India’s representative at this year’s (virtual) Fantasia International Film Festival was Kriya, written and directed by Sidharth Srinivasan. At a nightclub party, the DJ, a young man named Neel (Noble Luke), ends up hooking up with a girl, who eventually invites him to her house. Soon enough, what seemed like a regular, fun night, turns into something else. Neel finds out that Sitara’s relatives –including her mother Tara Devi (Avantika Akerkar), her younger sister Sara (Kanak Bhardwaj), a friend of the family and their housemaid Magdali (Anuradha Majumder) – are congregated for the patriarch’s last rites. Our protagonist knows something is wrong. Sitara appears to have her own agenda, much like her mother, which makes us...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 9/8/2020
- Screen Anarchy
Religious horror, whether we speak about classics such as William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist” or more recent examples like Keith Thomas’ “The Vigil”, hold an interesting premise by definition. The idea that out of the everlasting battle between good and evil or that faith can bring forth monsters able to destroy a family, is quite intriguing to say the least, shedding light on the nature of faith, but also on the relationship of faith, family and modernity. With regard to his most recent directorial effort “Kriya” writer and filmmaker Sidharth Srinivasan (“Soul of Sand”) explains how the story “was born out of an acutely personal reaction to what was happening in my country, where Hindu fundamentalism and chauvinistic religious persecution were ripping India apart”. Thus, “Kriya” becomes a story about the problematic notion of religion being an extension of images of gender and patriarchy as well as a feature which,...
- 8/27/2020
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
In Kriya Neel, a club DJ, meets the beautiful Sitara at a gig and is utterly transfixed by her. What starts under the pretense of a romantic fling becomes something much more disturbing when Sitara takes Neel home and reveals that her father is at Death’s door and the family is deep into ritualistic grieving. Neel tries many times to leave the house but is constantly pulled back in by Sitara’s seduction. Before long, it’s clear that there’s no escaping the inevitable and Neel is consumed by this cycle of grief and tradition.
Kriya is written and directed by Sidharth Srinivasan, in his first ever horror film and first narrative feature in a decade. Srinivasan’s inspiration for Kriya comes from his ever-present criticism and response to what he views as harmful religious fundamentalism and toxic patriarchy. The film stars Noble Luke and Navjot Randhawa and...
Kriya is written and directed by Sidharth Srinivasan, in his first ever horror film and first narrative feature in a decade. Srinivasan’s inspiration for Kriya comes from his ever-present criticism and response to what he views as harmful religious fundamentalism and toxic patriarchy. The film stars Noble Luke and Navjot Randhawa and...
- 8/27/2020
- by Caitlin Kennedy
- DailyDead
Stars: Noble Luke, Navjot Randhawa, Avantika Akerkar, M.D. Asif, Kishan Bahurupiya, Kanak Bhardwaj, Anuradha Majumder, Tapesh Sharma, Narender Sihag | Written and Directed by Sidharth Srinivasan
New Dheli writer and director Sidharth Srinivasan (Soul of Sand) brings us Kriya, a nightmarish Hindi-indie horror with fantastical and magical elements. There’s a surrealist tone at the epicentre of Kriya, one that drives the whole film forth with gusto and a remarkable freshness, making this film something unlike anything I’ve ever really seen before.
The story here isn’t necessarily one that rolls off the tongue in explanation. It’s, in a nutshell, a tale of a guy who meets a girl named Sitara in a nightclub and becomes immediately besotted with her, entranced and transfixed by her, but there’s more to this seductive beauty than our initial meeting would cause us to think. When they head back to Sitara’s place,...
New Dheli writer and director Sidharth Srinivasan (Soul of Sand) brings us Kriya, a nightmarish Hindi-indie horror with fantastical and magical elements. There’s a surrealist tone at the epicentre of Kriya, one that drives the whole film forth with gusto and a remarkable freshness, making this film something unlike anything I’ve ever really seen before.
The story here isn’t necessarily one that rolls off the tongue in explanation. It’s, in a nutshell, a tale of a guy who meets a girl named Sitara in a nightclub and becomes immediately besotted with her, entranced and transfixed by her, but there’s more to this seductive beauty than our initial meeting would cause us to think. When they head back to Sitara’s place,...
- 8/26/2020
- by Chris Cummings
- Nerdly
One of Fantasia 2020’s hottest premieres is Kriya, which comes from writer/director Sidharth Srinivasan of Reel Illusion Films (Soul of Sand), and producers Tejash Shah of Accord Equips Pvt. Ltd. (Headhunter) and B. S. Narayanaswamy (Court).
DJ Neel encounters the ravishing Sitara while working a club set one night and is transfixed by her. They return to Sitara’s place where Neel is horrified to see the gagged and shackled body of her dying father – Sitara’s grieving family keeping vigil around it. Caught completely unawares, Neel’s compassion is nevertheless aroused and he stays on. In India, patriarchal custom dictates that only a son can perform a parent’s last rites, but no such person exists in Sitara’s family. So when her father actually dies during the course of the night, Sitara coerces Neel to officiate the rituals of death. Thrust into a world of magic and transgression,...
DJ Neel encounters the ravishing Sitara while working a club set one night and is transfixed by her. They return to Sitara’s place where Neel is horrified to see the gagged and shackled body of her dying father – Sitara’s grieving family keeping vigil around it. Caught completely unawares, Neel’s compassion is nevertheless aroused and he stays on. In India, patriarchal custom dictates that only a son can perform a parent’s last rites, but no such person exists in Sitara’s family. So when her father actually dies during the course of the night, Sitara coerces Neel to officiate the rituals of death. Thrust into a world of magic and transgression,...
