheeda Rehman and Asin on November 23, witnessed the screening of nearly 300 films from over 50 countries. Over 6000 delegates, including media-delegates, attended the 11-day extravaganza. The “Cinema of the World” section this year showcased more than 55 films from 47 countries
According to S.M. Khan,Festival Director the organisers have introduced ,for the first time in the history of the IFFI, the Golden Peacock award with the Rs.40 lakh prize money to be shared between the best Director and the best Producer. The Best Director and Special Jury award along with the Silver Peacock carry the Rs.15 lakh prize money.
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Closing film of IFFI 2009 ‘Broken Embraces ‘ is a visual delight.

Mammootty is to be the chief guest at the closing ceremony of the 40th International Film Festival of India (IFFI-2009).The fest will conclude on 3rd Nov in Goa with the award giving ceremony followed by the screening of the film Broken Embraces by Pedro Almodóvar .The 11-day festival is the biggest annual film event in South Asia . The closing film Broken Embraces by Pedro Almodóvar is entertaining but superficial and melodramatic. It is an exploration of passionate jealousy.While it doesn't pack the emotional heft of director Pedro Almodóvar's most moving films, such as Volver , it is stylish and arresting with powerful performances and a compelling story.

Top 20 feature films of Indian Cinema in the past 96 years of its existence

The nation-wide contest, which was launched on November 10, is a major initiative by Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) and the International Film Festival of India (IFFI). The contest, the first-of-its-kind to involve the whole country into rating the top 20 feature films of Indian Cinema in the past 96 years of its existence. The initiative is part of a special contest commemorating the 40th edition of IFFI this year, in which any film lover from any part of the country can send in his or her list of 20 best-ever Indian films .The evaluation criterion is that the 20 choices received from the film directors and film critics will be merged to arrive at a master choice. The twenty participant's choices matching with this master choice will be declared winners. Around 1.9 million people participated in the voting according to Manoj Srivastava ,CEO of ESG. The names of the films would be declared on the award ceremony on 3rd December. The results are available now.
1. Meghe Dhaka Tara -Ritwik Ghatak
2. Charulata -Satyajit Ray
3. Pather Panchali -Satyajit Ray
4. Sholay -Ramesh Sippy
5. Do Bhiga Jamin -Bimal Roy
6. Pyasa- Gurudath
7. Bhuvan Shoma- Mrinal Sen
8. Garam Garam Hawa – M.S.Sathyu
9. Mother India- Mehaboob khan
10. Ghataskrada- Girish Kassaravalli
11. Ellipathayam- Adoor Gopalakrishnan
12. Mughale Azam – K.Asif
13. Nayagan- Maniratnam
14. Kagaz Ke Phool- Gurudath
15. Apu Triology- Satyajit Ray
16. Sant Tukaram- V. Damle and S. Fattelal
17. Jane Bi Do Yaro- Kundan Shah
18. Guide-Vijay Anand
19. Madhumati –Bimal Roy
20. Anand- Hrishikesh Mukherjee.
and the Winners are:
1. Manish Agarwal, Jaipur
2. Ram Kishen Adig, Jaipur
3. Pranesh V. Managoli, Nagpur
4. Anita H. Baltilak, Akola, Nagpur
5. Sidharth Prakash, Bangalore
6. Sucheta Jalawadi, Belgaum

16% of Indian Panorama films in IFFI 2009 are from Reliance

Reliance BIG Pictures to catalyze the rapid globalization of Indian cinema- Mahesh Ramanathan, COO ,Reliance BIG Pictures.
The 40th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) is screening four major productions of Reliance Big Pictures in the Indian Panorama Section.This is out of 26 films selected in this section(16 % ).These are Shob Charitro Kalponik, Ijjodu, Janala and Kutty Srank. Mahesh Ramanathan, COO, Reliance BIG Pictures said, "The unprecedented success of Reliance BIG Pictures at international festivals has extended to the home turf as well. Our films have been honored in 35 top cities around the globe within last one year. The recognition will inspire the team at Reliance BIG Pictures to catalyze the rapid globalization of Indian cinema
Reliance BIG Pictures , RBEL's motion picture brand, has built a formidable Indian film production slate in English, Hindi and several other Indian languages, which it markets and distributes worldwide.The slate has projects with leading production houses and marquee Indian directors, both mainstream and arthouse, including Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rakesh Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, David Dhawan, Indra Kumar, Anurag Basu, Kunal Kohli, Priyadarshan, Madhur Bhandarkar, Sudhir Mishra, Shaji N. Karun, Shyam Benegal, Rituparno Ghosh, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, M.S. Sathyu and Amol Palekar. In Hollywood, RBEL has signed development deals with Julia Roberts' Red Om Films, Nicolas Cage's Saturn Productions, Jim Carrey's JC 23 Entertainment, George Clooney's Smokehouse Productions, Chris Columbus' 1492 Pictures, Tom Hanks' PlayTone Productions, Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment, Jay Roach's Everyman Pictures and Brett Ratner's Rat Entertainment. RBEL's associate company ADLABS is India's largest film processing, exhibition and services company. Reliance ADA Group is among India's largest private sector, business houses and has interests in communications, financial services, health, energy, infrastructure and media & entertainment.

India is home for me -Ben Kingsley at IFFI 2009 , Goa

India is home for me and one does not visit but come home, said Sir Ben Kingsley at a press conference at IFFI Goa. He said that like a long lost melody or a forgotten perfume, the extraordinary welcome has assured him that the thread that was created in 1981-82 during filming of Gandhi has not snapped. ‘Same juices flowing in my body which I felt when Attenborough said action for Gandhi’ said the legendary actor who is the guest of honour at IFFI Goa. The actor added that when the role was offered to him, he recognized something in Gandhiji’s personality. He was impressed by the way Gandhiji converted his anger to something gracefully constructive.On Taj Mahal his forthcoming project , Kingsley said that he sees Taj ‘as a scream of pain frozen in marble, I want to explore how deep was that pain. Taj is a touchstone and symbol of love’. Ben Kingsley compared Satyajit Ray’s understanding of human struggles with Shakespeare and Tolstoy. He said that Ray was capable of conveying the whole array of nuances with a very small shot.

Mid-Fest self assessment of IFFI Director

S. M. Khan , Festival Director( IFFI ,Goa 2009 )expressed satisfaction that Festival was going smoothly receiving many distinguished film personalities and about 6,500 delegates are attending the Festival. At the mid-fest press conference, Khan along with CEO of Entertainment Society of Goa, Manoj Srivastava interacted with media persons to get their feedback and inform about the progress of the Festival. Both of them heard the suggestions from media persons and assured them of the necessary action

M.I.F.F.-2010 (Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Films)

-Documentary as a means to explore serious issues- Kuldeep Sinha, Director, M.I.F.F.-2010.
The 11th edition of M.I.F.F. organized by the Films Division will be held from 3rd to 9th February, 2010 at the prestigious National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Nariman Point, Mumbai. The Festival is to be held with the active support of the Government of Maharashtra. In a press conference held in the IFFI 2009 at Panaji Shri Kuldeep Sinha, Chief Producer, Films Division and Director, M.I.F.F.-2010 (Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Films) said that documentary film culture is fast growing if 40 plus documentary film festivals taking place annually in the country is taken as an indication of growing popularity of documentary films. Documentary should not be commercialized and the Films Division takes it as a means to explore serious issues, he added. He also disclosed that Films Division CDs on documentary on Satyajit Ray and Mohmmad Rafi are a big hit at the CD counter IFFI Goa and they have so far exhausted there stock. M.I.F.F. is a competitive biennial event which has gained recognition on par with renowned International Film Festivals like Leipzig , Berlin , Oberhausen , Cracow , Tampere etc. M.I.F.F.started in 1990, is currently rated as the world’s best and largest documentary film festival manned by film makers.
From this edition of the Festival, International and Indian Competition Sections have been merged into one Competition Section. Another salient feature is a new award being introduced for “Best Student Film/Video”. The award money has also been enhanced from this M.I.F.F. in each category and the total award money now is Rs. 22.75 lakhs along with Golden/Silver Conches in different categories of Competition. “Dr. V. Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award” will be awarded to an Indian film maker for his/her contribution to documentary film movement, with cash award and trophy.
Apart from Competition Section, there will be screening of Retrospectives and Special Packages, Spectrum India , Seminars and Open Forum during M.I.F.F.-2010. In Retrospectives & Special Packages, Jury’s retrospectives, Women packages, Oscar nominated films, films on cinema legends and unsung heroes of Indian Freedom Movement and in Country Focus, films from Bhutan, France, Chile, Argentina as well as Student’s package from FTII, SRFTII, NID etc., are being showcased.
So far, M.I.F.F. has received 864 entries from 37 countries which is an all time record. The Selection Committee consisting of eminent film makers, journalists and critics has already started previewing the films, the total duration of which crosses more than 400 hours. According to Shri Kuldeep Sinha, Chief Producer, Films Division and Director, M.I.F.F.-2010, his entire team is working tirelessly to make the 11th edition of the Festival a memorable one for the cineaste attending the M.I.F.F. from India as well as from abroad.

