what we are reading – EightandHalf
Jagran Film Festival has announced its Mumbai schedule. The festival will run from 24th to 29th September. You can register yourself here. There’s no registration fee.
The venue for the fest is Fun Republic, Andheri (West). The schedule follows. If you can’t read the titles clearly, do click on the schedule.
Toronto International Film Festival has come to an end, and has announced the winners for this year.
Here’s the good news – An Indian co-production, Anup Singh’s Qissa has bagged the NETPAC Award at this year’s fest. The film stars Irrfan Khan, Tillotama Shome, Rasika Dugal and Tisca Chopra. This Punjabi film is written by Anup Singh and Madhuja Mukherjee. And here’s what the official release says –
As selected by a jury from the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema, the NETPAC Award for World or International Asian Film Premiere goes to Anup Singh’s Qissa. Jury members include Jay Jeon (Korea), Intishal Al Timimi (Abu Dhabi) and Freddie Wong (Hong Kong). The jury remarked: “The NETPAC Award for the best Asian film at Festival 2013 goes to Qissa, directed by Anup Singh, for its sensitive portrayal of the issues of identity and displacement that affect people not only in India, but in all parts of the world and for brilliance of cinematic craft and the choice of metaphor that has been employed to tell a moving story that is bound to provoke thoughts, spark debate and give its viewers an intense experience.
TRAILER
TIFF NOTE & SYNOPSIS
Beautiful, timeless, and touching the deepest of human impulses, Qissa carries the spirit of a great folk tale. Although it’s set in a particular time and place — the Punjab region that straddles India and Pakistan in the years immediately after partition — it is both deeper and broader than any one moment. As this eerie family drama progresses, it cuts to the heart of eternal desires for honour, empathy, and love.
One of India’s best actors, Irrfan Khan (Life of Pi, Festival premiere The Lunchbox, and a feature guest in this year’s Mavericks programme) plays Umber Singh, a Sikh uprooted by the religious violence that came with partition in 1947. He and his family move to a safer locale, and it is here that the story takes a remarkable turn. Having already fathered daughters, Singh now wants a son. When his next child is born he celebrates his wish come true, but there is one problem: the baby is in fact a girl.
“Qissa” is originally an Arabic word meaning folk tale. Both the word and the idea migrated from the Gulf into the Punjab, still connected by the ancient oral narratives handed down in communal settings. Working within this tradition, director Anup Singh gives his film both the grand themes and elemental emotions of classic storytelling. As Umber’s daughter is raised as a boy, the characters are propelled with greater and greater urgency towards their inevitable fates.
Part of a new generation of directors with feet firmly planted in India and far beyond, Singh has delivered a film immediately accessible to anyone sensitive to the conflicts that drive classic stories: fear versus hubris, individual need versus social codes. Qissa is a Punjabi story for the whole world.
DIRECTOR
Anup Singh was born in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He has written film reviews for Sight & Sound, directed Indian television, and consulted for BBC Two. His features as director are The Name of a River (02) and Qissa (13).
CAST & CREW
Director: Anup Singh
Countries: Germany / India / Netherlands / France
Year: 2013
Language: Punjabi
Runtime: 109 minutes
Rating: 14A
Producer: Johannes Rexin, Bettina Brokemper
Production Co.: Heimatfilm, National Film Development Corporation of India, Augustus Film, Ciné-Sud Promotion
Principal Cast: Irrfan Khan, Tillotama Shome, Rasika Dugal, Tisca Chopra
Screenplay: Anup Singh, Madhuja Mukherjee
Cinematographer: Sebastian Edschmid
Editor: Bernd Euscher
Sound: Peter Flamman
Music: Béatrice Thiriet
Prod. Designer: Tim Pannen
Int. Sales Agent: The Match Factory
Watch it.
It will just take 17 minutes.
If you want to know more about it before clicking the play button, here’s the official synopsis –
In a story that plays out entirely on a teenager’s computer screen, Noah follows its eponymous protagonist as his relationship takes a rapid turn for the worse in this fascinating study of behaviour (and romance) in the digital age.
It’s directed by Canadian film students Walter Woodman and Patrick Cederberg.
The film was screened at TIFF recently.
To know more about the filmmakers and the film, click here.
Tip – Jahan Bakshi
The much awaited trailer of Anurag Kashyap’s new film Ugly is out. Have a look.
It looks damn intriguing. A kidnapping goes wrong and things get ugly.
The film stars Ronit Roy, Rahul Bhat, Tejaswini Kolhapure, Vineet Kumar Singh, Surveen Chawala, Siddhant Kapoor, Anshika Shrivastava & Girish Kulkarni.
Produced by Dar Motion Pictures and Phantom Films, it has music by G V Prakash.
The film had its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in the Directors Fortnight section.
