22nd IFFK 2017-Madhabi Mukherjee will be the chief guest at the opening ceremony-Lifetime Achievement Award to Russian director Alexander Sokurov

22nd edition of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) will be held during 8-15 December 2017 in Thiruvananthapuram. Well known Bengali actress Madhabi Mukherjee, who turned 75 last February, will be the chief guest at the opening ceremony.Madhabi Mukherjee has not yet been bestowed with a Dadasaheb Phalke award or even a Padma award.She had acted in more than 65 films including that of Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen. This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award is being conferred on iconic Russian director Alexander Sokurov. A retrospective of his six films   will be screened at the festival. His film Russian Ark was shown in IFFK 2003 .

Russian Ark received the Visions Award at the  2002 Toronto International Film Festival , a Special Citation at the 2003 San Francisco FilmCritics Circle Awards and the 2004  Silver Condor Award for Best Foreign Film from Argentine Film Critic Association and was also nominated for thePalm d'Or  at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival , the Golden Hugo at the 2002 Chicago International Film Festival and the 2004 Nika Award . In addition, Alexander Sokurov was named Best Director at  Francie  in 2003 and was nominated for the 2002  Europian Film Award for Best Director  Cinematographer Tilman Büttner was also nominated for various awards for his work on the film, including a European Film Award and a German Camera Award.A Golden Lion winner at Venice for his film Faust, and a perennial presence at major festivals, he has many influential admirers. “I wept and wept, from start to finish,” rock star Nick Cave stated after seeing Sokurov’s 1997 film Mother and Son. Martin Scorsese called him “a pioneer” and supported the making of his “one-shot” feature Russian Ark (2002), filmed in a single 90-minute take in the Hermitage Museum. Russian president Vladimir Putin helped ensure the financing of Faust.Sokurov’s new feature, Francofonia, was coproduced by the Louvre and partly shot in the museum when it was closed to the public and at night. The crew was there working next to the Mona Lisa for eight or nine days.

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Besides, Retrospectives of films by Lino Brocka, master filmmaker from Philippines and K P Kumaran from India will be screened.Contemporary Masters in Focus will feature movies of Mahamat Saleh Haroun (Chad) and Michel Franco (Mexico). Other packages include Identity and Space, Contemporary Asian Cinema, Japanese Animation, Restored Classics, and Jury Films.Homage section will be screening films to pay tribute to directors Kundan Shah, K R Mohanan and I V Sasi and actor Om Puri.

48th IFFI 2017 -Awards declared-Vivian Qu ,best director for her Mandarin film Angels Wear,Malayalam Actor Parvathi adjudged as Best female Actor,Kiro Russso best Debut Director

Malayalam Actor Parvathi adjudged as Best female Actor for her performance in the film Take off directed by Mahesh Narayanan . Vivian Qu ,best director for  her Mandarin film  Angels Wear White.Take off also received Special Jury mention.Atom Egoyan received the Lifetime Achievement Award .“120 BEATS PER MINUTE” bags Best Movie award at IFFI 2017, received Golden Peacock Trophy. Amitabh Bachchan receives Indian Film Personality of the Year award.Marathi Film ‘Kshitij- A Horizon’ gets the ICFT-UNESCO Gandhi Medal.The nine day long International Film Festival of India 2017 concluded today in a colourful closing ceremony held at Goa.o Atom Egoyan received the Lifetime Achievement Award .“120 BEATS PER MINUTE” bags Best Movie award at IFFI 2017, receives Golden Peacock . Amitabh Bachchan receives Indian Film Personality of the Year award.Marathi Film ‘Kshitij- A Horizon’ gets the ICFT-UNESCO Gandhi Medal. The 9 day long International Film Festival of India 2017 concluded today in a colourful closing ceremony held at Goa. 

           

French movie ‘120 Beats per Minute’, directed by Robin Campillo bagged the award for Best Film in IFFI 2017. The award came with the Golden Peacock trophy, certificate and a cash prize amount of Rs. 40, 00,000 shared between the Director and the Producer equally. Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, for his role in 120 Beats per Minute bagged the best actor award, picking up the Silver Peacock. 120 Beats per Minute tells the story of a group of activists in Paris in early 1990’s, taking on government agencies and major pharmaceutical companies, battling for HIV/AIDS patients.