Indian panorama (IFFI 2009) , how good was the choice? - Truth Untold

Gautaman Bhaskaran , a member of the Indian panorama Feature Film Jury , senior journalist ,writer on films and a regular in world’s known festivals like Cannes, Venice, Marrakech etc reveals the drama behind the selection of films for Indian Panorama section of the prestigious national event of films(IFFI).There were two writs filed by Ranjith ,producer of film Kerala cafe supported by film fraternity in Kerala and Pazhasiraja Foundation questioning the selection of films to Indian panorama .Gautaman’s kumbassaram or confession can also be read in the cinema section of www.hindustantimes.com. According to Gautaman Bhaskaran “ the prestigious Indian Panorama opened here today at the International Film Festival of India with the Konkani work, Paltadcho Manis (The Man Beyond the Bridge). This is the first ever Konkani movie in the Panorama section, since its inception in the 1970s. This year, there are 26 films in this section, which, according to Festival Director S.M. Khan’s note in the Panorama brochure, affords “a top-of-the mountain view of Indian cinema”. He adds: “This section presents a 360 degree sprawl of the Indian cinema which in its vast sweep encompasses many subcultures and lifestyles. The cinema that emanates out of this varied cultural landscape is equally diverse and unique”.
Sadly, Khan could not be farther from the truth. Over the years, the Indian Panorama has been attracting “muck” as one cineaste at Goa rightly pointed out. Most of the 100-odd movies that were sent up for possible selection in a section that was first envisaged to showcase the works of talented newcomers and masters were of abysmally poor quality. And out of this, a seven-member jury (of which I was a part), chaired by Muzaffar Ali, picked 26, the maximum number that can go here.
How good was this choice? The answer is not far to seek. For one, there were some on the jury who failed to understand that this is an Indian Panorama, not a Bengali or Tamil or Malayalam or Oriya Panorama. Often, this key aspect is lost sight of with members bogged down by their own linguistic and cultural preferences. They forget that they are part of a pan-Indian body selecting pan-Indian cinema.
Obviously, the selections were unfair or, at least, not as fair as they ought to have been. And this must be said in the interest of public money and trust. This year, Kerala Café, for instance, should have certainly made the cut. But it did not. On the other hand, entries, such as Kutty Srank, Ijjodu and Shankara Punyakoti should never have been chosen. But they were, and all these three made it into the Panorama because they got the Chairman’s casting vote.
It is well known by now that the Chairman watched but very few films, and another member, Bobby Bedi, did not attend the screenings for 13 out of the 15 days that the jury saw the movies. Bedi was out of the country. Ali was away in Lucknow for at least three days. The usual and almost sacrosanct practice of daily jury deliberations chaired by the Chairman was dispensed with.
Raghu Menon, Secretary in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, told me at an informal meeting in New Delhi that it was his dream to make IFFI a world class event. It is a dream that so many of us share. But the selection of the Panorama jury by the organizing Directorate of Film Festivals and the privileges it extended to some members like Ali and Bedi were highly questionable” , Gautaman concludes.

NFDC Film Bazaar at 40TH IFFI

A film bazaar was opened under the aegis of National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) on the sidelines of the 40th International Film Festival of India.. NFDC is a Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India’s Public Sector Unit.
This year the Hong Kong Trade Development Corporation, distributors from Europa Cinemas and American Film Institute are participating in the Bazaar to expand their global film network. The UK Film Council and Primexchange, an initiative funded by European Commission are also participating. Gold Crest Films, Videovision Entertainment, Rapid Eyes Movies, BBC Films, The Match Factory, Insomnia World Sales are some of the participating companies. Workshops, Co-production Projects, Work in Progress lab and discussions under the theme ‘Knowledge Series’ are the various facets of the Film Bazaar 2009.
The Film Bazaar aims at creating opportunities for networking and business for producers, filmmakers and distributors from across the world. The Co-production Projects at Film Bazaar present to the world feature-length (75 mins or more) projects that are based on Indian stories. At Film Bazaar these selected projects receive the opportunity to be pitched by their representatives to potential collaborators for finance, distribution, and artistic support through one-to-one meetings. Feature Projects 2009 include Ceylon by Santosh Sivan; I Am by Onirban; Inside-Out by Ketan Mehta; Keep off the Grass by Ben Rekhi; LSD by Dibakar Banerjee; Manjunath by Sandeep Varma; Obsession by Suman Ghosh; The Return of the Tiger by Mike Pandey; The Virgin Goddess by K.N.T. Sastry and Twosome by Siddharth Sinha.
This year’s ‘Knowledge Series’ will have presentations on Digital Distribution for web and mobile; De-coding India’s Co-production treaties with UK, Germany, Brazil and Italy; International Film Financing as also a discussion with film maker Mani Ratnam on his body of work. The three-day Film Bazaar will continue till November 26, 2009.

Waheeda Rehman inaugurates 40th International Film Festival of India

“Our time line is to implement suitable changes by IFFI 2010”-Ambika Soni ,Minister For Information And Broadcasting.

40th International FilmFestival of India kicked-off with the renowned actor of yesteryears Waheeda Rahman inaugurating the festival along with I&B minister Ambika Soni. Actors Asin and Nana Patekar were also present at the inauguration at Kala Academy, Panaji, Goa. Waheeda Rehman inaugurated the Festival with the symbolic lighting of the lamp assisted by actors Asin and Nana Patekar as special guests in the presence of Shri Digambar V. Kamat ,Chief Minister of Goa, and Smt. Ambika Soni ,Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting. The International Jury headed by Brazilian Director Joao Batista de Andrade along with other members of the jury - Vic Sarin (Canada), Kenichi Okubu (Tokyo), Sarika (India) and Jean-Michel Frodon (France) were felicitated at the opening ceremony. Noted Film makers Gurinder Chadha, Nonzee Nimibutr and Roland Reber attended the inaugural function. Notable among those who attended the function included Shri Muzaffar Ali, Chairman, Feature Film Jury, Indian Panorama. Shri Raghu Menon , Secretary, Ministry of I&B, Government of India . Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said that a committee of experts will be constituted to recommend measures for making the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) a world class, global event.. “Our time line is to implement suitable changes by IFFI 2010”, she declared. The Minister added that IFFI belongs to all film lovers and invited all well wishers of IFFI to send their suggestions to the Ministry for the consideration of this Committee. “To see IFFI stand tall as one of the best International Film Festivals in the world is my vision, my goal”, the Ministeradded. . This time it was a paradigm shift with regard to entertaintment followed the inaguraral function. The well choreographed colourful rendition of the ensemble of classical dance forms from Tamil Nadu, Manipur, Kerala and Gujarat presented by the Kalashetra This programme was directed by Leela Samson.
The Chinese historical drama “Wheat” (MAI TIAN) directed by He Ping was screened at the close of the opening ceremony

Online help for Documentary and Short films

Mr. Thomas David, CEO of www.kalavedionline.com, an NRI online portal based at New York would like to put shorts and docs of good quality on any subject in their portal for promoting the films and to attract prospective buyers and festival authorites round the world. The screening of the film is only limited to the portal as a service and no right shall be given to the portal about international festival or online except showing it in the portal. If the film is repeated in the portal on request a nominal charge will be levied.The films may be submitted in DVD, mini DV or DvCam formats.Those interested may contact Mr.Thomas David at info@kalavedionline.com

International Jury of 40TH IFFI

The International Jury of International Film Festival of India comprises of Joao batista de Andrade - Chairman , Mr. Vic Sarin - Canada , Ken'ichi Okubo - Japan , Jean-Michel Frodon France and Sarika from India

"Wheat " opening film in IFFI 2009

Wheat directed by He Ping will be the opening film in the International Film Festival of India to be commenced on 23 rd November at Goa .The Chinese title Mai tian ,when literally translated "Wheat field" is a Chinese historical drama directed by He Ping. Starring Fan Bingbing, Wang Jue, and others, Wheat tells the story of women left behind after their husbands are sent to war. The film is set in the chaotic Warring States period, a brutal, 250-year slugfest that finally resulted in China's unification under the Qin in 221 B.C. Main story takes place over a short period during the summer of 260 B.C., following the Battle of Changping, one of the biggest slaughterhouses in history, in which Qin forces killed almost half a million Zhao troops.
The film was produced for US $6 million and was funded by He's own Beijing Classic Culture, along with Polybona Films, and the state-backed Xi'an Film Studio. Filmed in 2008, Wheat premiered on June 13, 2009, as the opening film in the 2009 Shanghai International Film Festival..