Official Synopsis
Bose, an Additional Commissioner of Police, is an extremely straight-forward professional. However, these lines are a bit blurred in his relationship with his wife Shalini. Shalini is a clinically depressed person and an alcoholic. Shalini was first married to Rahul, a struggling actor and also has a daughter with him, called Kali. The story starts on a Saturday, which is the day when Rahul is allowed to meet Kali as per court custody arrangements. Rahul leaves her in the car as he goes to meet his friend, and Kali goes missing.
What follows is an endless series of blame game and one up-man ship. A dark psychological thriller on the surface, Ugly is an emotional drama within.
To know more about the film, you can follow its FB page here.
We have always tried to highlight interesting crowdfunding projects on our blog. So far most of the posts have been on films. This one is a film related project. Over to Nandita Dutta (Associate Editor of DC) for more on it.
DearCinema, India’s leading independent cinema portal, is crowdfunding to become faster, smarter and more resourceful for its readers.
Our crowdfunding campaign started on September 6 and so far we have been supported by 43 contributors from 17 cities, and 61% of the target amount has been raised.
We’re sure you want to know why we are going the crowdfunding way, so here you go-
In its lifespan of seven years, DearCinema has never compromised on its independence. We are sitting on several offers for sponsorship and acquisition but we prefer to be a user-funded website so that we can remain true to the interests of our readers.
With your contributions, we plan to introduce these new features:
India’s first Indie film and project database :
We have been dedicatedly covering all news related to Indian independent films and projects. Now our aim is to go a step ahead and launch India’s first Indie film and project database so that your films get discovered easily by festival programmers and distributors.
Festival and funding guide :
A new service that will guide Indian filmmakers in finding the perfect festivals, labs, markets and funds for their projects. You will no longer need to hunt for information; it will all be up-to-date and listed for you.
Faster and smarter website :
With time our readership has increased to such an extent that our current server isn’t able to cope with the kind of traffic we attract. We need to upgrade so that you don’t ever have issues accessing our website. Also, to keep pace with technology, we intend to launch DearCinema Apps for iPhone, iPad and Android devices.
Rewards :
We appreciate the support of every contributor and so, we have some very cool rewards to offer :
– DearCinema Festival guide, a comprehensive directory of 100 film festivals
– DearCinema Market and Funding Guide
– An exclusive workshop on pitching your film and international funding by industry experts
– Invites for the opening or closing ceremony of the prestigious Mumbai Film Festival 2013
– A thank you video clip from one of our celeb friends in the film fraternity
– Having your name on the masthead of our website for one whole week and a host of other rewards!
So, what are you waiting for? Support the indie film movement by contributing to DearCinema.com. Click here and do your good deed for the day.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Black was heavily inspired from The Miracle Worker. Some scenes were exactly the same, just with some more background music added to it. And now, it seems Karma’s cycle is complete as someone has made it in Turkish (Titled Benim Dünyam, which means My World). Interestingly, the lead actor of the film, Ugur Yucel, is also the director.
We are not sure if it’s official remake or just plagiarised. But from the trailer it’s easy to spot that it’s a frame by frame copy of Black. Though whatever little we could gather with the help of Google Translator, many Turkish articles do mention the film Black. So it might be official remake. Have a look.
And this list comes from Aniruddh Chatterjee, the self-declared biggest Korean movie fanatic on this side of the planet. Do read the post, and do watch the films. If you have come across some interesting Korean movies recently, do let us know in the comments.
Over to Aniruddh.
SECRET SUNSHINE
Jeon Do-yeon relocates alongwith her young son to the village where her recently deceased husband grew up. And tragedy strikes again. The film is not so much about the tragedy itself, as about its aftermath. Jeon Do-yeon’s performance is as raw and naked as it can get.
Note: Jeon Do-yeon won the Best Actress award at Cannes Film Festival for Secret Sunshine.
Lee Chang-dong is fairly underrated when it comes to the big league of Korean directors. His last film Poetry is an absolute gem. Do watch his entire filmography which includes Oasis, Peppermint Candy and Green Fish.
Secret Sunshine is now available on Criterion DVD/Blu-ray.
CASTAWAY ON THE MOON
A failed suicide attempt results in Jeong Jae-yeong play Robinson Crusoe in a conservation island in the middle of Han River. The only person who can see him is Kim Jung-yeon, an agoraphobic, who has shut herself in one of the city’s high rises.
Offbeat, quirky, bizarre yet immensely endearing take on romantic comedy.
PAJU
The opening scene in the film sees Seo Woo traveling in a taxi through dense fog. From the first shot director Park Chan-ok is preparing the audience for the ride. Paju is about the complicated relationship between a young girl and her brother-in-law and complications that follow. Gorgeously shot by Kim Woo-hyung and a brilliant and emotionally nuanced performance by Seo Woo in her breakout role.
This is what we call a mood-piece!
