Archive for the ‘News’ Category

Ruchika Oberoi’s Island City to release on 2nd September (Trailer/Posters)

Posted: August 31, 2016 by moifightclub in cinema, Indie, News, Trailer
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Winner of the Fedeora Award for Best Debut Feature at last year’s Venice Film Festival (as part of the Venice Days Sidebar), Ruchika Oberoi’s Island City finally finds a domestic release on 2nd September. The Mumbai-set triptych of stories stars Vinay Pathak, Amruta Subhash and Tannishtha Chatterjee in leading roles. The film is produced by the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) and will be distributed by Drishyam Films.

Here’s a post on the film from last year’s Mumbai Film Festival where it screened.

Official synopsis:

Island City follows three comic-dramatic stories set in Mumbai. The first one is about Suyash (Vinay Pathak), a middle-aged man who wins the office ‘Fun Committee Award’, which entitles him to a whole day full of fun. He is most reluctant to leave the safety of his cubicle but he has to. Prescribed fun modules have to be completed and non-compliance is not an option.

The second story begins with Sarita (Amruta Subhash), whose domineering husband Anil is on life support. Seeking some relief, she and her mother-in-law decide to buy a TV for the family, which Anil had banned. Now every night the family plugs into a popular soap whose hero is an ‘ideal man’ in every way…

The third one centres on Aarti whose repetitive existence is slowly making her more and more mechanical and numb. Deep inside ferments a disconnect and unease that she is unable to articulate to anyone. Then one day there arrives a most intimate letter and everything changes…

Here’s our recco post on the film which was posted during Mumbai Film Festival.

Below are the teaser and trailer for the film:

 

 

Credits:

Cast: Vinay Pathak, Amruta Subhash, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Samir Kochhar, Uttara Baokar, Ashwin Mushran, Sana Sheikh
Writer/Director: Ruchika Oberoi
Director of photography: Sylvester Fonseca
Production designer: Krishnendu Chowdhury
Costume designers: Anirban Haldar, Rajesh Kumar
Editor: Hemanti Sarkar
Music: Sagar Desai
Production Company: National Film Development Corporation

Shubhashish Bhutiani’s Mukti Bhawan (Hotel Salvation) To Premiere At Venice Film Festival. Trailer Out

Posted: August 30, 2016 by moifightclub in cinema, Film Festival, first look, Indie, News, Story / Plot / Synopsis, Trailer
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Mukti BhawanIn 2013, Shubhashish Bhutiani’s short film Kush had premiered at Venice Film Festival and it won the Orizzonti Award For the Best Short film. This year, he is returning to Venice with his debut feature, Mukti Bhawan (Hotel Salvation).

The film was one of the the 4 projects that was selected for 4th Biennale College – Cinema (2015 – 2016). This is the initiative launched in 2012 by the Biennale di Venezia to promote new talents, offering them the opportunity to work side by side with the masters in the making of micro-budget feature films.

The film stars stars Adil Hussain, Lalit Behl, Geetanjali Kulkarni, Palomi Ghosh, Navnindra Behl and Anil K Rastogi.

Its first trailer is out. Do have a look.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlE1ji_xRRE

At first glance, it looks like the perfect exotic subject for the west. But its bittersweet charm disarms you quickly.

Official Synopsis

An ominous dream convinces 77-year-old Dayanand Kumar that his end could be near. He takes the news to his son Rajiv, knowing he wants to breathe his last in the holy city of Varanasi and end the cycle of rebirth, by attaining salvation. Being the dutiful son he is, Rajiv is left with no choice but to drop everything and make the journey with his stubborn father. Daya and Rajiv check into Mukti Bhawan (Hotel Salvation) in Varanasi, a guesthouse devoted to people who want to die there. But as the days go by, Rajiv struggles to juggle his responsibilities back home, while Daya starts to bloom in the hotel. Rajiv gives his father a shot at salvation but as family bonds are tested, he finds himself torn, and not knowing what he must do to keep his life together.