IFFI Tribute to departed film personalities

The 40th IFFI to be inagurated this 23rd at Goa would offer homages to 13 film personalities who left us since the last fest -Murali, A.K. Lohitadas, Rajan P. Dev Nabendu Chatterjee, Prakash Mehra, Gulshan Bawra, Leela Naidu, Shakti Samanta, Feroz Khan, , Nilu Phule, Bhaskar Chandavarkar, R. Lakshman and Nagesh.

Stage set for the impressive 40th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) – 2009

The Chief Minister of Goa, Shri Digambar V. Kamat has pointed out that 'Goa, a Celluloid Destination' would be an important section this time. The idea is to promote Goa as a shooting destination for all the international directors, producers and other film makers. It was informed that at least eight films shot in Goa will be screened during the Festival. Shri Kamat reiterated that there is no security threat to the Film Festival and the people need not feel concerned on this account. Shri Kamat informed the press that last year they dspent 11 crores and this year planning to cut the cost of the fest. The Chief Minister was addressing a press conference here along with the Shri S. M. Khan ,Festival Director, Shri Sanjay Srivastava ,Chief Secretary of Goa, Shri Manoj Srivasta, CEO of ESG.
The Chief Minister added that a new idea of 'T20 of Indian Cinema', nominating the best of twenty films produced in the last 96 years, has been introduced this year and this has an overwhelming response .The Chief Minister also informed that on the sidelines, at the Corniche between Old GMC and Kala Academy Goan cultural activities would also be showcased between 23rd November to 3rd December 2009.Shri S. M. Khan, the Festival Director pointed out that the International Film Festival of India is also noted worldwide for the attractive awards given out at this Festival. Shri Khan elaborated that the Best Film Award to the Director and Producer of the Award Winning Film in the Competition Section carries a prize money of Rs. 40 lakhs and the Golden Peacock Award. Shri Khan also said that in keeping with the recommendations of the International Jury last year, this year's Silver Peacock Award along with monetary prize of Rs. 15 lakhs would go to the Best Director rather than to the Best Debut Director as had been the practice till last year. The Special Jury Award at IFFI also carries a sum of Rs. 15 lakhs along with the Silver Peacock Award. He informed that this year films from Croatia, Estonia, Italy, and Poland will be screened under the ?Country Focus? Section at IFFI-2009. 75 years of Assamese cinema and screening of Telugu musical hits will be yet another novelty for IFFI-2009. The Indian Section at IFFI - 2009 under nine different segments will screen 77 films. The Indian Panorama at IFFI 2009 would present a bouquet of 44 films, 26 feature films and 18 non-feature films.
Nearly 6000 delegates and more than 300 media persons are likely to participate in IFFI-2009 scheduled to be inaugurated on November 23, 2009. Veteran Film Actress Waheeda Rehman will be the Chief Guest at the inaugural ceremony. The Governor of Goa Dr S. S. Sidhu, the Chief Minister, Shri Digambar V. Kamat and the Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting, Smt. Ambika Soni will also grace the occasion. Actor Asin would be special guest for lighting the ceremonial lamp, actor Kabir Bedi and artist Divya Dutta would be compeering. The Festival would conclude on December 03, 2009 with presentation of Golden and Silver Peacock Awards for Best Film and Best Director, the Special Jury Awards as also the Vasudha and Golden Lamp Tree Awards for the short films. The renowned actor Mammootty will be the Chief Guest at the Closing Ceremony.

Waheeda Rehman and Mammootty would be Chief Guests of 40th IFFI

The versatile actor of yester years Waheeda Rahman and the renowned actor Mammootty will be the Chief Guests at the Opening and Closing ceremonies, respectively, in the 40th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2009 to begin at Panaji,Goa on the 23rd of November 2009. Smt Ambika Soni , Minister of Information and Broadcasting will be present in the Opening Ceremony. Actor Asin would be special guest for lighting the ceremonial lamp and actor actors Kabir Bedi and Divya Dutta would be compeering the Opening Ceremony.

The International Section of the IFFI includes Cinema of World with55 films from 45 countries. The retrospectives of Gurinder Chadha, Nonzee Nimabitur, Roland Reber, Joao Batista and Manoel De Olivera would be the highlights of this edition of IFFI.. The continent Focus on Latin America and Country Focus on Croatia; Italy; Poland; Estonia and France would be other attractions.. Film India Worldwide will showcase films made by Non-Resident Indians in collaboration with foreign filmmakers. There is also a section on Anti War Films. In the Indian Panorama section 26 feature films and 18 non-feature films would be screened.

14th International Film Festival of Kerala -Programmes being finalised

The Department of Cultural Affairs and Kerala State Chalachitra Academy are planning to felicitate Music maestro A.R. Rahman , Oscar winners Resul Pookutty and Gulzar at the inaugural ceremony of the forthcoming IFFK -14th International Film Festival of Kerala from 11 to 18th December.Fourteen films, including two Malayalam films, Sufi Paranja Katha directed by Priyanandanan and Madhyavenal by Madhu Kaithapuram. are selected for the competition section. Do paise ki dhoop, char aane ki baarish by Deepti Naval and Road to Sangam by Amit Rai are the other two Indian films in the competition section.
There are seven films in the Indian Cinema Now section, including the award winning Marathi film Harishchandrachi Factory. Two other Marathi films, Gandh directed by Sachin Kundalkar and Vihir directed by Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni, have also found their place in this section. Bengali films Kaalbela directed by Goutam Ghosh and Maya Bazaar directed by Joydeep Ghosh, Telugu movie Sontha Vooru directed by P. Suneel Kumar Reddy and Hindi film Ek tho chance by Saeed Akhtar Mir are also included .Films from Latin America, Africa, Asia and Europe will also be screened at the festival. The country in focus for the current fest will be Cuba.

Indian panorama non feature list for 40th IFFI-2009 announced

The opening film in the non-features section will be "In For Motion" (English) by Anirban Datta in the Indian Panorama section of the 40th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2009 to be held in Panaji, Goa from November 23,2009 which will have 18 non features. Other films to be shown in the section are "Bilal" (Bengali and Hindi) by Sourav Sarangi, "Ekti Kaktaliya Golpo" (Bengali) by Tathagaba Sinha, "I'm the Very Beautiful" (Bengali) by Shyamal Kumar Karmakar, "The First Leap" (English) by Haobam Pabankumar, "The Latent City" (English) by Krishnendu Bose, Gautam Benegal's "The Prince and the Crown of Stones" (English), "What If?" (English) by V K Prakash, "Boond" (Hindi) by Abhishek Pathak, "Chilika Banks" (Hindi) by Akanksha Joshi, "Kya Main Qafir Hoon" (Hindi) by "Sandhin Flora", "Supermen of Malegaon" (Hindi and Urdu) by Faiza Ahmad Khan, "Swayambhu Sen Forsees His End" in Hindi, Malayalam and English by Debashish Medhkar, Arun Sukumar's "When This Man Dies" in Hindi and English, "Kelkkunnundo" (Malayalam) by Geetu Mohan Das, "Ilisa Amagi Mahao" (Manipuri) by Nighthouja Lancha, "Vitthal" (Marathi) by Vinno Choliparambil and "Nanam Oru Pen" (Tamil) V Ranganathan.
The non-feature films jury was headed by Manipuri filmmaker Aribam Syam Sharma with Paromita Vohra, Pushpesh Pant, Sameer Hanchate and Kapilas Bhuyan as the other members.