- 8/3/2020
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
DJ Neel encounters the ravishing Sitara while working a club set one night and is transfixed by her. They return to Sitara’s place where Neel is horrified to see the gagged and shackled body of her dying father – Sitara’s grieving family keeping vigil around it. Caught completely unawares, Neel’s compassion is nevertheless aroused and he stays on. In India, patriarchal custom dictates that only a son can perform a parent’s last rites, but no such person exists in Sitara’s family. So when her father actually dies during the course of the night, Sitara coerces Neel to officiate the rituals of death. Thrust into a world of magic and transgression, Neel finally attempts to flee his waking nightmare. But as dawn breaks, it becomes evident that Sitara’s family is afflicted by an ancient curse. One that Neel is now very much a part of.
New...
New...
- 8/2/2020
- by Don Anelli
- AsianMoviePulse
The Fantasia International Film Festival will be celebrating its 24th edition as a virtual event accessible to movie lovers across Canada, with a wild assortment of scheduled screenings, panels, and workshops taking place online from August 20 through September 2, 2020. The decision to launch a digital edition of the famed genre festival was born from Fantasia’s desire to keep the health and safety of its attendees a top priority during the current global health crisis, while still offering daring, much-needed new genre entertainment to residents of Canada and supporting the breakout filmmakers of the year.
The festival’s full lineup will be announced in early August. In the meantime, Fantasia is excited to reveal a selected first wave of titles.
Makoto Tezuka adapts the legendary manga “Tezuka’s Barbara”!
One night, a famous novelist encounters a young, seemingly homeless woman in an overpass tunnel. He brings her home, which sets him...
The festival’s full lineup will be announced in early August. In the meantime, Fantasia is excited to reveal a selected first wave of titles.
Makoto Tezuka adapts the legendary manga “Tezuka’s Barbara”!
One night, a famous novelist encounters a young, seemingly homeless woman in an overpass tunnel. He brings her home, which sets him...
- 6/12/2020
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
In the social distancing era of Covid-19, Fantasia International Film Festival is coming online with a virtual edition taking place August 20th–September 2nd, and the first wave of programming has been revealed, including Neil Marshall’s The Reckoning, Brea Grant's 12 Hour Shift, Lars Damoiseaux's Yummy, and Tezuka's Barbara from Makoto Tezuka.
The recent Chattanooga Film Festival was a very well-received online experience, and we're excited to see what Fantasia has in store for attendees enjoying the fest from home.
It's important to note that screenings will only be viewable to those who live in Canada, and you can learn more by visiting The Hollywood Reporter and Fantasia's website.
Stay tuned to Daily Dead for more coverage of Fantasia 2020, and check out the full first wave announcement below:
Press Release: Tuesday June 9, 2020 // Montreal, Quebec -- The Fantasia International Film Festival will be celebrating its 24th edition...
The recent Chattanooga Film Festival was a very well-received online experience, and we're excited to see what Fantasia has in store for attendees enjoying the fest from home.
It's important to note that screenings will only be viewable to those who live in Canada, and you can learn more by visiting The Hollywood Reporter and Fantasia's website.
Stay tuned to Daily Dead for more coverage of Fantasia 2020, and check out the full first wave announcement below:
Press Release: Tuesday June 9, 2020 // Montreal, Quebec -- The Fantasia International Film Festival will be celebrating its 24th edition...
- 6/9/2020
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Fantasia’s upcoming virtual edition, which will run August 20 – September 2, will kick off with the first showing of Neil Marshall’s horror The Reckoning. Set in 1665 against the backdrop of the Great Plague, Charlotte Kirk leads the cast of the movie about the witch hunts that followed the crisis.
The fest has revealed a total of eight world premieres alongside films from the SXSW and Tribeca line-ups that have yet to screen for the public. Also debuting are: Chino Moya’s Undergods, Thomas Robert Lee’s The Curse Of Audrey Earnshaw, Sidharth Srinivasan’s Kriya, Mauro Iván Ojeda’s The Undertaker’s Home, and Anthony Scott Burns’s Come True. Scroll down for the full list.
Bad luck for international Fantasia fans, however, as the online screenings, which will run via Festival Scope and Shift72’s virtual screening platform, will only be accessible to those based in Canada.
Fantasia’s...
The fest has revealed a total of eight world premieres alongside films from the SXSW and Tribeca line-ups that have yet to screen for the public. Also debuting are: Chino Moya’s Undergods, Thomas Robert Lee’s The Curse Of Audrey Earnshaw, Sidharth Srinivasan’s Kriya, Mauro Iván Ojeda’s The Undertaker’s Home, and Anthony Scott Burns’s Come True. Scroll down for the full list.
Bad luck for international Fantasia fans, however, as the online screenings, which will run via Festival Scope and Shift72’s virtual screening platform, will only be accessible to those based in Canada.
Fantasia’s...
- 6/9/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Montreal event will run from August 20-September 2.
Neil Marshall’s thriller The Reckoning will open the online Fantasia International Film Festival, top brass said as they announced the first wave of selections on Tuesday (June 9).
The film takes place in 1665 against the backdrop of the Great Plague and the subsequent witch hunts in England. Charlotte Kirk, Sean Pertwee, Joe Anderson, Steven Waddington and Emma Campbell-Jones star. Marshall’s The Descent opened the festival in 2005.
Fantasia will run from August 20-September 2 and host world premieres and screen films from the cancelled SXSW and postponed Tribeca line-ups that have not yet played for the public.
Neil Marshall’s thriller The Reckoning will open the online Fantasia International Film Festival, top brass said as they announced the first wave of selections on Tuesday (June 9).