The Best Director award was given to Vivian Qu for the film ‘Angels Wear White’, who bagged the Silver Peacock Trophy and cash prize of Rs. 15,00,000. While Parvathy Thiruvothu Kottuvata was awarded the Best Actress award for the Malayalam film “Take Off”, Nahuel Pérez Biscayart won the Best Actor Award for the film “'120 Beats per Minute”. Both received the Silver Peacock Trophy and cash Prize of Rs 10,00,000 each. Special Jury award, which carries the Silver Peacock Award and a cash prize of Rs. 15,00,000, was awarded to Mahesh Narayanan for his Malayalam movie ‘Take Off’. Kiro Russo received the award for ‘Best Debut Feature Film of a Director’ for his Spanish Movie ‘Dark Skull’.

Shri Amitabh Bachchan, award winning and acclaimed actor was honoured with the Indian Film Personality of the Year 2017 for his contribution to Indian Cinema. The 75-year-old actor's glorious career has spanned almost five decades, in which he has been decorated with a plethora of national and international honours.

 Acclaimed Canadian filmmaker, Atom Egoyan was conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award at the closing ceremony of International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2017.  The festival also honoured his work with a special film section that had screened 3 films produced by the 57-year-old filmmaker. Atom Egoyan is best known for his films "Exotica", "The Sweet Hereafter" and "Chloe". The lifetime achievement award consisting of a cash prize of Rs. 10,00,000 is conferred upon a master filmmaker for his/her outstanding contribution to cinema.The ICFT –UNESCO Gandhi Medal was awarded to Marathi Movie 'Kshitij- A Horizon', directed by filmmaker Manouj Kadaamh. This award, instituted by the International Council for Film & Television, Paris and UNESCO is given to a film that portrays the Gandhian values of peace and harmony. The film is set on the life of Vacchi, 12 year old daughter of a sugarcane field labourer, who overcomes various challenges to pursue her education.

           

The closing ceremony of IFFI 2017 was anchored by Karan Johar, Sonali Bendre and Zaira Wasim and eminent Indian film personalities such as Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Bhumi Pednekar, Sushant Singh Rajput, Sidharth Malhotra and Huma Qureshi graced the closing ceremony. The closing ceremony also witnessed scintillating performances from known artistes 

The International Competition jury  headed by renowned filmmaker Muzaffar Ali, and his co jury members  Festival director Maxine Williamson from Australia, Actor-Director Tzahi Grad from Israel, Russian Cinematographer Vladislav Opelyants, Director and Production Designer Roger Christian from the United Kingdom decided the awards.

The following films vied for Peacock awards at IFFI 2017:

1. Ana, mon amour
Dir.: Cãlin Peter Netzer
(Romania-Germany-France / 2017 / 125 / DCP)

2. BPM (120 battements par minute)
Dir.: Robin Campillo
(France / 2017 / 144 / DCP)

3. Angels Wear White
Dir.: Vivian Qu
(China / 2017 / 107 / DCP)

4. Racer and the Jailbird (Le Fidèle)
Dir.: Michaël R. Roskam
(Belgium-Netherlands-France / 2017 / 130 / DCP)5. 5. 5. Dark Skull (Viejo Calavera)

Dir.: Kiro Russo

(Bolivia-Qatar / 2017 / 80 / DCP)

6. Freedom (Freiheit)

Dir.: Jan Speckenbach
(Germany-Slovakia / 2017 / 100 / DCP)
7. The Great Buddha +
Dir.: Huang Hsin-Yao
(Taiwan / 2017 / 102/ DCP)
8. Blank 13
Dir.: Takumi Saito
(Japan / 2017 / 70 / DCP
)9. Marionette
Dir.: Lee Han-Uk
(South Korea / 2017 / ?? / DCP)

