India’s largest film festival (more than 200 films screen) and popular market section – Film Bazaar – starts tomorrow (November 20)…
🎥 Ashutosh Gowariker writer-director behind Oscar nominated (2002) ‘Lagaan’ is chairman of the five person total jury, which will decide the fate of The Golden Peacock (for best film – 15 titles vying; 12 international, 3 Indian)
🎥 Shekhar Kapur’s first festival as director – Kapur served on jury and was chair of, at last IFFI in 2023
🎥 Australian writer Phillip Noyce, director, producer, now 74, to be presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at IFFI… among his many films are ‘Salt’ with Angelina Jolie in 2011; ‘Above Suspicion’ and Netflix series, ‘What/If’ (both in 2019)
🎥 There are several world premieres and many red carpet events for forthcoming big Indian releases and projects, including those involving some of the biggest names in Indian cinema: AR Rahman ‘Headhunting to Beatboxing’ See him talking to us in Cannes about this – , music icon talked to us in Cannes about this project); Rana Daggubatti (‘Baahubhali’ star has increasing slate as producer); ‘Sholay’ (Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan’s 1970s blockbuster) director Ramesh Sippy; iconic director Vidhu Vinod Chopra, new film ‘Zero Se Restart’; popular actor-producer-director R Madhavan’s latest, ‘Hisaab Barabar’; and stars Dimple Kapadia, Boman Irani, Sanya Malhotra, Amit Sadh,and indie icon Chhaya Kadam (‘All We Imagine as Light’) all scheduled to appear on Red Carpet in Goa…
🎥 Peacock competition films include world premiere for Iranian ‘Fear and Trembling’ by two of that country’s leading women directors Manijeh Hekmat and Faeze Azizkani; ‘Holy Cow’ which premiered in Cannes earlier this year and won a youth award there and by Louise Courvoisier – the theme of IFFI 2024 is Young Filmmakers – The Future is Now’; two Indian releases get screenings – ‘Article 370’ by Aditya Suhas Jambhale, and the Malayalam (Kerala) ‘The Goat Life’ by director Blessy. Also in this section and getting a world premiere is ‘Raavasaheb’, a Marathi crime thriller by Nikhil Mahajan
🎥 Indian Panorama section showcases some of the best regional and Bollywood cinema over the year: ‘Swatantrya Veer Savarkar’ by Randeep Hooda; ‘12th Fail’ by Vidhu Vinod Chopra; ‘Level Cross’ (Malayalam) by Afraz Ayub
🎥 Masterclasses involving Farrukh Dhondy, London based screenwriter; Toronto International Film (TIFF) festival director Cameron Bailey; French Christian Jeune from Festival De Cannes; Vani Tripathi Tikoo – (see below)
🎥 www.asianculturevulture.com looks at wider festival tourism scene and interviews Goa and Tamil Nadu (Chennai) tourism ministers and covers India Chalo initiative at recent World Travel Market (WTM) convention at London ExCel Centre (November 5-7). See story here
🎥 Film Bazaar the market/trade section of IFFI runs until November 24, is at The Marriott Resort, Miramar beach close to Panaji (Panjim), the state capital and which serves as the hub with all the main venues situated close by.
🎥 Some 29 projects will be showcased at Film Bazaar – these include 21 features and eight web series…many of these are at various stages of development, among those participating are British producer Alan McAlex, who was involved with both ‘Santosh’ and ‘Sister Midnight’ which both went to Cannes and are set in India but directed by British talent. (Use for 🔎 on home page – top right for previous Cannes coverage for more on these two titles). McAlex is representing ‘Aadu Ki Kasam’,a Hindi language film about two friends trying to break into Bollywood and using their family’s gold and falling out
🎥 Among the notable series getting an outing at Film Bazaar is ‘Age of Deccan – The Legend of Malik Ambar’ about an Ethiopian slave’s rise to power in historical Deccan (South) India. It is being produced by ‘Baahubhali’ backer Shobhu Yarlagadda.
🎥 Vani Tripathi Tipo on Film Bazaar (2023) –
ACV in Goa 2023 opening day…
Links
IFFI 55 – https://iffigoa.org
Film Bazaar – https://filmbazaarindia.com