The film takes place in 1665 against the backdrop of the Great Plague and the subsequent witch hunts in England. Charlotte Kirk, Sean Pertwee, Joe Anderson, Steven Waddington and Emma Campbell-Jones star. Marshall’s The Descent opened the festival in 2005.
Fantasia will run from August 20-September 2 and host world premieres and screen films from the cancelled SXSW and postponed Tribeca line-ups that have not yet played for the public.
- 6/9/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
Chennai, Dec 14: Sidharth Srinivasan, known for his critically acclaimed debut feature film "Pairon Talle", has confirmed that his next Hindi outing is titled "Traas (The Profane)", a fever-dream horror fable.
"My next project is called 'Traas'. It is a horror story about a family literally tearing itself apart, set against the hallucinatory backdrop of Varanasi," Srinivasan told Ians.
"'Traas' is a contemporary Indian horror story derived from deeply rooted beliefs in the sanctity of the family unit and the eternal struggle between life and death," he added.
The film, which will go on floors in the first half.
"My next project is called 'Traas'. It is a horror story about a family literally tearing itself apart, set against the hallucinatory backdrop of Varanasi," Srinivasan told Ians.
"'Traas' is a contemporary Indian horror story derived from deeply rooted beliefs in the sanctity of the family unit and the eternal struggle between life and death," he added.
The film, which will go on floors in the first half.
- 12/14/2012
- by Anita Agarwal
- RealBollywood.com
Peter Strickland has signed on to helm The Duke of Burgundy, Screen Daily has reported.
Strickland, whose second film Berberian Sound Studio recently collected four British Independent Film Awards, will direct the dark melodrama for fellow filmmaker Ben Wheatley’s production company Rook Films.
The Duke of Burgundy, described by Strickland as “a simple love story about a devoted couple whose intimate needs are rarely in harmony”, centers on an amateur lepidopterist (Chiara D’Anna) whose wayward desires test the limits of her lover’s tolerance.
The film is due to shoot in early 2013, with much of the funding coming from the British Film Institute’s film fund, who – along with Film4, Warp X and Illuminations Films – helped fund Berberian Sound Studio.
In addition to The Duke of Burgundy, Rook Films’ slate includes Wheatley’s A Field in England, Sidharth Srinivasan’s The Penance and Jim Hosking’s Whitaker. Wheatley...
Strickland, whose second film Berberian Sound Studio recently collected four British Independent Film Awards, will direct the dark melodrama for fellow filmmaker Ben Wheatley’s production company Rook Films.
The Duke of Burgundy, described by Strickland as “a simple love story about a devoted couple whose intimate needs are rarely in harmony”, centers on an amateur lepidopterist (Chiara D’Anna) whose wayward desires test the limits of her lover’s tolerance.
The film is due to shoot in early 2013, with much of the funding coming from the British Film Institute’s film fund, who – along with Film4, Warp X and Illuminations Films – helped fund Berberian Sound Studio.
In addition to The Duke of Burgundy, Rook Films’ slate includes Wheatley’s A Field in England, Sidharth Srinivasan’s The Penance and Jim Hosking’s Whitaker. Wheatley...
- 12/11/2012
- by Jamie Neish
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Chennai, Oct 4: Indie film's success should not be measured by its first week collection, says independent filmmaker Sidharth Srinivasan whose second film "Pairon Talle", about clash between traditional and modern societies in Delhi, is coming out Friday.
"The problem for most of us arises after completion of the film because the fate of a film is decided by its opening weekend box-office.
"The problem for most of us arises after completion of the film because the fate of a film is decided by its opening weekend box-office.
- 10/4/2012
- by Shiva Prakash
- RealBollywood.com
Pairon Talle (Soul of Sand) directed by Sidharth Srinivasan is scheduled for a theatrical release on October 5th under the ‘PVR Director’s Rare’ label.
The film was funded by the Hubert Bal’s Fund, from the Rotterdam International Film Festival, in the digital production category in 2008. In 2011, it screened in the Bright Future program at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
The film was also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2010.
Pairon Talle is the story of a downtrodden, lower-caste watchman who stands obsessive guard over an abandoned silica mine. The watchman’s existence revolves around his lord and master – the mine owner. He re-lives the same day of his life, his entire adult working life, while his neglected wife tries to make ends meet in questionable fashion, despite her love for him. One day, the watchman is forced to go against his unbending personal sense of duty to his feudal employer,...
The film was funded by the Hubert Bal’s Fund, from the Rotterdam International Film Festival, in the digital production category in 2008. In 2011, it screened in the Bright Future program at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
The film was also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2010.
Pairon Talle is the story of a downtrodden, lower-caste watchman who stands obsessive guard over an abandoned silica mine. The watchman’s existence revolves around his lord and master – the mine owner. He re-lives the same day of his life, his entire adult working life, while his neglected wife tries to make ends meet in questionable fashion, despite her love for him. One day, the watchman is forced to go against his unbending personal sense of duty to his feudal employer,...
- 9/7/2012
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
Sidharth Srinivasan
South Korean sales company Finecut has picked up international rights outside India to Sidharth Srinivasan’s horror film The Profane.
The film will be a co-production between India, UK and Korea. It will be co-produced by Andy Starke and Pete Tombs of UK’s Root Films, and Finecut’s Suh Young-Joo.
The synopsis of the film on Finecut’s website: A brother and sister, at odds with the world and one another, take their elderly mother to Varanasi to fulfill her dying wish–to be cremated and have her ashes scattered in the holy river Ganges. But, once there, the mother refuses to die. To find a way out of their dilemma, her two children are forced to resort to extreme measures. Measures that trap them in a world of strange magic and dark desires; a world ruled by the dead rather than the living.