TREELESS MOUNTAIN
A tender, almost meditative tale of resilience, while facing constant abandonment from family. Heartbreaking real performance from both leads, Kim Hee-yeon and Kim Song-hee.
THE DAY HE ARRIVES
Hong’s films are very Woody Allen-esque. His characters aren’t as neurotic as Allen but definitely immature and self centered fools. Beautifully shot in monochrome, highlighting the winter, the film is about Yoo Jun-sang, a retired film director, currently teaching film studies, and his encounter with friends, acquaintances and strangers over the next few days when he visits Seoul.
Note : Hong Sang-soo is criminally underrated when it comes to the big league of Korean directors.
He is a Cannes Film Festival regular with five of his films nominated for either Palme d’Or or Un Certain Regard. His film Hahaha won the Un Certain Regard award in 2010.
Do check out his filmography which includes Woman on the Beach, Tale of Cinema, Night and Day, Hahaha and the recent In another Country.
JUVENILE OFFENDER
A beautiful film about a couple of lost souls trying to fit into society, knowing it is difficult for them to change at all.
Terrific performances by Seo Young-joo and Lee Jung-hyun.
DANCE TOWN
The struggle of a North Korean refugee trying to cope with her new life in South Korea as she’s constantly under the radar of South Korean intelligence alleging her to be a spy.
Note : The final chapter in director Jeon Kyu-hwan’s town trilogy, other two being Mozart Town and Animal Town.
BLEAK NIGHT
Bleak Night is post-mortem of a suicide. Three high school friends, their loyalty, betrayal, guilt and despair leading to and post the suicide. Touches the important topic of bullying and violence in high school.
Yoon Sung-Hyun makes one of the most assured directorial debuts in recent times.
Kolkata becomes Kolikata. And this avatar is for the 1st Independent Film Festival in the city.
Organisers note – Kolkata (spelt intentionally here as Kolikata, like the old vernacular version of the city’s name) adds another feather to its cap, by hosting an informally, and therefore, impartially organized independent film festival – the first for any Indian city. Nationally awarded films will be screened alongwith short films made by non-film school students. The filmmakers will be interacting with both film academicians and aspiring filmmakers who are still in college.
Dates : 11-13 September 2013
Films : Independent Short Films, Documentaries and Feature Films.
Initiative : by Chalachchitra Sansad & Leela-Mochchhob
Associate Partner: Guruchandali, an anti-establishment Little Magazine from Kolkata.
Venue: Derozio Hall, Presidency University, College Street, Kolkata
ENTRY : FREE
SCHEDULE
D A Y – I
11:30am: Inauguration
12:00pm: Sa Re Ga Ma Pa by Sankar Karmakar (Fiction, 45 mins)
1:00pm: Plus by Joydip Dam (Fiction, 10 mins)
1:25pm: Chura Liya by Saurav Chattopadhyay (Fiction, 24 mins)
Break, 10 mins.
2:15pm: Students’ Films (4 short films by the students of Presidency University)
Break, 5 mins.
4:00pm: Replica by Sriparna Dey (Fiction, 20 mins)
4:35pm: Memories of a Dead Township by Anamitra Roy (Fiction, 20 mins)
5:10pm: Discussion- Exploring the language of Independent Film.
Panelists:
Moinak Biswas (HOD of Film Studies, Jadavpur University),
Shyamal Karmakar (HOD of Editing, SRFTI),
Amitava Chakraborty (Filmmaker, known for Kaal Abhirati, Cosmic Sex etc.)
& Sankar Karmakar (Filmmaker, known for documentaries like Anya Andhar & Poramatir Mukh)
Break, 5 mins.
6:15pm: Without a Notch of Blue by Sumantra Roy (Fiction, 18mins)
6:50pm: Bilal by Saurav Sarangi (Documentary, 60 mins)
D A Y – 2
11:30am: Swapno Satyokam by Som Chakraborty (Fiction, 20 mins)
12:05pm: Iswar O Protipakhkho by Arupratan Ghosh (Fiction, 15 mins)
12:35pm: Musalmaner Kotha by Soumitra Ghosh Dastidar (Documentary, 60 mins)
1:50pm: Students’ Films (4 short films by the students of Presidency University).
Break, 10 mins.
3:40pm: Ekoda Ek Bagher Golay by Jishnu Mukherjee (Fiction, 16 mins)
4:10pm: Fairy Tales for High School Children by Sayak Shome (Fiction, 5 mins)
4:15pm: This is Not Funny by Sounak Kar (Fiction, 78 mins)
Break, 5 mins.
5:45pm: Tomay Notun Kore Pabo Bole by Kaushik Chakraborty & Arko Kar (Documentary, 60 mins)
7pm: Nothing Unusual by Twish Mukherjee (Docu-fiction, 72 mins)
D A Y – 3
11:30am: Bom by Amlan Dutta (Documentary, 117 mins)
1:30pm: Sand Animation (5 mins)
2pm: Discussion- Alternative Economy & Politics of Independent Film and Power Structure.