Indian panorama list for 40th IFFI - 2009 announced

Konkani movie "Paltadacho Munis" will be the opening film in the Indian Panorama section of the 40th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2009 to be held in Panaji, Goa from November 23,2009 which will have 26 feature films .As the Kerala High Court has lifted a stay on the publication of results of films selected for the Indian Panorama, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry announced the list of films to be shown in the Indian panorama .There will be six Bengali, three Kannada, two English ,two Malayalam, two Tamil, one Tulu , one Konkani ,three Marathi, one Rajasthani and five Hindi films.Hindi films include recent Bollywood releases "Dev. D" (Anurag Kashyap), "Firaaq" (Nandita Das), "Kaminey" (Vishal Bhardwaj), "Oye Lucky-Lucky Oye" (Dibakar Banerjee) ,and "The White Elephant" (Ajiz Khan). other films included in this basket are Bengali films, "Aainaate" (Dulal Dey),"Angashumaner Chhobi" (Atanu Ghosh), "Antaheen" (Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury),"Dwando" (Suman Ghosh), "Janala" (Buddhadeb Dasgupta), and "Shob Charitro Kalponik" (Rituparno Ghosh) and "For Real" by Sona Jain in English, "Land Gold Women" in English and Urdu by Avantika Hari,"Beli Matthu Hola" (Kannada) by P R Ramadasa Naidu, "Ijjodu" (Kannada) by M S Sathyu, "Shankara Punyokoti" (Kannada) by G Murthy, "Keshu" (Malayalam) by Sivan,"Kutty Shrank" (Malayalam) by Shaji N Karun, "Ek Cup Chay" (Marathi) by Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukhtankar, "Gabhrjcha Paus" (Marathi) by Satish Manwar, Harishchandrachi Factory ( Marathi) Paresh Mokashi , "Haat: The Weekly Bazaar" (Rajasthani) by Seema Kapoor, "Achchamundu Achchamundu" (Tamil) by Arun Vaidyanathan, "Pasanga" (Tamil) by Pandi Raj ,"Gaggara" in Tulu by Shivadhwaj Shettyand Paltadacho Munis (Konkani), by Laxmikant Shetgaonkar.
Muzaffar Ali chaired the jury of the feature films section which had Bobby Bedi, Joseph Pulinthanath, J Mahendran, Gautaman Bhaskaran, Leslie Carvalho and Raja Mitra as members.

Panorama Films for IFFI 2009: interim stay lifted

A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court comprising Chief Justice S.R .Bannurmath and Justice A.K.Basheer on Tuesday stayed a single Judge’s order restraining the Government of India in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Directorate of Film Festivals from publishing the results of the selection of films made to the Indian panorama for the 40th International Film Festival of India, 2009, to be held in Panaji, Goa from November 23. In the appeal the Directorate contended that as per the existing regulations any dispute arising between the producer and the Directorate of Film Festivals shall be referred to the Secretary , Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt.of India whose decision shall be final. In this case instead of approaching the Secretary I&B first, the petitioner had filed a petition before the High Court directly.

40th IFFI to begin in Panaji ,Goa on November 23,2009.

Best Director and Best film award
introduced
200 films from India and abroad to be showcased

40th edition of International Film Festival of India (IFFI 2009), promises a wide selection of 200 films both from India and abroad.. IFFI 2009 will be inaugurated on November 23, at the Kala Academy in Panaji, Goa and ten filmy days till 3 rd December, 2009.
"In a departure from previous years, we will have a best director and best film award this year” said Festival Director S M Khan at a press meet in Mumbai on Monday. “the best film award will be jointly shared by both the director and the producer of the film,'' he added. The winner gets the prestigious Golden Peacock award and Rs 40 lakhs (Rs 4 million) as cash prize. The Best Director and the winner of the Special Jury Award will get silver peacock and cash prizes of Rs 15 lakhs (Rs1.5 Million) each.
The Indian Panorama will showcase 47 films – 26 feature and 21 non-feature films selected by the jury. In addition, the National Film Archives of India, Pune will screen five vintage musical hits and three National Film Award winning movies – Do Ankhen Baara Haath (1957), Sagar Sangame (1958) and Apur Sansar (1959). Tributes to Indian film personalities include Neelu Phule, Prakash Mehra, Shakti Samanta, Feroz Khan, Leela Naidu among others. The Films Division, Mumbai will show documentaries on Indian music and musicians covering Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pandit Jasraj, Naushad, K L Saigal, Begum Akhtar and Mohammad Rafi. Retrospective in the Indian section will be of films from Assam, as the Assemese Film Industry is celebrating the diamond jubilee. The films of Jahnu Barua, Bhabhendranath Saikia, Santwana Bardoloj and Sanjeev Hazarika will be showcased.
Retrospective will also feature films of those artistes who have completed 50 years in the film industry. Two movies each of Kamal Hassan, Asha Parekh and Saumitra Chatterjee will be screened.In the Cinema of the World, about 65 films from 45 countries have been selected by the Preview Committee. The continent focus is on Africa and Latin America, while the country focus is on cinema of Italy, France, Poland, Croatia and Estonia. Films made by Indians abroad on NRI issues will be part of the ‘Film India Worldwide’ section. Retrospectives in the foreign films category will include Gurinder Chadha, UK, Manuel De Oleivera, Portugal and Nonzee Nimibutr, Thailand. In addition, five anti-war films will also be shown. Spoof Cinema, mocking popular cinema is the new entrant in this edition of the festival. Films such as “Malegaon ka Superman’ and ‘Gabbarbhai MBBS’ are part of this package. Among the parallel activities, Shiamak Davar will present a lecture demonstration on ‘Evolution of Dance in Hindi Cinema’ while Kishwar Desai will speak on ‘Hindi Films based on book adaptations.”

Indian Panorama (IFFI - 2009) list stayed

The High Court of Kerala forbidden the Information and Broadcasting Ministry of Govt of India and the Directorate of Film Festivals from publishing the list of films selected for the Indian Panorama section of the IFFI 2009- International Film Festival of India, 2009- to be held in Panaji ,Goa from 23rd November this year. The order came on a writ petition filed by Renjith, film producer and director. According to him, though the Directorate had not announced the selections made by the jury, the names of the films had been posted on a website run by Gauthaman Bhaskaran ,one of the jury members.
On hearing the news appeared in the website ,the producers and directors in the Malayalam film industry opine that the selection of films to the Indian Panorama category was arbitrary and biased and most of the films entered from Malayalam were of outstanding quality with aesthetic appeal. They pointed out that the film Pazhasi Raja depicting the life of a Patriot King excels with any other film chosen for the Panorama. Films like Rithu ,Thalappavu ,Bhoomimalayalam,Soofiparanja katha, Keralacafe and Ramanam were far better than the films “selected”, they said. They have the strong feeling that the Malayalam films had been sidelined, with only one being chosen, the other one being the nomination of trade body . The petitioner sought a direction to the Union Government to conduct a detailed inquiry into the process of selection of films and take action, including making a fresh selection. The Court ordered that the interim stay order would be in force until the writ petition is disposed of.

Michael Haneke’s "The White Ribbon" will receive the FIPRESCI Grand Prix 2009 at San Sebastian

Michael Haneke's The White Ribbon (Das weisse Band) will receive the FIPRESCI Grand Prix 2009 for the Best Film of the Year at the opening ceremony of the San Sebastián International Film Festival.Michael Haneke (Munich, 1942) is one of contemporary cinema’s most greatly admired directors and a recipient of multiple plaudits for his work. Winner of the Golden Palm and the FIPRESCI at Cannes 2009 for The White Ribbon, Haneke has garnered countless accolades, including the Best Director Award for Caché (1995) and the Grand Jury Prize for La pianiste (The Piano Teacher, 2001), both at Cannes Festival. He has also carried off the Fipresci Prize at various festivals, and the award granted by the Federation at the European Film Awards, the first of which went to Benny’s Video (1992).
The White Ribbon was chosen the Best Film of the Year by the 223 critics throughout the world that took part in the poll for Grand Prix. The award will be handed out on Friday, September 18th, during the opening ceremony of the San Sebastian International Film Festival, which hosts the Grand Prix since its creation in 1999.
The Grand Prix, which distinguishes a film from the current season (any feature-length film premiered since July of the previous year) for its overall artistic quality, has already distinguished Pedro Almodóvar (All About My Mother, 1999, and Volver, 2006), Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia, 2000 and There Will Be Blood, 2008), Jafar Panahi (The Circle, 2001), Aki Kaurismäki (The Man Without a Past, 2002), Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Uzak, 2003), Jean-Luc Godard (Notre musique, 2004), Kim Ki-Duk (Iron 3, 2005), and Cristian Mungiu (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, 2007).