Credits

Writer & Director: Shubhashish Bhutiani
Producer: Sanjay Bhutiani & Sajida Sharma
Director of Photography: Michael McSweeney & David Huwiler
Production Design: Avyakta Kapur
Editor: Manas Mittal
Music Composer: Tajdar Junaid
Sound Design: Ajay Kumar PB & Akhilesh Acharya
Costume Design: Shruti Wadetiwar
Dialogues: Assad Hussain
First Assistant Director: Abbas Khan
Production Company: Red Carpet Moving Pictures Pvt. Ltd.

To know more about the film, its FB page is here.

Call For Entries : NFDC Film Bazaar’s Viewing Room & Work-in-Progress (WIP) Lab

Posted: August 22, 2016 by moifightclub in Call For Entries, cinema, Film Festival, Indie, News
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NFDC Screenwriter's Lab

NFDC Film Bazaar 2016 is calling for entries for the Viewing Room and the Work-in-Progress (WIP) Lab.

– Film Bazaar will be held from November 20-24, 2016 at the Goa Marriott Resort alongside the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2016.

– The Early Bird Deadline for submissions is August 31, 2016, which will offer a discount on the submission fees. The regular deadline is September 30th 2016.

WIP Lab

– Submissions are invited for the two WIP Labs – WIP Fiction and WIP Documentary.

– In each WIP Lab, up to five projects in their rough-cut stage will be selected to be presented to a panel of international film experts for their feedback.

– The WIP Documentary Lab will only consider creative feature length documentaries in the rough cut stage which are aimed at a theatrical release.

– Feature-length films of any genre in the rough-cut stage are invited to apply to the WIP lab.

Viewing Room

The Viewing Room will present films seeking finishing funds, world sales, distribution partners and film festivals to investors, world sales agents and film festival programmers attending the film bazaar. Here, films are viewed on individual computer terminals in private booths via a specially designed software which allows the users to contact the director or producer of the film via email.

– Films of all genres and lengths in rough or final cut are invited to apply to the Viewing Room.

– Feature length films in the rough cut are eligible to apply to both WIP lab and Viewing Room.

– Short films can also be submitted to the Viewing Room.

– For application form and other details, click here.

– The films that were a part of the previous Work-in-Progress Labs at Film Bazaar have had their world premieres at leading international film festivals and some have even gone on to enjoy a successful theatrical run. These include Raam Reddy’s Thithi, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari’s Nil Battey Sannata, Kanu Behl’s Titli, Avinash Arun’s Killa, Ashim Ahluwalia’s Miss Lovely, Anand Gandhi’s Ship of Theseus, Ajay Bahl’s BA Pass.

 

Call For Entries – Swachh Bharat Short Film Festival

Posted: August 12, 2016 by moifightclub in Call For Entries, News, short film
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The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting is organising a short-film festival on the concept on “Swachh Bharat”. And it’s inviting shorts for the same. The contest is open to everyone

Here are the basic rules and regulations that you need to know

Festival Regulations

1. The Festival shall be a competition of short films & shall be held on 2nd October 2016 in Siri Fort Auditorium.
2. The applicant is duly authorized, on his/her behalf and on the behalf of any person or entity that has ownership rights in the work, to submit to the Festival and the applicant declares that this submission is not in violation of any law nor violates any right of said person or entity or that of any third party in any manner whatsoever.
3. The Swachh Bharat short film festival, its officers, as well as any of its fiscal sponsors and affiliated entities is not responsible, for any damage to, or loss of, any materials submitted by the applicant, whether that damage occurs en route to or from the Festival or during the course of the Festival’s possession, any loss caused to the film material or otherwise, in or during the Festival or of said materials.

Submission Guidelines

1.Entries open only for short film with duration of not more than 3 min (180 secs). To be shot in HD format.

2. The films can be made in any of the listed official languages of India and must be subtitled in English.
3. The film must be produced in the last 1 year preceding the Festival, i.e. with effect from 1 October 2015.

Deadline

Submission deadline Sept 10, 2016.

Fees

There is no entry fee for submissions.

Awards

Best film – shall carry a cash prize of INR Ten (10) Lakhs and a certificate.
Three (3) films falling in Second Best Category – each shall be awarded a cash prize INR Five (5) Lakhs.
Six films (6) falling in Third Best Category – each shall be awarded a cash prize of INR Two (2) Lakhs.

For more details and submission form, do click here.