The Profane, which...
South Korean sales company Finecut has picked up international rights outside India to Sidharth Srinivasan’s horror film The Profane.
The film will be a co-production between India, UK and Korea. It will be co-produced by Andy Starke and Pete Tombs of UK’s Root Films, and Finecut’s Suh Young-Joo.
The synopsis of the film on Finecut’s website: A brother and sister, at odds with the world and one another, take their elderly mother to Varanasi to fulfill her dying wish–to be cremated and have her ashes scattered in the holy river Ganges. But, once there, the mother refuses to die. To find a way out of their dilemma, her two children are forced to resort to extreme measures. Measures that trap them in a world of strange magic and dark desires; a world ruled by the dead rather than the living.
The Profane, which...
- 5/17/2012
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
A film Appreciation workshop called “How to Look at Films” will be held from December 16-18,2011 at Sri Aurobindo Centre for Arts & Communication, New Delhi.
The workshop will be conducted by Prof. Suresh Chabria with additional sessions by film historian Ira Bhaskar, filmmaker Sidharth Srinivasan & film analyst Neel Chaudhuri.
The registration fee for general participants is Rs. 3000 and for students (with valid ID proof) is Rs. 1500. Registrations are open at Sri Aurobindo Centre for Arts & Communications, Sri Aurobindo Society Campus, Shaheed Jeet Singh Marg. Adhchini, New Delhi.
The workshop is being organized by Sri Aurobindo Centre for Arts & Communication (Sacac), in association with Network for Promotion of the Asian Cinema (Netpac).
For more detsils, mail events@sac.ac.in, info@sac.ac.in...
The workshop will be conducted by Prof. Suresh Chabria with additional sessions by film historian Ira Bhaskar, filmmaker Sidharth Srinivasan & film analyst Neel Chaudhuri.
The registration fee for general participants is Rs. 3000 and for students (with valid ID proof) is Rs. 1500. Registrations are open at Sri Aurobindo Centre for Arts & Communications, Sri Aurobindo Society Campus, Shaheed Jeet Singh Marg. Adhchini, New Delhi.
The workshop is being organized by Sri Aurobindo Centre for Arts & Communication (Sacac), in association with Network for Promotion of the Asian Cinema (Netpac).
For more detsils, mail events@sac.ac.in, info@sac.ac.in...
- 11/30/2011
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
The 7th Seattle South-Asian Film Festival that will take place from October 7-9, 2011 will screen Deepti Naval’s Do Paise Ki Dhoop, Chaar Aane Ki Baarish (Two Paise for Sunshine, Four Annas for Rain) as the opening film. The festival will also host an interactive session with actor-turned-director Deepti Naval before the screening.
The films that will screen on October 8 at the festival are Nila Madhab Panda’s I Am Kalam (India), Aby Rao’s Singhing Bee (USA), Tanaz Eeshagian’s Love Crimes of Kabul (Afghanistan), Kiran Pawar’s Astitva: Existence (India), Sonali Gulati’s I Am (India),Rubaiyat Hossain’s Meherjaan (Bangladesh), Hemant Gaba’s Shuttlecock Boys (India), Soham Mehta’a Firecracker (USA), Nikhil Mahajan’s Half A Billion Dreams (India), Yunuen Perez Vertti & Aswinee Rath’s The Undefeated: Aparajita (India), Nadeem Uddin’s Sidi Goma:An African Odyssey in India (India), Minnie Vaid’s A Doctor to Defend:The Binayak...
The films that will screen on October 8 at the festival are Nila Madhab Panda’s I Am Kalam (India), Aby Rao’s Singhing Bee (USA), Tanaz Eeshagian’s Love Crimes of Kabul (Afghanistan), Kiran Pawar’s Astitva: Existence (India), Sonali Gulati’s I Am (India),Rubaiyat Hossain’s Meherjaan (Bangladesh), Hemant Gaba’s Shuttlecock Boys (India), Soham Mehta’a Firecracker (USA), Nikhil Mahajan’s Half A Billion Dreams (India), Yunuen Perez Vertti & Aswinee Rath’s The Undefeated: Aparajita (India), Nadeem Uddin’s Sidi Goma:An African Odyssey in India (India), Minnie Vaid’s A Doctor to Defend:The Binayak...
- 9/13/2011
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
The ongoing World Cinema Festival Amsterdam is holding a special section on independent Indian cinema called “Soul of India”. The festival will be on till August 21, 2011.
Besides “Soul of India”, Gandu (Asshole) by Kaushik Mukherjee (Q) is one of the nine films competing at the festival. The Jury comprises of actor Achmed Akkabi, Esther van Driesum, Head of Programmes of Programmes of Binger Filmlab and Meenakshi Shedde, Indian consultant to International film festivals.
The films that are being screened in “Soul of India” are Aamir Bashir’s Harud (Autumn), Onir’s I Am, Sidharth Srinivasan’s Pairon Talle (Soul of Sand) and Umesh Kulkarni’s Vihir (The Well). Two short films: Wagah by Supriyo Sen and Udedh Bun (Unravel) by Siddharth Sinha are also being screened at the festival.
“The early years of the 21st century seem to have brought forth a first cautious flowering of a new, independent, artistic Indian cinema.
Besides “Soul of India”, Gandu (Asshole) by Kaushik Mukherjee (Q) is one of the nine films competing at the festival. The Jury comprises of actor Achmed Akkabi, Esther van Driesum, Head of Programmes of Programmes of Binger Filmlab and Meenakshi Shedde, Indian consultant to International film festivals.