Death of a great Actor

Murali , veteran actor in Malayalam and Tamil films ,versatile theatre personality and national award winner who died Thursday night was cremated on the shore of Aruvikkara River this evening with State honor.. Murali was chairing the Kerala State Sangeetha Natake Academy. On returning from an overseas location of a Tamil movie two days back, Murali was admitted in a hospital at Trivandrum and died yesterday. Murali won the state award for the best actor thrice and the national award in 2001 for his performance in Malayalam movie Naithukaran. Multitalented Murali acted in more than 200 films in south Indian languages and had numerous theatre presentations acclaimed by all .

Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Films (M.I.F.F.)

The 11th Edition of Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, short and animation films (MIFF) will be held from 3rd to 9th February 2010 in Mumbai.. It is learned that from this edition the organizers, Films Division ,are introducing a combined competition of Indian and international films.. Till 10th MIFF held in 2008 there were separate competition sections for Indian and foreign documentaries. Films Division has invited entries for this biennial event.The entry form, rules and regulations for M.I.F.F. – 2010 are available on website www.miffindia.in and www.filmsdivision.org

BRUSSELS FILM FESTIVAL 2009

BRUSSELS FILM FESTIVAL
From June 27 to July 5, 2009

The BRUSSELS FILM FESTIVAL is a casual and welcoming event at the beginning of the summer. The distinctive feature of the festival is the exclusive promotion of European directors' debute films (1st or 2nd feature film).
Official Competition
The Official Competition is a selection of 14 films from European directors, only first or second feature films. An international jury will have to choose between those for the GOLDEN IRIS AWARD.
AWAYDAYS, Pat Holden (UK, 2009, 105')
LA CASA SULLE NUVOLE, Claudio Giovannesi (Italy, 2008, 96')
COUNTRY WEDDING, Valdis Oskarsdottir (Iceland, 2008, 95')
DONNE-MOI LA MAIN, Pascal-Alex Vincent (France, 2009, 80')
THE HIGHER FORCE, Olaf de Fleur Johannesson (Iceland, 2008, 80')
IN YOUR VEINS, Beata Garderler (Sweden, 2009, 92')
JOUEUSE, Caroline Bottaro (France, 2009, 101')
KATALIN VARGA, Peter Strickland (Romania, 2009, 82')
MACHAN, Uberto Pasolini (Italy, 2008, 105')
NORTH, Rune Denstadt Langlo (Norway, 2009, 90')
SOMEWHERE BETWEEN HERE AND NOW, Olivier Boonjing (Belgium, 2009, 74')
UNMADE BEDS, Alexis Dos Santos (UK, 2009, 93')
LA VERGUENZA, David Planell (Spain, 2009, 107')
WRONG ROSARY, Mahmut Fazil Coskun (Turkey, 2009, 89')
Avant-premières
A selection of European feature films from European directors that will
be released in theatres in the next months.
AMALIA, Carlos Coelho Da Silva (Portugal, 2008, 107')
BANCS PUBLICS (Versailles Rive Droite), Bruno Podalydes (France, 2009, 150')
BERLIN CALLING, Hannes Stöhr (Germany, 2009
CHANGES, Tomas Rehorek (Czech Republic, 2009, 79')
GENOVA, Michael Winterbottom (UK, 2008, 94')
MAMMOTH, Lukas Moodysson (Sweden, 2009, 120')
HOLY MONEY, Maxime Alexandre (Belgium, 2009, 100')
SANS RANCUNE, Yves Hanchar (Belgium, 2009, 104')

Belgian Talents
A selection of Belgian debut films from the last six months.
DIRTY MIND, Pieter Van Hees (Belgium, 2009, 90')
ELEVE LIBRE, Joachim Lafosse (Belgium, 2009, 105')
UNSPOKEN, Fien Troch (Belgium, 2009, 90')
The jury of the festival include:Hannes stoehr , Tomas lemarquis, Taylan Barman , Laura Verlinden, Merce Llorens .

Second International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala

Second edition of International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala is being held in Thiruvananthapuram successfully by The Kerala State Chalachitra Academy. A total of 50 films had been chosen for the competition section.. The fest started with the screening of "Cherub of the Mist" by renowned wildlife film-maker Naresh Bedi .Fifty six short fiction films, 10 long documentaries, five animation films, 24 films in the international section, 11 films under '60 years of Films Division,' five environmental films, five short fiction films (Hungary) and five short films from Mexico are also being shown in the festival. French Director Agnes Varda's 13 films and seven films of Supriyo Sen in the section 'documentary film-maker in focus' is one of the highlights. The competition section is divided into five categories-- short fiction, long documentary, short documentary, animation and and music videos. The non-competition section and the international section have an array of celebrated movies.. The international section of the festival includes 60 years of the Films Division, Mexican short films, environment films. In the ‘long docu’ section, nine documentaries will be screened. There will be 12 documentaries in the competition section, 12 in the short documentary section and 23 films in the non-competition section. 17 films will be screened in the short fiction competition section. In the non-competition section, 55 short films will be screened. Amol Palekar is the chairman of the jury for the short fiction section. Madhusree Dutta is the chairperson of the jury for non-fiction section. The fest will conclude today.

Kamala Surayya , A Great Death

It was her will to be buried in the Khabersthan of Palayam Juma Masjid, Thiruvananthapuram.
We were standing warm heartedly beneath a Vaka tree inside the Khabersthan this morning.
The Vaka was offering her tributes to Madhavikutty alias Kamala Das alias Kamala Surayya by shedding the yellow flowers profoundly
A friend whispered in my ears that this is a great political act .
I nodded ,yes it is a great service Kamala Surayya rendered to the selfish , fanatic world.
People from all walks of life assembled there to witness and pay homage to the great writer irrespective of their positions.
There were Ministers ,Writers ,Poets ,Foreigners ,Hindus ,Christians ,Muslims ,Communists ,Congress men, people believing in Hinduata , and of course hundreds of human beings who never entered into the four walls of the Khabersthan in their life time even though they were part of the civil life in this old city for decades.
All stood in the Khabersthan with the fond memory of Kamala ,the writer the human being with courage and astuteness .
She did what she believed .
She wrote what she desired to be written.
She was buried as she wished.
She dedicated her death to the humanity and flown to the shore she dreamt .

Slum dog become street dog

Authorities in Mumbai have demolished the hut of Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, the 10-year-old boy from Mumbai’s slums who appeared as young Salim in the Oscar winning film “Slumdog Millionaire”.This hut can be described as a shack or a lean-to with a tarpaulin roof and situated in the Garib Nagar slums, was destroyed by bulldozers on Thursday night last.. Another 30 more neighbors’ homes were also destroyed along with Ismail’s .There was no advance warning of demolition. The 10-year-old actor, had been in deep sleep in the hut when the cruel authorities and heartless bulldozers came to demolish it.. There are some 18 million people living in Mumbai , over half of them are consigned to the slums.

Adoor retro in Munich Film Museum

The Filmmuseum im Stadtmuseum is one of the great movie resources in Munich. The Munich film museum was founded in 1963 as part of the City Museum. A centre for research in cinematic history, it is where important documents of German and international film history are collected and restored. Additionally, its cinema shows a different film every day; silent films are often accompanied by live piano and/or violin music, especially composed for the occasion. The programme includes classics . Regular retrospectives document the work of a particular person or films on a certain topic. Directors, actors and film historians are often invited to give an introductory talk to a showing or to discuss the film with the audience. Normally all films are shown in their original version with German subtitles. A retrospective of all the Films of renowned film maker Adoor Gopalakrishnan would be screened in Munich Film Museum from May 12 to 16,2009.
Film critic and Secretary General of the International Film Critics Association (FIPRESCI) Klaus Eder would introduce Adoor Gopalakrishnan to the audience.