Khushboo Ranka & Vinay Shukla’s Docu ‘An Insignificant Man’ To Premiere At TIFF

Posted: August 11, 2016 by moifightclub in cinema, Film Festival, Indie, News
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Toronto International Film Festival has announced their selection for this year’s edition of TIFF Docs. Khushboo Ranka and Vinay Shukla’s documentary, An Insignificant Man, which captures the rise of Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party, will have its premiere at the fest.

The 100-minute film has been produced by filmmaker Anand Gandhi. The film was earlier titled Proposition for a Revolution.

Here’s the official synopsis –

At the heart of An Insignificant Man is the most polarising man in India today – Arvind Kejriwal. The film is an insider’s view into Arvind Kejriwal’s brand of politics which has been labelled selfish, dangerous, anarchic & yet revolutionary. Shaking the country’s most powerful political establishments with basic public issues like water, electricity, and graft, Kejriwal has emerged as the leader of the newest political force in India – the Common Man’s Party.

With never-before-seen footage, the film gives viewers a unique insight into a fledgling political party’s battle between survival and extinction in the largest democracy in the world. Capturing moments of triumph and despair, the film is a moving cinematic journey through the narrow lanes of Delhi’s shantytowns to corridors of political power.

To know more about the film, click here to go to its official website, or click here for its FB page.

VOTD : P Sainath’s Keynote Address At The 4th Indian Screenwriters Conference

Posted: August 7, 2016 by moifightclub in News, VOTD
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At the recently concluded Indian Screenwriters Conference, veteran journalist and author P Sainath delivered the keynote address. The annual conference is organised by Film Writers Association.

If you missed the conference, we have embedded the video. Do watch.

And if you want to read, Mirror carried excerpts from his speech. Click here to read.

Gurvinder Singh’s ‘Chauthi Koot’ Has Opened In Limited Release

Posted: August 6, 2016 by moifightclub in cinema, Indie, News, Punjabi, Regional
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After having its premiere at Cannes Film Festival, doing the international fest rounds, and bagging the National Award for Best Punjabi Film, Gurvinder Singh’s Chauthi Koot has finally released in India.

Official synopsis : Punjab. The mid 1980s. A train journey to Amritsar. A dog that barks. Unwelcome guests late in the night and early morning. Dilemmas and fears.

‘Chauthi Koot‘ is Singh’s second feature after ‘Anhey Ghorhey Da Daan‘. Based on the short stories of Waryam Singh Sandhu, it’s a reflection on the undercurrents of the 1980s in a fear ridden Punjab post the Bluestar.

Cast : Suvinder Pal Vicky, Rajbir Kaur, Kanwaljeet Singh, Gurpreet Bhangu, Tommy
Crew :
Cinematography: Satya Rai Nagpaul
Sound: Sushmit Bob Nath
Executive Producer: Kartikeya Narayan Singh
Production Design: Priyanka Grover
Costumes: Navjeet Kaur
Associate Producer: Himmat Sarkaria

Click here to read what Dibakar Banerjee thinks about the film. And click here to read Singh’s profile in India Today. Waryam Singh Sandhu’s interview is here.

Here are the show timings across the country

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Earlier this year, Singh had refused to accept the National Award for the same film. Our post on the same here and here.

Chaitanya Tamhane Is On The Jury Of Venice International Film Festival

Posted: July 28, 2016 by moifightclub in cinema, Film Festival, News
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Chaitanya Tamhane

Filmmaker Chaitanya Tamhane seems to be going places and making all the right marks. Last month, he was in news as he was selected for Rolex’s Mentor & Protégé Arts Initiative where will be mentored by Alfonso Cuarón.

And now there’s some more good news. He will be on the jury of 73rd Venice International Film Festival. He will be part of the international jury for the Orizzonti section of the fest. In addition to its president, French director Robert Guédiguian, other jury members for Orozzonti are : American film critic and historian Jim Hoberman, Egyptian actress Nelly Karim, Italian actress Valentina Lodovini, Korean actress and director Moon So-ri, Spanish film critic and scholar José Maria (Chema).

Interestingly, Chaitanya’s debut feature Court premiered at the 71st Venice Film Festival, where it won the Lion of the Future award and the Orizzonti award for Best film.