The films that are being screened in “Soul of India” are Aamir Bashir’s Harud (Autumn), Onir’s I Am, Sidharth Srinivasan’s Pairon Talle (Soul of Sand) and Umesh Kulkarni’s Vihir (The Well). Two short films: Wagah by Supriyo Sen and Udedh Bun (Unravel) by Siddharth Sinha are also being screened at the festival.
“The early years of the 21st century seem to have brought forth a first cautious flowering of a new, independent, artistic Indian cinema.
- 8/15/2011
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
Locarno Open Doors will be held alongside the 64th Locarno International Film Festival from August 6-9, 2011. Open Doors 2011 that focuses on India, has selected 12 projects for its co-production lab. Sidharth Srinivasan’s Samaadhi (The Penance) is one of them. Srinivasan’s debut feature Pairon Talle premiered at Toronto last year followed by an European premiere at Rotterdam. In the first in the series, DearCinema brings to you details about the filmmaker and the project, in the words of the filmmaker:
Sidharth Srinivasan
I am an independent filmmaker who writes and directs his own material. My latest project Samaadhi (The Penance) is an elevated genre film – a truly Indian horror film that also plays as a family drama. It is a film that explores very rooted notions of transience, impermanence and family ties – notions that are so peculiar to the subcontinent.
This project is currently at an advanced stage of development.
Sidharth Srinivasan
I am an independent filmmaker who writes and directs his own material. My latest project Samaadhi (The Penance) is an elevated genre film – a truly Indian horror film that also plays as a family drama. It is a film that explores very rooted notions of transience, impermanence and family ties – notions that are so peculiar to the subcontinent.
This project is currently at an advanced stage of development.
- 8/3/2011
- by Sidharth Srinivasan
- DearCinema.com
A still from Aag
India has much to look forward to, at the 64th edition of the Locarno International Film Festival that begins on Wednesday, July 3, 2011. The festival has lined up quite an eclectic and exciting mix of Indian films; from the masters Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak to the contemporary Umesh Kulkarni and Vikramaditya Motwane.
Locarno Open Doors, an initiative that focuses on a region where independent cinema is in developmental stage every year has its eyes set firmly on India in the 2012 edition.
A still from Udaan
Open Doors screening will present thirteen “Indian classics” which include Raj Kapoor’s Aag, Jahnu Barua’s Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai (The Yellow Birds), Girish Kasaravalli’s Kanasembo Kudureyaneri (Riding the Stallion of a Dream), Shyam Benegal’s Manthan, Ritwik Ghatak’s Meghe Dhaka Tara, Aparna Sen’s Mr. and Mrs. Iyer, Chetan Anand’s Neecha Nagar, Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Nizalkkuthu...
India has much to look forward to, at the 64th edition of the Locarno International Film Festival that begins on Wednesday, July 3, 2011. The festival has lined up quite an eclectic and exciting mix of Indian films; from the masters Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak to the contemporary Umesh Kulkarni and Vikramaditya Motwane.
Locarno Open Doors, an initiative that focuses on a region where independent cinema is in developmental stage every year has its eyes set firmly on India in the 2012 edition.
A still from Udaan
Open Doors screening will present thirteen “Indian classics” which include Raj Kapoor’s Aag, Jahnu Barua’s Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai (The Yellow Birds), Girish Kasaravalli’s Kanasembo Kudureyaneri (Riding the Stallion of a Dream), Shyam Benegal’s Manthan, Ritwik Ghatak’s Meghe Dhaka Tara, Aparna Sen’s Mr. and Mrs. Iyer, Chetan Anand’s Neecha Nagar, Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Nizalkkuthu...
- 8/2/2011
- by Nandita Dutta
- DearCinema.com
The Eclipse of Taregna
When Rakesh Chaudhary met a bigshot Bollywood producer to narrate his short film idea of The Eclipse of Taregna, the producer asked him– “What’s a short film!”. After meeting many such producers, Chaudhary ended up self-financing his film with the help of a cinematographer friend and the film went on to win the grand jury prize for the best short film at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles in April this year.
It wasn’t any easy for a Mumbai-based film editor Vinoo Choliparambil when he decided to turn director with his short film Vitthal. It was year 2008 and Vinoo had been working in the film industry for five years and had edited films like Ram Gopal Varma’s Phoonk 2.
No producer was interested in producing Vinoo’s film and finally he had to go the independent way. He put in all his savings...
When Rakesh Chaudhary met a bigshot Bollywood producer to narrate his short film idea of The Eclipse of Taregna, the producer asked him– “What’s a short film!”. After meeting many such producers, Chaudhary ended up self-financing his film with the help of a cinematographer friend and the film went on to win the grand jury prize for the best short film at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles in April this year.
It wasn’t any easy for a Mumbai-based film editor Vinoo Choliparambil when he decided to turn director with his short film Vitthal. It was year 2008 and Vinoo had been working in the film industry for five years and had edited films like Ram Gopal Varma’s Phoonk 2.
No producer was interested in producing Vinoo’s film and finally he had to go the independent way. He put in all his savings...
- 7/4/2011
- by Nandita Dutta
- DearCinema.com
The Locarno Film Festival has announced the list of twelve Indian projects selected for Open Doors program.
Open Doors is the co production lab organized by the festival each year. This year the lab has India in focus.