Jury for Competition films in Festival de Cannes 2009

Jury for Competition films in Festival de Cannes 2009 will be presided by eminent actress Isabelle HUPPERT ( France).
Other members are:
Asia ARGENTO (Actress, Director, Screenwriter- Italy)
Nuri BILGE CEYLAN (Director, Screenwriter, Actor - Turkey)
Lee CHANG-DONG (Director, Writer, Screenwriter - South Korea)
James GRAY (Director, Screenwriter – United States)
Hanif KUREISHI (Writer, Screenwriter – United Kingdom)
Shu QI (Actress - Taiwan)
Robin WRIGHT PENN (Actress - United States)
Sharmilla TAGORE ( Actress- India)

Source : Festival de Cannes news letter

The Official Selection in Festival de Cannes 2009

The Official Selection in Festival de Cannes 2009 is dedicated to the memory of Wouter Barendrecht (1965 - 2009).
Opening Film : Pete DOCTER - UP - Out of Comp.- 1h44

THE COMPÉTITION :

Pedro ALMODÓVAR - LOS ABRAZOS ROTOS (Broken Embraces) - 2h09
Andrea ARNOLD - FISH TANK - 2h04
Jacques AUDIARD - UN PROPHÈTE - 2h30
Marco BELLOCCHIO - VINCERE - 2h08
Jane CAMPION - BRIGHT STAR - 2h00
Isabel COIXET - MAP OF THE SOUNDS OF TOKYO -1h44
Xavier GIANNOLI - A L’ORIGINE - 2h30
Michael HANEKE - DAS WEISSE BAND (The White Ribbon) - 2h24
Ang LEE - TAKING WOODSTOCK -2h00
Ken LOACH - LOOKING FOR ERIC - 1h56
LOU Ye - CHUN FENG CHEN ZUI DE YE WAN (Spring Fever) - 1h55
Brillante MENDOZA - KINATAY - 1h40
Gaspar NOE - ENTER THE VOID - 2h30
PARK Chan-Wook - BAK-JWI - (Thirst) - 2h13
Alain RESNAIS - LES HERBES FOLLES (Wild grass) - 1h36
Elia SULEIMAN - THE TIME THAT REMAINS - 1h49
Quentin TARANTINO - INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - 2h40
Johnnie TO - VENGEANCE - 1h48
TSAI Ming-liang - VISAGE (face)- 2h18
Lars VON TRIER - ANTICHRIST - 1h44
Closing Film : Jan KOUNEN - COCO CHANEL & IGOR STRAVINSKY - Out of Comp. - 2h00

UN CERTAIN REGARD

BONG Joon Ho - MOTHER - 2h10
Alain CAVALIER - IRENE -1h23
Lee DANIELS - PRECIOUS - 1h49
Denis DERCOURT - DEMAIN DES L'AUBE - 1h36
Heitor DHALIA - À DERIVA (Adrift)- 1h43
Bahman GHOBADI - KASI AZ GORBEHAYE IRANI KHABAR NADAREH (Nobody Knows About The Persian Cats)- 1h30
Ciro GUERRA - LOS VIAJES DEL VIENTO (Les Voyages Du Vent) - 1h57
Mia HANSEN-LOVE - LE PÈRE DE MES ENFANTS - 2h00
Hanno HÖFER, Razvan MARCULESCU, Cristian MUNGIU, Constantin POPESCU, Ioana URICARU:
AMINTIRI DIN EPOCA DE AUR (Tales from The Golden Age) - 2h18
Nikolay KHOMERIKI - SKAZKA PRO TEMNOTU (Tale In The Darkness)- 1h12
HIrokazu KORE-EDA - KUKI NINGYO (Air Doll)- 2h05
Yorgos LANTHIMOS - KYNODONTAS (Dogtooth) - 1h36
Pavel LOUNGUINE - TZAR (Le Tsar) - 1h56
Raya MARTIN - INDEPENDENCIA - (Independence) - 1h17
Corneliu PORUMBOIU - POLITIST, ADJECTIV (Policier, Adjectif) - 1h55
Pen-Ek RATANARUANG - NANG MAI (Nymph)- 1h49
João Pedro RODRIGUES - MORRER COMO UM HOMEM (Mourir Comme Un Homme) - 2h13
Haim TABAKMAN - EYES WIDE OPEN - 1er film -1h31
Warwick THORNTON - SAMSON AND DELILAH - 1er film - 1h41
Jean VAN DE VELDE - THE SILENT ARMY - 1h32

OUT OF COMPETITION:
Alejandro AMENABAR - AGORA - 2h21
Terry GILLIAM - THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS - 2h02
Robert GUÉDIGUIAN - L'ARMÉE DU CRIME (The Army of crime) - 2h19

MIDNIGHT SCREENINGS :

Stéphane AUBIER, Vincent PATAR - A TOWN CALLED PANIC -1st film - 1h16

Sam RAIMI - DRAG ME TO HELL - 1h39

Marina de VAN - NE TE RETOURNE PAS (Don't look back) - 1h50

SPECIAL SCREENINGS:

Anne AGHION - MY NEIGHBOR, MY KILLER - 1h20
Adolfo ALIX, JR., Raya MARTIN - MANILA -1h30
Souleymane CISSE - MIN YE - 2h15
Michel GONDRY- L'EPINE DANS LE COEUR (The thorn in the heart) - 1h26
Zhao LIANG - PETITION - 2h04
Eduardo VALENTE - NO MEU LUGAR (Eye of the storm) - 1st film - 1h53
Keren YEDAYA - JAFFA - 1h44

Tribute to Fanny Ardant

Fanny ARDANT - CENDRES ET SANG (Ashes and blood) -1st film - 1h45

Lee Chang-Dong presents

Ounie LECOMTE - UNE VIE TOUTE NEUVE (A brand new life) - 1st film - 1h32

THE SHORT FILMS IN COMPETITION

Mark ALBISTON, Louis SUTHERLAND - THE SIX DOLLAR FIFTY MAN-15' New Zealand
Daniel BORGMAN - LARSOG PETER-15' Denmark
Alex BRENDEMÜHL - RUMBO A PEOR-12' Spain
Jochem DE VRIES - MISSEN -12' The Netherlands
Jean-Christophe LIE - L'HOMME A LA GORDINI-10' France
Goran ODVORCIC - CIAO MAMA-10' Croatia
Laila PAKALNINA - KLUSUMS-14' Latvia
João SALAVIZA - ARENA-15' Portugal
Emma SULLIVAN - AFTER TOMORROW-15’United Kingdom

Source: Festival de Cannes news letter -4

Un Certain regard in 62 nd Festival de Cannes 2009

The Jury Un Certain regard 2009 will be presided by the Italian director and screenwriter Paolo Sorrentino, awarded the Jury Prize in 2008 for il Divo.He will be surrounded by Julie Gayet (actress, France), Piers Handling (director of the Toronto Festival, Canada), Uma Da Cunha (journalist and festival programmer, India) and Marit Kapla (journalist, Göteborg Festival, Sweden).The opening film of Un Certain Regard, programmed for Thursday May 14th in the Salle Debussy, will be Nobody Knows About The Persian Cats, directed by the Iranian filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi.

source: Festival de Cannes News Letter

Miloš Forman film to be screened in 44th Karlovy Vary IFF 2009 in world premiere

Celebrated filmmaker Milos Forman will present his new film, A Walk Worthwhile, at the 44th Karlovy Vary IFF 2009.The presentation of the jazz opera A Walk Worthwhile (Dobře placená procházka) was originally a product of the Semafor theatre run by legendary writers Jiří Suchý and Jiří Šlitr, and the first premiere was held in 1965 in the Semafor theatre itself. The production was adapted for the television screen in 1966 by directors Ján Roháč and Miloš Forman.More than forty years later, the well known opera buffa A Walk Worthwhile made its triumphant return. The premiere of the new production took place on 22 April 2007 at the National Theatre in Prague. The link between the Semafor staging and the new performance is, on the one hand, Jiří Suchý as writer and actor playing the role of the Postman, and, on the other, filmmaker Miloš Forman, who directed A Walk Worthwhile with his son Petr; his other son Matěj Forman created the stage designs. The production was one of the major theatre events of the year, also for the collaboration between the world famous film director and his sons, celebrated theatre artists in their own right, both at home and abroad.As in the case of the original version, the new stage production of A Walk Worthwhile was also adapted for the screen. Initially, the filmmakers and producers intended to release the film A Walk Worthwhile only on DVD, however, since the outcome was a resounding success, it was decided that this unique film should be offered to cinema audiences as well.
Courtesy:Karlovy Vary festival news

Anhad activists beaten up in Gujarat

The Hindu reports

NEW DELHI: Over two-dozen activists of ANHAD, a trust that works towards pluralism, secularism and democracy, were allegedly beaten up at Gandhinagar in Gujarat on Monday during an election campaign.

