Yash Chopra to inaugurate 41st IFFI 2010

Yash Chopra, known Director of many a Hindi films will inaugurate the 41st International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2010, according to S.M.Khan,Festival Director ."Orissa will be the focus state because it is celebrating 75 years of cinema," he added.

NFDC Film Bazar - at 41st IFFI-German /Turkish director Fatih Akin to handle Masterclass

The acclaimed young German/Turkish writer- director Fatih Akin (37) will participate in the Master Class programme of the 4^th edition of the Film Bazaar that is being organized by the National Film Development Corporation Ltd (NFDC) . Over the past decade, Fatih Akin has established himself as one of world cinema’s most distinctive voices, mixing sophisticated cultural critiques with a healthy appreciation for life on the edge. His first film came to international attention Head-On ("Gegen Die Wand"- 2004), which won the Berlinale Golden Bear and the German and European Film Awards. In 1995, Fatih wrote and directed his first short feature, "Sensin - You're The One!" ("Sensin - Du Bist Es!"), which received the Audience Award at the Hamburg International Short Film Festival. His second short film, "Weed" ("Getuerkt", 1996), received several national and international festival prizes. His first full length feature film, "Short Sharp Shock" ("Kurz Und Schmerzlos", 1998) won the Bronze Leopard at Locarno and the Bavarian Film Award (Best Young Director) in 1998. His other films include: "In July" ("Im Juli", 2000), "Wir Haben Vergessen Zurueckzukehren" (2001), "Solino" (2002) etc.

The other highlights of the current edition of film bazar are: 1. Participation of the film fraternity from the SAARC (South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation) nations. 2. Meet the Festivals: This forum will have festival directors and representatives of various film festivals present to interact with the patrons. 3. Screenwriters Lab: Organized by the NFDC, Binger Filmlab of the Netherlands and the Locarno Film Festival, it is a 2-part screenwriters’ workshop for writing and selling original Indian screenplays, the first part of which was held at Locarno.4. Co-production Market: This initiative undertaken by NFDC aims to offer selected filmmakers the opportunity to present their feature film projects (in all languages and at any stage of production) to co producers. 5. PrimeExchange: The main aim of PRIMEXCHANGE is to initiate market exchange and the exchange of ideas between India and Europe in the field of Film and TV Production. 6. Work in Progress Lab: The Work in Progress lab is held at Film Bazaar for feature films at a rough cut stage, whose makers are seeking feedback from experienced film professionals from the international community. 7. Knowledge Series: NFDC Knowledge Series presents case studies and presentations by industry experts. In 2009, about 350 delegates from 22 countries attended the Film Bazaar. This year prominent buyers and sales agents like Farabi Foundation (Iran), Cinetic Rights Management (USA), Fortissimo Films (UK), The Yellow Affair (Finland), Rapid Eye Movies (Germany), Wide Management (France), Railto, (Netherland), Hanway Films (UK) and Wild Bunch (France) have reportedly confirmed their attendance at the film bazar.--meerasahib@columnist.com

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Indian Premiere in IFFI 2010

O Maria directed by Rajendra N. Talak (Konkani), Dhoosar (Blur) directed by Amol Palekar (Marathi), Nauka Doobi (Boat wreck) directed by Rituparno Ghosh (Bengali) are the films selected to be screened under the Indian Premiere section of the 41st International Film Festival of India, Goa 2010