The selected projects are:
- Aharbal Falls by Ajay Raina
- Ajeeb Aashiq / Strange Love by Natasha Mendonca
- Arunoday / Sunriseby Partho Sen-Gupta
- Burqa Boxers by Alka Raghuram
- Char, The Island Within by Sourav Sarangi
- Jat Panchayat / The Judgement by Satish Manwar
- Lasya / The Gentle Dance by Anup Singh
- Samaadhi / The Penance by Sidharth Srinivasan
- Sebastian Wants to Remember by Vasant Nath
- The Trapper’s Snare by Shanker Raman
- Thread / Le Fil by Lilium Leonard
- Vidhvastha / Devastated by Ashish Avikunthak
The festival had received over 200 projects, in 18 different languages, from 30 regions in India.
The Open Doors co-production lab will take place August 6-...
Open Doors is the co production lab organized by the festival each year. This year the lab has India in focus.
The selected projects are:
- Aharbal Falls by Ajay Raina
- Ajeeb Aashiq / Strange Love by Natasha Mendonca
- Arunoday / Sunriseby Partho Sen-Gupta
- Burqa Boxers by Alka Raghuram
- Char, The Island Within by Sourav Sarangi
- Jat Panchayat / The Judgement by Satish Manwar
- Lasya / The Gentle Dance by Anup Singh
- Samaadhi / The Penance by Sidharth Srinivasan
- Sebastian Wants to Remember by Vasant Nath
- The Trapper’s Snare by Shanker Raman
- Thread / Le Fil by Lilium Leonard
- Vidhvastha / Devastated by Ashish Avikunthak
The festival had received over 200 projects, in 18 different languages, from 30 regions in India.
The Open Doors co-production lab will take place August 6-...
- 5/3/2011
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
Pairon Talle
Sidharth Srinivasan’s Pairon Talle will be screened in The Bright Future program at the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2011. The 40th edition of the festival will take place from Jan 26-Feb 6, 2011.
Bright Future is the section in which the festival presents debut or second feature films, which it finds ‘important, idiosyncratic and adventurous’.
The section this year will screen eighteen world premières, ten international premières and eleven European premières. In total, this year’s Bright Future is made up of eighty films selected from thirty-eight countries. Fifteen of these films, including Pairon Talle, received support from Iffr’s Hubert Bals Fund.
Pairon Talle will be presented as part of European premiere in Bright Future:
Fortune Teller, Xu Tong, China
The Old Donkey, Li Ruijun, China (Hubert Bals Fund supported film)
Tape, Li Ning, China
Piano In A Factory, Zhang Meng, China
Soul Of Sand, Sidharth Srinivasan, India...
Sidharth Srinivasan’s Pairon Talle will be screened in The Bright Future program at the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2011. The 40th edition of the festival will take place from Jan 26-Feb 6, 2011.
Bright Future is the section in which the festival presents debut or second feature films, which it finds ‘important, idiosyncratic and adventurous’.
The section this year will screen eighteen world premières, ten international premières and eleven European premières. In total, this year’s Bright Future is made up of eighty films selected from thirty-eight countries. Fifteen of these films, including Pairon Talle, received support from Iffr’s Hubert Bals Fund.
Pairon Talle will be presented as part of European premiere in Bright Future:
Fortune Teller, Xu Tong, China
The Old Donkey, Li Ruijun, China (Hubert Bals Fund supported film)
Tape, Li Ning, China
Piano In A Factory, Zhang Meng, China
Soul Of Sand, Sidharth Srinivasan, India...
- 1/9/2011
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
Pairon Talle
Sidharth Srinivasan’s Pairon Talle (Soul of Sand) will be a part of Global Lens 2011, the eighth annual touring film exhibition organized by MoMA (Museum of Modern Arts, New York City). The exhibition, in collaboration with the Global Film Initiative (Gfi) will be held from January 13–28, 2011.
The nine films to be presented in this exhibition have been developed with grants from Gfi.
“Accomplished, entertaining, and thought-provoking, the films are also deeply rooted in the social and political realities of the countries where their talented and resourceful makers live and set their stories”, as stated in a press release.
This year’s other selections are:
Federico Veiroj’s La Vida Útil (A Useful Life) (2010), Uruguay; Sérgio Bianchi’s Os Inquilinos (The Tenants) (2009), Brazil; Diego Lerman’s La Mirada Invisible (The Invisible Eye) (2010), Argentina; Aktan Arym Kubat’s Svet-Ake (The Light Thief) (2010), Kyrgyzstan; Mohammad Rasoulof’s Kestzar Haye Sepid (The...
Sidharth Srinivasan’s Pairon Talle (Soul of Sand) will be a part of Global Lens 2011, the eighth annual touring film exhibition organized by MoMA (Museum of Modern Arts, New York City). The exhibition, in collaboration with the Global Film Initiative (Gfi) will be held from January 13–28, 2011.
The nine films to be presented in this exhibition have been developed with grants from Gfi.
“Accomplished, entertaining, and thought-provoking, the films are also deeply rooted in the social and political realities of the countries where their talented and resourceful makers live and set their stories”, as stated in a press release.
This year’s other selections are:
Federico Veiroj’s La Vida Útil (A Useful Life) (2010), Uruguay; Sérgio Bianchi’s Os Inquilinos (The Tenants) (2009), Brazil; Diego Lerman’s La Mirada Invisible (The Invisible Eye) (2010), Argentina; Aktan Arym Kubat’s Svet-Ake (The Light Thief) (2010), Kyrgyzstan; Mohammad Rasoulof’s Kestzar Haye Sepid (The...
- 1/4/2011
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
Toronto, Sep 16 – Indian film ‘Soul of Sand’ is creating a buzz at the ongoing Toronto International Film Festival and director Sidharth Srinivasan says his film exposes in a provocative way the underbelly of National Capital Region (Ncr), seen as the symbol of new emerging India.