The attack took place in the afternoon when the ANHAD activists were campaigning in Naranpura in the Shastri Nagar area asking people to use their Constitutional rights and exercise their franchise.

“The campaign started in the morning and the activists formed three separate groups to reach out effectively to the electorate. It was around 1 p.m. when a large number of goons owing allegiance to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bharatiya Janata Party wielding lathis surrounded them. Our activists, including women, were abused and pushed around. Two of them, Sachin Pandya and Robin Soni, were allegedly kicked and punched all over,” said ANHAD founding member Shabnam Hashmi, at a press conference here.

The campaign aimed at awakening people towards their Constitutional rights, including right to vote, and exploding the “myth” of vibrant Gujarat was kicked-off on Sunday.

Ms. Hashmi said the attackers took away leaflets and other printed material carried by the ANHAD activists and threatened them with dire consequences if they reported the matter to the police. “Though the activists escaped with minor injuries, but it could have turned either way. It has happened to our activists many times in the past six months. Even lodging a First Information Report is dangerous in such cases. We are now planning to approach the Election Commission in the present case,” Ms. Hashmi added.

Alleging that the BJP cadres even stopped them from filing a police complaint, Sachin Pandya, said: “When we reached the Gatlodiya police station in the evening, we found a dozen BJP cadres standing near it. Not willing to take risk, we returned without filing a report. Now we are planning to approach the Police Commissioner.”

Source: The Hindu (http://www.hinduonnet.com/2009/04/21/stories/2009042157260400.htm)

opinion poll by I.M.E.G - results announced

-U.D.F (Congress and allies may get11-14 seats and the L.D.F (C.P.I (M)
and allies may get 6-9 seats.
Institute For Monitoring Economic Growth ( I.M.E.G) ,a research organization based at Thiruvananthapuram , Kerala having a Psephology centre , has conducted an opinion poll in connection with the ensuing 15th Lok Sabha election-Parliament elections 2009 -in Kerala .The Lok Sabha elections are going to be conducted on 16th April 2009 in Kerala .The survey was conducted between April 3 and April 10 . The results were announced in a press conference held in the Press Club Hall, Thiruvananthapuram by Meera Sahib ,Director of the organization an . A total of 65418 eligible voters across 20 constituencies were surveyed from the State. Two types of swing surveys and an opinion poll were conducted using random sampling techniques and the results were pooled and final results prepared. The Survey results reveal that Congress and allies - U.D.F - are expected to get between 11-14 seats against one seat in 2004.The C.P.I (M) and allies may get 6-9 seats against 18 seats in 2004. BJP may not open account in this election in Kerala. Same is the case with B.S.P which is contesting in 20 seats and N.C.P contesting in 4 seats . The voters especially educated youth are strongly against the political parties having alliance with communal forces ,the survey reveals. The average voting percentage in 2004 L.S Election was 71.45. It will be less this time due to this factor ,the survey results say. The report further says that the CPI(M) led front may win in Kasaragod , Alathur ,Alappuzha ,Kollam ,Idukki and Attingal constituencies and there are winning chances in Kannur ,Vadakara,Kottayam constituencies. There is good prospects for Sasi Tharoor ,former Under Secretary General of U.N.O ,the Opinion Poll results forecast. The voters are not happy with the politicians and candidates having more wealth as they are not serving offices of profits, the survey results opine. The survey was conducted by a team of professional psephologists , Prof. M.M Safarulla Khan, A.M Joseph ,T.P.Mukundan and, P.V.Unni under the leadership of A. Meera Sahib ,the Director of the I.M.E.G.

Critics( FIPRESCI ) Prize in Guadalajara and Toulouse

Toulouse Festival(Rencontres des Cinémas d'Amérique Latine )in France( March 20-29, 2009). FIPRESCI Jury consisting of Bojidar Manov, Bulgaria; Wolfgang Hamdorf, Germany; Maria Teresa Oleksiewicz, Poland awarded Critics prize to "Stories"(Historias extraordinarias) by Mariano Llinás (Argentina, 2008, 252 min)in Toulouse Festival in France..

Guadalajara (Mexico, March 19-27, 2009). FIPRESCI Jury consisting of Joao Antunes, Portugal, president; Francisco Eduardo Padrón Nodarse, Cuba; Dennis West, USA; Chiara Arroyo Cella, Spain/Mexico,awarded Critics prize to Ibero american Competition: The Maid (La nana) by Sebastián Silva (Chile, 2009). Prize Mexican Competiton: Black Sheep (Oveja negra) by Humberto Hinojosa Ozcariz (Mexico, 2009). .
Source: FIPRESCI

Critics Prizes (FIPRESCI ) in Fribourg and Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki (Documentary Film Festival "Images of the 21st Century", Greece, March 13-22, 2009).
Prize, International Competition: "Prodigal Sons" by Kimberly Reed (USA, UK, 2008). Best Greek Documentary: "Bathers" (Louomeno) by Eva Stefani (Greece, 2009).
Jury: László Kriston, Hungary, president ("Vox Mozimagazin", "Magyar Narancs", "Magyar Radio"), Dubravka Lakic, Serbia ("Politika", "Slobodna Bosna", "Pobjeda"), José Miguel Gaspar, Portugal ("Jornal de Notícias"), Michael Pekler, Austria ("Der Standard"), Dimitris Haritos, Greece.

Fribourg (Switzerland, March 14-21, 2009).
Prize: "Shakespeare and Victor Hugo's Intimacies" (Intimidades de Shakespeare y Victor Hugo) by Yulene Olaizola (Mexico, 2008).
Jury:Ronald Bergan, UK, president ("The Guardian"), Diego Brodersen, Argentina ("Página/12", "El Amante/Cine", "Revista N-Clarin"), Övgü Gökce, Turkey ("Altyazi Sinema Dergisi"), Télesphore MBA BIZO, Cameroun ("Cameroon Radio Television", "Terroirs", Christian Jungen, Switzerland ("Mittellandzeitung", "Sonntag").
Source:FIPRESCI

Critics Awards – FIPRESCI - at the Festivals in Miami, Sofia, Mexico City

Miami (USA, March 6-15, 2009). The Miami Film Festival has become one of the key events for showcasing not only the best examples of the Ibero-American cinematographies, but also the new trends and trajectories on world cinema.This years critics prize goes to: "Involuntary" (De Ofrivilliga) by Ruben Östlund (Sweden, 2008), shown in the "World Competition" section. FIPRESCI Jury: Eleanor Ringel Cater (USA), Paulo Portugal (Portugal), Josefina Sartora (Argentina).


Sofia (Bulgaria, March 5-15, 2009).The 13th Sofia Festival presented more than 200 films through its international, regional and national programs .FIPRESCI Prize for this edition awarded to: "The Happiest Girl in the World" (Cea mai fericita fata din lume) by Radu Jude (Romania, Netherlands, 2009), shown in the festival's international competition. FIPRESCI Jury: Einar Staalesen (Norway), Tonci Valentic (Croatia), Ingeborg Bratoeva (Bulgaria).

Mexico City (Mexico City International Contemporary Film Festival, Mexico, February 17 – March 1, 2009).Living in the shadow of the enormous neighborhood of the United States, Mexico once again had the brilliant idea to organize the Festival of Independent Cinema, after five successfull editions under Paula Astorga now with a new team.Winner of this year's FIPRESCI Prize is: "Our Fight" (Nuestra lucha) by Jaime Rogel Román (Mexico, 2008, HDV). FIPRESCI Jury: Joel Poblete (Chile), Fernando Palumbo (Uruguay), Chiara Arroyo Cella (Spain/Mexico).