Critics’ Prize-Fipresci award- in IFFI 2010

Government of India in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has decided to introduce the FIPRESCI award (Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique -International Federation of Film Critics) for Indian Panorama Feature Films from the 41st edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI ).This is a long awaited initiative. The International Federation of Film Critics is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world for "the promotion and development of film culture and for the safeguarding of professional interests." It was founded in June 1930 in Brussels, Belgium. At present it has members in more than 50 countries worldwide. The FIPRESCI often gives out awards during film festivals (such as the Toronto International Film Festival, the Cannes Film Festival, the Venice Film Festival ,the Warsaw International Film Festival and in India in the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK)) to the critically acclaimed films . Festival Awards are presented at a series of international festivals. Special Awards are also being presented to the best choices of the year. Roman Polanski's The Ghost Writer is the winner of the Grand Prix 2010 for the Best Film of the Year, as a result of the poll in which 296 critics, worldwide members of FIPRESCi, participated. Every year at the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival, FIPRESCI honors a Latin American film personality. This year, the award has been presented to Argentinean filmmaker and producer Pablo Trapero and his actress Martina Gusman. "Pablo Trapero and Martina Gusman are one of the biggest creative forces of the last decade in Argentinean cinema and will doubtless be a great inspiration for future generations of Latin American directors and producers", writes Diego Lerer .At Rio de Janeiro , Diary, Letters, Revolutions, the documentary by Brazilian Flavia Castro, won the Critics' Prize . The Critics' Prize has unanimously been awarded to the film Hitler in Hollywood by Belgium director Frédéric Sojcher in Karlovy Vary. Winter Vacation (Han Jia), directed by Li Honqqi (China, 2010), has been selected by the critics' jury (FIPRESCI Prize) in Locarno.

26 FILMS SELECTED FOR INDIAN PANORAMA –41st International Film Festival of India -IFFI 2010 .

A 10-member Feature film jury headed by Shri N. Chandra selected the following 26 feature films for this year's Indian Panorama section of IFFI.
1.Tere Bin Laden- Hindi- Directed by Abhishek Sharma,
2.Mummy & Me- Malayalam - Jeethu Joseph
3.Achin Paakhi- Bengali- Das
4.Pail Te Sumbaran- Marathi-Gajendra Ahire
5.Jhing Chik Jhing-Marathi-Shishir Kulkarni
6.Vihir-Marathi-Umesh Kulkarni
7.Abohomaan-Bengali-Rituparno Ghosh
8.Makaramanju-Malayalam-Lenin Rajendran
9.Moner Manush-Bengali- Anjan Goutam Ghose
10.Kaal Chilambu-Malayalam-M.T. Annoor
11.Elektra-Malayalam-Shyama Prasad
12.Kanasemba Kudureyaneri-Kannada-Girish Kasaravalli
13.Athma Kadha-Tamil-Premlal
14.I Am Kalam-Hindi-Nila Madhab Panda
15.Aidu Ondola Aidu-Kannada-V.K. Prakash
16.Angadi Theru-Tamil-G. Vasanta Balan
17.Prasthanam-Telugu-,Deva Katta
18.Wake up Sid-Hindi,Ayan Mukerji
19.Just Another Love Story-English-Kaushik Ganguly
20.Ami Aadu-Bengali-Somnath Gupta
21.Paa-Hindi-R. Balakrishnan
22.3 Idiots-Hindi-Rajkumar Hirani
23.Raavanan-Tamil-Mani Ratnam
24. Mee Sindhutai Sapkal-Marathi-Ananth Narayan Mahadevan
25.Shabari-Kannada-Baraguru Ramachandrappa
26.Swayamsiddha-Oriya-Sudhanshu Mohan Sahoo