‘For me, the Ncr is an outpost of progress. It is a landscape where forces of modernity are on collision course with tradition. Everybody talks about the symbols of the region’s growth story, but nobody talks about the underbelly of this story,’ Srinivasan told Ians Wednesday.
<p.
‘For me, the Ncr is an outpost of progress. It is a landscape where forces of modernity are on collision course with tradition. Everybody talks about the symbols of the region’s growth story, but nobody talks about the underbelly of this story,’ Srinivasan told Ians Wednesday.
<p.
- 9/16/2010
- by realbollywood
- RealBollywood.com
It is that time again when the best films from around the world collectively come together to feature the best in cinema. But we are primarily concerned with the films from India, i.e. Bollywood. This year, the Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) will be screening a number of Bollywood films which will not only showcase some big stars but films but an array of documentaries and smaller films which seem like they will go on to make major waves when they release worldwide. Check out what will be featured in the coming weeks.
Dhobi Ghat – Kiran Rao
Dhobi Ghat brings Aamir Khan’s wife, Kiran Rao, to the forefront as she directs her first film. The star cast consists of her husband, Aamir Khan, Prateik Babbar, Monica Dogra and Kriti Malhotra. Separated by class and language, each of the characters holds different stories and pasts. They come together and...
Dhobi Ghat – Kiran Rao
Dhobi Ghat brings Aamir Khan’s wife, Kiran Rao, to the forefront as she directs her first film. The star cast consists of her husband, Aamir Khan, Prateik Babbar, Monica Dogra and Kriti Malhotra. Separated by class and language, each of the characters holds different stories and pasts. They come together and...
- 9/10/2010
- Bollyspice
The Toronto film Festival 2010, which began this Thursday, will have a lot to offer to its Bollywood patrons. On show are Anurag Kashyap’s That Girl In Yellow Boots, featuring Kalki Koechlin and Naseeruddin Shah, Kiran Rao’s Dhobi Ghat, co-starring Aamir Khan and Prateik Babbar, Sidharth Srinivasan’s Pairon Tale (Soul Of Sand) and actor Aamir Bashir’s directorial debut, Harud (Autumn), with Iranian actor Reza Naji and Shahnawaz Bhat. Co-director of the festival, Cameron Bailey was all praise for Kiran Rao’s Dhobi Ghat, describing it as “a love letter to Mumbai”. Bashir’s Harud, he says, “is a remarkable achievement marked by ...
- 9/9/2010
- Hindustan Times - Cinema
Toronto, Sep 9 – In a break with the past, the 35th Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff), which kicks off here Thursday, will feature no masala film from big Bollywood banners this year.
All four Indian entries – ‘Dhobi Ghat’ by Kiran Rao, ‘That Girl With Yellow Boots’ by Anurag Kashyap, ‘Harud’ (Autumn) by Aamir Bashir and ‘Soul of Sand’ by Sidharth Srinivasan – here this year are independent productions, with no Bollywood masala.
‘We have been having those big, masala.
All four Indian entries – ‘Dhobi Ghat’ by Kiran Rao, ‘That Girl With Yellow Boots’ by Anurag Kashyap, ‘Harud’ (Autumn) by Aamir Bashir and ‘Soul of Sand’ by Sidharth Srinivasan – here this year are independent productions, with no Bollywood masala.
‘We have been having those big, masala.
- 9/9/2010
- by realbollywood
- RealBollywood.com
Wow, that's a lot of flicks. Everything from Peter Mullan's Neds to Benedek Fliegauf's Womb (that's right, it's a trailer!) to more Greek weirdness in Athena Tsangari's Attenberg. I wish I was going.
It's late so I'm not writing much of a post here.. Maybe I'll update tomorrow.
Full list after the break via Variety.
Contemporary World Cinema
(World preems)
* "Home for Christmas," Bent Hamer (Norway/Germany/Sweden)
* "Behind Blue Skies," Hannes Holm (Sweden)
* "Even The Rain," Iciar Bollain (Spain/France/Mexico)
* "The First Grader," Justin Chadwick (I.K.)
* "Neds," Peter Mullan (U.K./France/Italy)
* "White Irish Drinkers," John Gray (U.S.)
* "22nd of May," Koen Mortier (Belgium)
* "African United," Deb Gardner-Paterson (U.K.)
* "Blessed Events," Isabelle Stever (Germany)
* "The Edge," Alexey Uchitel (Russia)
* "Jucy," Louise Alston (Australia)
* "Lapland Odyssey," Dome Karukoski (Finland)
* "Late Autumn," Kim Teo-Yong (South Korea)
* "Matariki" Michael Bennet (New Zealand)
* "Tracker" Ian Sharp (U.
It's late so I'm not writing much of a post here.. Maybe I'll update tomorrow.
Full list after the break via Variety.
Contemporary World Cinema
(World preems)
* "Home for Christmas," Bent Hamer (Norway/Germany/Sweden)
* "Behind Blue Skies," Hannes Holm (Sweden)
* "Even The Rain," Iciar Bollain (Spain/France/Mexico)
* "The First Grader," Justin Chadwick (I.K.)
* "Neds," Peter Mullan (U.K./France/Italy)
* "White Irish Drinkers," John Gray (U.S.)
* "22nd of May," Koen Mortier (Belgium)
* "African United," Deb Gardner-Paterson (U.K.)
* "Blessed Events," Isabelle Stever (Germany)
* "The Edge," Alexey Uchitel (Russia)
* "Jucy," Louise Alston (Australia)
* "Lapland Odyssey," Dome Karukoski (Finland)
* "Late Autumn," Kim Teo-Yong (South Korea)
* "Matariki" Michael Bennet (New Zealand)
* "Tracker" Ian Sharp (U.