Panelists:
Amlan Datta (Filmmaker, known for Bom: One Day Ahead of Democracy),
Q (Filmmaker, known for Gandu, Tasher Desh etc.),
Madhuja Mukherjee (Professor of Film Studies, Jadavpur University; Director, Carnival)
Anamitra Roy (Filmmaker known for Jean Luc Godard Had No Script & The One Rupee Film Project)
Break, 10 mins
3:10pm: Many Stories of Love and Hate by Shyamal Karmakar (Docu-fiction, 55mins)
4:45pm: Priyo Morphine by Atanu Singha (Fiction, 63 mins)
6pm: Kal Abhirati by Amitava Chakraborty (Fiction, 120 mins)
8:20pm: Closing with Sahajiya
– To know more about the fest, click here to go to its FB page.
The 70th Venice Film Festival has just concluded and the winners have been announced.
And here’s the good news – Indian filmmaker Shubhashish Bhutiani’s film Kush has won the Orizzonti Award For The Best Short film. This was the only desi entry at this edition of Venice fest.
Orizzonti section puts the spotlight on new trends in cinema. This year 31 films from all over the world were selected in this competitive section. The Orizzonti Jury was chaired by Paul Schrader and composed of Catherine Corsini, Leonardo Di Costanzo, Golshifteh Farahani, Frédéric Fonteyne, Kseniya Rappoport and Amr Waked. after screening the 31 films in competition has decided to award:
Synopsis
Inspired by a true story, Kush takes place in 1984, surrounding Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination. Anti-Sikh riots erupt throughout the country. A teacher traveling back from a field trip with her class of 10-year-old students now struggles to protect Kush, the only Sikh student in the class, from the growing violence around him.
Trailer
– Film’s FB page is here.
– To know more about the filmmaker and its making, you can read the director’s interview here.
Photo courtesy – Kush Twitter feed
Anup Singh’s Qissa will have its premiere at the ongoing Toronto International Film Festival. The film stars Irrfan Khan, Tillotama Shome, Rasika Dugal and Tisca Chopra. This Punjabi film is written by Anup Singh and Madhuja Mukherjee.
The first look trailer of the film is just out.
TIFF Note and Synopsis
Beautiful, timeless, and touching the deepest of human impulses, Qissa carries the spirit of a great folk tale. Although it’s set in a particular time and place — the Punjab region that straddles India and Pakistan in the years immediately after partition — it is both deeper and broader than any one moment. As this eerie family drama progresses, it cuts to the heart of eternal desires for honour, empathy, and love.
One of India’s best actors, Irrfan Khan (Life of Pi, Festival premiere The Lunchbox, and a feature guest in this year’s Mavericks programme) plays Umber Singh, a Sikh uprooted by the religious violence that came with partition in 1947. He and his family move to a safer locale, and it is here that the story takes a remarkable turn. Having already fathered daughters, Singh now wants a son. When his next child is born he celebrates his wish come true, but there is one problem: the baby is in fact a girl.
“Qissa” is originally an Arabic word meaning folk tale. Both the word and the idea migrated from the Gulf into the Punjab, still connected by the ancient oral narratives handed down in communal settings. Working within this tradition, director Anup Singh gives his film both the grand themes and elemental emotions of classic storytelling. As Umber’s daughter is raised as a boy, the characters are propelled with greater and greater urgency towards their inevitable fates.
Part of a new generation of directors with feet firmly planted in India and far beyond, Singh has delivered a film immediately accessible to anyone sensitive to the conflicts that drive classic stories: fear versus hubris, individual need versus social codes. Qissa is a Punjabi story for the whole world.
Director : Anup Singh
Anup Singh was born in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He has written film reviews for Sight & Sound, directed Indian television, and consulted for BBC Two. His features as director are The Name of a River (02) and Qissa (13).
Cast and Crew
Director: Anup Singh
Countries: Germany / India / Netherlands / France
Year: 2013
Language: Punjabi
Runtime: 109 minutes
Rating: 14A
Producer: Johannes Rexin, Bettina Brokemper
Production Co.: Heimatfilm, National Film Development Corporation of India, Augustus Film, Ciné-Sud Promotion
Principal Cast: Irrfan Khan, Tillotama Shome, Rasika Dugal, Tisca Chopra Screenplay: Anup Singh, Madhuja Mukherjee
Cinematographer: Sebastian Edschmid
Editor: Bernd Euscher
Sound: Peter Flamman
Music: Béatrice Thiriet
Prod. Designer: Tim Pannen
Int. Sales Agent: The Match Factory
F.i.g.h.t C.l.u.b 