John Abraham Awards in Signs Film Festival 09

Malayalam Film ‘Bhoomimalayalam’ directed by T.V.Chandran and Marathi film ‘Harishchandrachi Factory’ directed by Paresh Mokashi shared this year’s John Abraham National Awards for feature films in the SIGNS festival of feature and short feature films . The award for the best documentary was won by Umesh Kulkarni’s ‘Three of Us.’ Sidhartha Mukherjee’s ‘100 Watt Bulb’ adjudged short feature film The award for the best cinema of resistance was won by ‘There was a queen’ by Kavitha Pai and Hansa Tapliyal. The best experimental film is Amit Dutta’s ‘Kramasha’. Renowned film maker Adoor Gopalakrishnan gave away the awards in the concluding session of the festival held at Kalabhavan theatre ,Thiruvananthapuram

FIPRESCI Awards at Berlinale,2009

FIPRESCI jury awarded films in the International Competition, in the Panorama Section and in the International Forum of New Cinema at Berlinale , 2009
International Competition: "The Milk of Sorrow" (La teta asustada)by Claudia Llosa Peru/Spain, 2009).Panorama "North" (Nord) ,by Rune Denstadt Langlo (Norway 2009). International Forum of New Cinema: "Love Exposure" (Ai no mukidashi)by Sono Sion (Japan, 2008).
International Jury was composed of:
Borislav Andjelic, Serbia, President, Mihai Chirilov, Romania, Sergi Sanchez, Spain, Richard Cline, Great Britain, Nils Saeveras, Norway, Andreas Becker, Germany, Margit Tönson, Estonia, Gulnara Abikeyeva, Kazakhstan, Enrico Bosten, Germany.
Jury Secretary: Angelika Kettelhack, Germany..

4th Edition of SIGNS 2009- FEATURE FILMS IN COMPETITION

Mizhikal Sakshi (Malayalam) -Director ..Asok R Nath , Yarwng (Roots) (Kokborok) -Director .. Joseph Pulinthanath ,Nanthuni (Malayalam) -Director .. Hari Narayanan ,Thalappavu ( Malayalam) -Director .. Madhupal ,Subramaniyapuram (Tamil ) -Director .. Sasikumar M , Bhoomi malayalam (Malayalam )-Director .. TV Chandran ,Bioscope (Malayalam) -Director .. K M Madhusudhanan , Muthal Muthal Muthal Varai (Tamil ) K. S. Gomatam ,Thirakadha ( Malayalam ) -Director .. Renjith , Orkkuka Vallappozhum (Malayalam ).Director .. Sohanlal , Made in China ( Marathi ) Santosh Kohle , Banada Neralu ( Kannada ) -Director .. Umashankar Swamy ,Gulabi Talkies (Kannada) -Director .. Girish Kasaravalli ,Margazhi Raagam ( Music )-Director .. JeyendraPanchapakesan , Poo (Tamil) -Director .. P G Muthuiah , Ocean of an old man (Hindi ) -Director .. Rajesh Shera ,Kanchivaram (Tamil ) -Director ..Priyadarsan , Raman ( Malayalam ) -Director ..Dr Biju , Harishchandrachi Factory (Marathi ) -Director .. Paresh Mokashi , Gulmohar (Malayalam )-Director…Jayaraj , Summer 207 (Hindi)-Director .. Suhail Tatary

National Theatre Festival 2009 Thiruvananthapuram

Information and Public Relations Department of Kerala opens up a new vista of cultural extravaganza, National Theatre Festival, to the art aficionados of Kerala, which is scheduled from March 1-11, 2009 in Thiruvananthapuram. The fifth episode of the festival highlights the theme- Modern-Contemporary Theatre will be a unique experience with the presence of up-to-the-date drama techniques, a real light and sound show without losing the essence of drama.The festival showcases plays of famous directors like Jyothish M. G. (Malayalam), Kirti Jain (Hindi), Shanmugaraja (Tamil), Zuilekha Choudhary (English), Pabitra Rabha (Garo), Maya Krishna Rao (Multilingual), Sankar Venkateswaran (Malyalam- Japanese), Santanu Bose (Bengali), Anuradha Kapur (Hindi), Veenapani Chawla (Malayalam- English) etc.The main venue of the festival is Tagore Theatre and another one is Vailoppilly Samskriti Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram.

4th Edition of SIGNS 2009,the Indian Festival of Features and Non-Features ,for John Abraham National Awards

Federation of Film Societies of India , Keralam is organizing the 4th edition of SIGNS 2009,the Indian Festival of Features and Non-Features for John Abraham National Awards from 12th to 19 February ,2009 at Kalabhavan and Tagore theatres ,Thiruvananthapuram. The fest contains Feature films , Documentaries , Short features in Indian competition. In focus Feature films , Documentaries , Short features ,Animation , Advertisements & Music videos.In gallery ,Video art from India and abroad &Asian documentary package . Mani Kaul will head the Jury for Feature Films . Fareeda Mehta and Rajeev Vijayaraghavan are the members .Jury for non-feature films will be chaired by Arun Khopkar with Chalam Bennurakar and B . Ajithkumar as members

"Revanche "- Best Foreign Language Film-Palm Springs International Film Festival

From national submissions to the Academy Award for the Best Foreign Language Film, a jury of FIPRESCI selected – at the Palm Springs International Film Festival (USA, January 6-19, 2009) – the Best Foreign Language Film of 2008:

Revanche by Götz Spielmann (Austria, 2008),
"The suspenseful story of a heist whose unexpected repurcussions
radiate out with satisfying moral complexity" (jury member Lisa Nesselson).

The jury decided also prizes for best actor/actress.

Best actor: Natar Ungalaaq in The Necessities of Life
(Ce qu'il faut pour vivre, directed by Benoit Pilon, Canada 2008).
"Though not a trained actor, Natar Ungalaaq brings rare warmth
and icy clarity to his role as an Inuit hunter culturally and emotionally
marooned in at TB hospital in 1940's Quebec" (juror Roger Clarke).

Best actress: Martina Gusman in Lion's Den
(Leonera, directed by Pablo Trapero, Argentina/South Korea/Brazil, 2008).
"Martina Gusman masters every scene of Lion's Den,
expressing extreme emotions with restrained intensity and subtly conveying
her character's transformation from passivity to power over the course
of her ordeal" (jury member Peter Keough), informs FIPRESCI

National Society of Film Critics (USA) Votes Forty-third Annual Awards

The National Society of Film Critics (USA) on Saturday, January 3rd, 2009, chose Waltz With Bashir as Best Picture of the Year 2008. The Society, which is made up of 63 of the country's most prominent movie critics, held its 43rd annual awards voting meeting at Sardi's Restaurant in New York City. Forty-nine members voted. TheAnnual Awards for 2008 Films:

Best Actor
Sean Penn (Milk) (Focus Features)

Best Actress
Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky) (Miramax)

Best Supporting Actor
Eddie Marsan (Happy-Go-Lucky) (Miramax)

Best Supporting Actress
Hanna Schygulla (The Edge of Heaven) (Strand Releasing)

Best Picture
Waltz with Bashir (Ari Folman) (Sony Pictures Classic)

Best Director
Mike Leigh (Happy-Go-Lucky) (Miramax)

Best Nonfiction Film
Man on Wire (James Marsh) (Magnolia)

Best Screenplay
Happy-Go-Lucky (Mike Leigh)

Best Cinematography
Slumdog Millionaire (Anthony Dod Mantle) (Fox Searchlight)

Best Experimental Film
Ken Jacobs' Razzle Dazzle

Film Heritage Awards
The Criterion Collection for finally making Samuel Fuller's suppressed White Dog(1982) available to a wide American audience via DVD release.
The Exiles, Kent Mackenzie's realistic 1961 independent film about Native Americans in Los Angeles. (Restored by Ross Lipman of the UCLA Television and Film Archives and distributed by Milestone.)
Flicker Alley for releasing DVD collections of rare early U.S. and foreign silent films.
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment for its DVD set "Murnau, Borzage and Fox".