Debut Films Nominated For Efa Discovery - Prix FIPRESCI - Award

The European Film Academy has announced this year’s nominations for the EUROPEAN DISCOVERY - Prix FIPRESCI, an award presented annually as part of the European Film Awards to a young and upcoming director for a first full-length feature film. This year’s nominations were determined by a committee comprised of EFA Board Member Els Vandevorst (the Netherlands), EFA Member Pierre-Henri Deleau (France), and experts Jacob Neiiendam (director of the film festival CPH:PIX, Denmark), Alin Tasciyan (film critic, Turkey), and Mariola Wiktor (Forum of European Cinema, Poland), all of them members of FIPRESCI, the International Federation of Film Critics. Nominated are:
1)La doppia ora (The Double Hour), Italy- directed by Giuseppe Capotondi-written by Alessandro Fabbri, Ludovica Rampoldi & Stefano Sardo-produced by Nicola Giuliano & Francesca Cima
2)Eu cand vreau sa fluier, fluier (If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle), Romania
directed by Florin Serban-written by Catalin Mitulescu & Florin Serban-produced by Catalin Mitulescu
3)Die Fremde (When We Leave), Germany-written & directed by Feo Aladag-produced by Feo Aladag & Züli Aladag
4)Lebanon, Israel/Germany/France-written & directed by Samuel Maoz-produced by Moshe Edery, Leon Edery, David Silber, Uri Sabag, Einat Bickel, Benjamina Mirnik & Illan Girard
5)Nothing Personal, The Netherlands/Ireland-written & directed by Urszula Antoniak
produced by Reinier Selen & Edwin van Meurs
The nominated films will now be made available to all 2,300 members of the European Film Academy. They will vote for the winner who will be announced at the 23rd European Film Awards on 4 th December ,2010 in Tallinn/Estonia.

23 rd Tokyo International Film Festival from October 23rd to 31st, 2010

This year marks the 23rd edition of the Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF). As the only Japanese film festival accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF), TIFF has played an integral role in Japan's film industry and cultural scene since it was establishment in 1985. TIFF aspires to be recognized as one of the four major film festivals in the world and in the same league as Cannes, Venice and Berlin, which now stand at the summit of the more than 2,600 international film celebrations.Over the nine days of the Festival, films from a variety of genres will be shown in several intriguing sections: Competition, which selects the "Tokyo Sakura Grand Prix" from a carefully chosen ensemble of premiere films presented by both　talented first-timers and recognized directors; Special Screenings, which premieres highly entertaining films prior to their public release in Japan; Winds of Asia – Middle East, which boasts the largest number of films and audiences in all the TIFF screenings; Japanese Eyes, which showcases a broad range of Japanese films for worldwide audiences; and natural TIFF highlighting films that explore the coexistence of making and nature.In accordance with the theme of ecology, TIFF will again unroll the Green Carpet and use "Green Power"(ecologically friendly energy sources) for screenings. A symposium focused on the environment will be held, and the "TOYOTA Earth Grand Prix" will be presented to an outstanding new film that gives due consideration to nature, the environment and ecology. We will make an effort to raise awareness of the importance of protecting our environment and preserving natural resources for the next generation through the festival.
The Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) has announced that the award-winning Irish filmmaker Neil Jordan will be the Jury President for the International Competition at the 23rd TIFF. Jordan's films have been honored with numerous awards worldwide including the Oscar (The Crying Game), and BAFTAs for (Crying Game, The End Of The Affair). Company Of Wolves, his second film, was selected for the first year of TIFF's Competition section in 1985. The 23rd edition of the Tokyo International Film Festival will take place from October 23rd to 31st, 2010. International Competition President - Neil Jordan / Director BiographyBorn in 1950 in Sligo, Ireland, Neil Jordan began his career as a writer. His first book of stories, Night In Tunisia (1976) won the Guardian Fiction prize. Since then he has published five novels, The Past (1979), The Dream Of A Beast (1983), Sunrise With Sea Monster (1994), Shade (2005). His most recent novel, Mistaken will be published in 2011. In 1982 Jordan wrote and directed his first feature film, Angel. Since then he has written, directed and produced more than fifteen films, including Company Of Wolves, Mona Lisa, The Crying Game, Interview With The Vampire, The End Of The Affair, The Butcher Boy, Breakfast On Pluto, The Good Thief and most recently, Ondine. His films have been honoured with numerous awards worldwide, including an Oscar, Baftas, Golden Globes, A Golden Lion from The Venice Film festival and a Silver Bear from Berlin. He has been awarded five honorary doctorates and in 1996 he was appointed Officier of the French Ordres des Artes et des Lettres.