The Jury will award the following prizes, with no ex-aequo awards permitted: Orizzonti Award for Best Film; Orizzonti Award for Best Director; Special Orizzonti Jury Prize; Orizzonti Award for Best Actor or Actress; Orizzonti Award for Best Screenplay; Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film; Venice Short Film Nomination for the European Film Awards 2016.

The festival will run from 31st August to 10th September, 2016.

 

Konkona Sensharma’s Directorial Debut ‘A Death In The Gunj’ To Premiere At TIFF + Trailer Out

Posted: July 27, 2016 by moifightclub in cinema, Film Festival, first look, Indie, News, Trailer
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Going by this wicked short film directed by Konkona Sensharma, we felt it was just a matter of time till she graduates to features. So here’s the good news – her feature directorial debut, A Death In The Gunj is ready, and the film will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

With this film, Abhishek Chaubey and Honey Trehan have turned producers with their new production banner, MacGuffin Pictures.

The film’s festival trailer is also out. Do have a look.

We don’t have exact synopsis of the film yet, but here’s what TIFF says about the film – Award-winning actor Konkona Sensharma makes her feature debut as a writer-director with this coming-of-age story about a shy young Indian student who quietly and fatefully unravels during a family road trip.

The film’s cast includes Vikrant Massey, Ranvir Shorey, Kalki Koechlin, Gulshan Devaiah, Tillotama Shome, Jim Sarbh, Tanuja Mukherjee, Om Puri and Arya Sharma.

4th Indian Screenwriters Conference, 2016 – All The Details

Posted: July 16, 2016 by moifightclub in bollywood, cinema, News, Screenwriting, Workshop, writing
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The 4th Indian Screenwriters Conference

SO NEAR, SO FAR: DO OUR STORIES REFLECT INDIA’S REALITY?

The Film Writers Association is back with its biggest, most prestigious and popular event for Indian Screenwriters.

Date : August 3-4, 2016
Venue : St. Andrews Auditorium, Bandra West
To register :  Click here

A quick summary of sessions

1. THE FEMININE FACTOR
Are female actors getting better roles now? Is our audience comfortable only with stereotypical women characters? Are we ready to have a more realistic gender equation on screen?

2. SERIAL KILLERS
Does our current TV content reflect our times and society? Why are we stuck in some unchangeable grooves? What is the way out?

3. WRITERS & PRODUCERS: PARTNERS OR ADVERSARIES?
Writers feel they are undervalued while producers complain of lack of quality scripts. How can this relationship be made more collaborative, more mutual, and more productive for both?

4. LITTLE BIG FILMS
Small films, driven by strong scripts and the passion of the filmmakers, are increasingly ending up as surprise successes. What is the scope and future of such efforts?

5. DECODING THE DIGITAL
The exodus of producers & studios is moving towards the web. What is the business of web entertainment like? Is the Internet answer to our creative and economic issues?

6. THE BUSINESS OF TV WRITING
The leverage of the TV writer is growing; it appears, with him/her turning into a producer. Is this the model for all TV writers to move towards?

– Reputed journalist and Ramon Magsaysay awardee, P. Sainath will deliver the keynote address, while the renowned poet Ashok Vajpeyi will be the Chief-Guest.

– Confirmations are streaming in from the invited speakers, panelists and special guests, including Javed Akhtar, Gulzar, Siddharth Roy-Kapur, Ronnie Screwvala, Gaurav Banerjee (Star), Anooj Kapoor (SAB TV), Ritesh Sidhwani, Jaideep Sahni, Sriram Raghavan, Vishal Bhardwaj, Danish Khan (Sony), Ravina Kohli (Epic), Juhi Chaturvedi, Rajat Kapoor, Hansal Mehta, Jayesh Patil, Aatish Kapadia, Purnendu Shekhar, Shridhar Raghavan, Nagraj Manjule, Neeraj Ghaywan, Sonali Jaffer, Shashi Mittal, Varun Grover, Himanshu Sharma, Sudip Sharma, Saurabh Tiwari, Biswapati Sarkar and many more writers, writer-directors, and producers.

– On August 3, Dastangoi performance from 6:30 – 8:00 PM

– Click here, here and here to read some of our previous coverage of the conference.

 

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