- 8/25/2010
- QuietEarth.us
Sidharth Srinivasan's "Pairon Tale" (Soul of Sand) and Amir Bashir's "Harud" (Autumn) will be screened in the Discovery section of the Toronto International Film Festival (September 9-19).
"Pairon Tale" is produced with the support of Rotterdam International Film Festival's Hubert Bals fund. The film received funding under digital production category of fund in late 2008. Soon after being chosen for Hubert Bals funding, Sidhartha had told DearCinema- "Soul Of Sand (Pairon Tale) is a radical, self-produced feature, made against all odds on sheer belief and drive. My project was among 25 projects selected from over 350 proposals, so it really thrills and excites me that my almost "hand-crafted" venture has resonated with this prestigious Fund, reaffirming my faith in making the kind of cinema I believe in. Most importantly, the Fund provides automatic distribution in the Benelux territories, so my film has a genuine shot at crossing over..."
Cameron Bailey, Co-Director of...
"Pairon Tale" is produced with the support of Rotterdam International Film Festival's Hubert Bals fund. The film received funding under digital production category of fund in late 2008. Soon after being chosen for Hubert Bals funding, Sidhartha had told DearCinema- "Soul Of Sand (Pairon Tale) is a radical, self-produced feature, made against all odds on sheer belief and drive. My project was among 25 projects selected from over 350 proposals, so it really thrills and excites me that my almost "hand-crafted" venture has resonated with this prestigious Fund, reaffirming my faith in making the kind of cinema I believe in. Most importantly, the Fund provides automatic distribution in the Benelux territories, so my film has a genuine shot at crossing over..."
Cameron Bailey, Co-Director of...
- 8/24/2010
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
Rachel Weisz in The Whistleblower The Toronto International Film Festival has added even more films to their line-up today as the complete line-up was announced, which ended up causing the festival's server to crash, but I was lucky enough to get in and get out before missing out on the information.
First off, the festival's Mavericks line-up is quite interesting, which includes a series of guest presentations and this year will see Edward Norton interview Bruce Springsteen, NBA All-Star and native Canadian Steve Nash will present his hour-long film Into the Wind, Apichatpong Weerasethakul will talk with the audience as his Cannes Palm d'Or-winning film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall his Past Lives was just added to the Masters programme, Ken Loach and Paul Laverty will be interviewed by Michael Moore on politics and cinema and Philip Seymour Hoffman will have his own panel. Also on hand will be Bill Gates,...
First off, the festival's Mavericks line-up is quite interesting, which includes a series of guest presentations and this year will see Edward Norton interview Bruce Springsteen, NBA All-Star and native Canadian Steve Nash will present his hour-long film Into the Wind, Apichatpong Weerasethakul will talk with the audience as his Cannes Palm d'Or-winning film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall his Past Lives was just added to the Masters programme, Ken Loach and Paul Laverty will be interviewed by Michael Moore on politics and cinema and Philip Seymour Hoffman will have his own panel. Also on hand will be Bill Gates,...
- 8/24/2010
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
From evil Santas to Australian killers, the Discovery program brings the best of the coming generation of film talent to Toronto. Making the grade this year are:
As If I Am Not There Juanita Wilson, Ireland/Macedonia/Sweden World Premiere
As If I Am Not There explores one woman's experience of the horrors that took place at the beginning of the Bosnian War. Disturbing and powerful, the film is an important testament to the survivors of the atrocities in the former Yugoslavia.
Attenberg Athina Rachel Tsangiri, Greece North American Premiere
A dying architect and his emotionally stunted daughter inhabit a once booming industrial community in the middle of nowhere, now populated by the precious few who didn't have the heart to leave it behind.
Autumn Aamir Bashir, India World Premiere
Shot in striking, widescreen images in India's Kashmir region, Bashir's debut tells the story of Rafiq, a young man struggling...
As If I Am Not There Juanita Wilson, Ireland/Macedonia/Sweden World Premiere
As If I Am Not There explores one woman's experience of the horrors that took place at the beginning of the Bosnian War. Disturbing and powerful, the film is an important testament to the survivors of the atrocities in the former Yugoslavia.
Attenberg Athina Rachel Tsangiri, Greece North American Premiere
A dying architect and his emotionally stunted daughter inhabit a once booming industrial community in the middle of nowhere, now populated by the precious few who didn't have the heart to leave it behind.
Autumn Aamir Bashir, India World Premiere
Shot in striking, widescreen images in India's Kashmir region, Bashir's debut tells the story of Rafiq, a young man struggling...
- 8/24/2010
- Screen Anarchy
A true independent film maker Sidharth Srinivasan first turned heads with his Venice-selected short The Tightrope Walker and he's now bringing his sophomore feature to Toronto with Soul Of Sand. A tragic dramatic thriller Soul of Sand casts Dibyendu Bhattacharya (Dev-d) and Avtar Sahni (Omkara, Dil Se) in the story of a lower caste watchman mocked by his wife, abused by his employer and finally caught up into a web of forced marriages and honor killings.
We're proud to premiere the first trailer for the picture here at Twitch and if the style of the poster to the left seems familiar that'd be because it's the product of our own buxom beauty, Omar 'Swarez' Hauksson.
We're proud to premiere the first trailer for the picture here at Twitch and if the style of the poster to the left seems familiar that'd be because it's the product of our own buxom beauty, Omar 'Swarez' Hauksson.
- 8/24/2010
- Screen Anarchy
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