10. Still Night Still Light (Mes Nuit Feront Echo)
Dir.: Sophie Goyette
(Canada-China-Mexico / 2017 / 98 / DCP)
11. Shuttle Life (Fen Bei Ren Sheng)Dir.: Tan Seng Kiat
(Malaysia / 2017 / 91 / DCP)

12. A Man of Integrity (Lerd)

Dir.: Mohammad Rasoulof
(Iran / 2017 / 117 / DCP)

13. Kachcha Limbu
Dir.: Prasad Oak
(India-Marathi / 2017 / 110 / DCP)
14. Take Off

Dir.: Mahesh Narayan
(India-Malayalam / 2017 / 139 / DCP)

15. Village Rockstars
Dir.: Rima Das
(India-Assamese / 2017 / 87 / DCP)

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15th MIFF 2018- Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary from 28th January to February 3rd 2018

Manish Desai ,Festival Director of 15th Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary , addressed the Press at the Media Centre of the 48^th IFFI at Panaji  and  shared details on MIFF 2018. 15th Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, will be held from January 28th to February 3rd 2018. This time,  MIFF will be hosting the entire festival in Films Division complex because FD has developed necessary  infrastructure for conducting such a major event. Till now Films Division received  over 790 entries for the current edition. IDPA is supporting  the festival immensely, Manish Desai informed.Mike Pandey of IDPA who also attended the press conference said that in the age of social media, the most  important thing is  that the documentaries will be the point of focus ,documentaries are very close to the truth and  people develop sensitivity because of it. Swati Pandey also addressed the media and and supplemented Manish Desai .The oldest and largest film festival for non-feature films in South Asia for Documentary, Short and Animation Films , MIFF ,the biennial festival , is being organised  with the active collaboration of Government of Maharashtra ,the Indian Documentary Producers’ Association, Public Service Broadcast Trust and Government of Maharashtra.The city of Mumbai is the permanent venue of the festival. MIFF is one of the most prestigious festival in the documentary, short and animation genre on par with International Film Festivals like Leipzig, Berlin, Oberhausen, Cracow and Tampere etc.Apart from the Competition Section, MIFF also holds:. Homage. Retrospective & Special Package. Open Forum & Seminar. Workshop etc..
The festival directorate has received a record 790 entries, with 194 entries from 32 countries in the international competition and 596 entries in the national competition.The prize money has been doubled for the Golden Conch Award for the best documentary in the international competition to ₹10 lakh.FICCI is planning a business platform to help documentary film makers find funding and screening venues. The proposal is in initial stages.The V. Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award for promotion of documentary movement in India will be conferred upon an eminent documentary film maker chosen by an independent jury. The award money has also been doubled from to ₹10 lakh. Altogether, cash awards of ₹58 lakh will be given away during MIFF 2018.

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48th IFFI 2017-‘Mastering A New Reality’ –Content is the King

Karan Johar, TV Czarina Ekta Kapoor and Sudhanshu Vats (Group CEO, Viacom18) attended the Panel Discussion with the theme ‘Mastering A New Reality’ ,extensively spoke about the growing emergence of online content providers, considered to be a threat to cinema and movie business.  Moderated by Ronojoy Banerjee, Principal Correspondent, CNBC TV 18, the session was truly invigorating and inspiring for the crowded auditorium. While Ronojoy started off the conversation by pointing out that content is the king, the meaning of that is still getting reinforced in many ways. The digital journey is quite exciting. The broadband penetration has been going up and is growing by 30 percent every year. The real revolution is taking place in terms of mobile handsets. By 2021, 80 percent of mobile traffic will be video led. Profitability in movie making is probably at an all-time low. With more competition coming from online content providers like Netflix and Amazon, how has moviemaking as a process changed? The general standard of cinema has taken a quantum leap in terms of narrative, technology, etc. everyone has upped their game. “We used to be the mothership of entertainment and I can soon see it becoming a stepchild. That’s what really scares me as a filmmaker. I know most of us will be enforced and empowered by the digital world.. Now when good films are being sent to festivals for just finding digital platforms for it to release on, it sort of breaks my heart because cinema used to be the only platform giving us the community feeling of watching and experiencing the film,” A Panel member said.