Indian actor Vipin Sharma is earning global acclaim for playing a trans character in Dev Patel’s feature directorial debut “Monkey Man.”
Sharma plays Alpha, the leader of a trans community known in India as hijras, who is instrumental in providing a new lease on life to Patel’s character when he’s down and out in “Monkey Man.”
Aamir Khan’s “Taare Zameen Par” (2007) was Sharma’s breakthrough role, and since then he has won plaudits for “Paan Singh Tomar,” “Gangs of Wasseypur” and “Shahid” (all 2012), “Raanjhanaa” (2013), “Raman Raghav 2.0” (2016), “Paatal Lok” (2020) and “Dear Jassi” (2023).
When director Anthony Maras offered Sharma a role in “Hotel Mumbai” (2018), starring Patel, the actor accepted. “He said, ‘It’s not a very big part, but it’s a very interesting part.’ I immediately took it because it was going to make me meet Dev who I really wanted to meet,” Sharma tells Variety.
Sharma plays Alpha, the leader of a trans community known in India as hijras, who is instrumental in providing a new lease on life to Patel’s character when he’s down and out in “Monkey Man.”
Aamir Khan’s “Taare Zameen Par” (2007) was Sharma’s breakthrough role, and since then he has won plaudits for “Paan Singh Tomar,” “Gangs of Wasseypur” and “Shahid” (all 2012), “Raanjhanaa” (2013), “Raman Raghav 2.0” (2016), “Paatal Lok” (2020) and “Dear Jassi” (2023).
When director Anthony Maras offered Sharma a role in “Hotel Mumbai” (2018), starring Patel, the actor accepted. “He said, ‘It’s not a very big part, but it’s a very interesting part.’ I immediately took it because it was going to make me meet Dev who I really wanted to meet,” Sharma tells Variety.
- 4/9/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Variety will honor Molly Ringwald with the Variety Creative Vanguard Award at the Miami Film Festival on Saturday, April 6. The award will be for her outstanding career achievements, earning acclaim from critics and audiences alike.
Ringwald will participate in a Q&a about her extensive work in film and TV with Variety Senior Awards Editor Clayton Davis.
“It’s important to remember that before Molly Ringwald was the iconic young star of John Hughes’ teen angst-driven comedies such as ‘Sixteen Candles,’ ‘Pretty in Pink’ and ‘The Breakfast Club,’ she first starred in Paul Mazursky’s contemporary update of Shakespeare’s ‘Tempest,’” said Steve Gaydos, Variety EVP of Global Content and Executive Editor. “This is important because the secret of Ringwald’s early success and career longevity is the simple fact she has always been one of American film and television’s most gifted and versatile actresses. Her dazzling work this...
Ringwald will participate in a Q&a about her extensive work in film and TV with Variety Senior Awards Editor Clayton Davis.
“It’s important to remember that before Molly Ringwald was the iconic young star of John Hughes’ teen angst-driven comedies such as ‘Sixteen Candles,’ ‘Pretty in Pink’ and ‘The Breakfast Club,’ she first starred in Paul Mazursky’s contemporary update of Shakespeare’s ‘Tempest,’” said Steve Gaydos, Variety EVP of Global Content and Executive Editor. “This is important because the secret of Ringwald’s early success and career longevity is the simple fact she has always been one of American film and television’s most gifted and versatile actresses. Her dazzling work this...
- 3/12/2024
- by William Earl
- Variety Film + TV
The Miami Film Festival has announced the lineup for its 41st edition, including “Thelma,” starring June Squibb, opening the event and Tony Goldwyn’s “Ezra” as closing night selection.
Goldwyn will be honored at the festival with the Art of Light award along with Alison Brie, while Greg Kwedar, director of “Sing Sing,” will receive the Impact Award.
The festival runs April 5-14, with Goldwyn in attendance for the April 13 closing screening of “Ezra,” which stars Bobby Cannavale, Rose Byrne, Robert De Niro, Vera Farmiga, Whoopi Goldberg, and Rainn Wilson.
“This year’s lineup spotlights exciting narrative programming, essential documentaries, and groundbreaking shorts, bringing an unbelievable host of films to our local community,” said James Woolley, Executive Director. “The Miami Film Festival is delighted to welcome our audiences back for another year of incredible screenings and inspiring conversations.”
“We are thrilled to be bringing this incredible slate of diverse and exciting films to Miami,...
Goldwyn will be honored at the festival with the Art of Light award along with Alison Brie, while Greg Kwedar, director of “Sing Sing,” will receive the Impact Award.
The festival runs April 5-14, with Goldwyn in attendance for the April 13 closing screening of “Ezra,” which stars Bobby Cannavale, Rose Byrne, Robert De Niro, Vera Farmiga, Whoopi Goldberg, and Rainn Wilson.
“This year’s lineup spotlights exciting narrative programming, essential documentaries, and groundbreaking shorts, bringing an unbelievable host of films to our local community,” said James Woolley, Executive Director. “The Miami Film Festival is delighted to welcome our audiences back for another year of incredible screenings and inspiring conversations.”
“We are thrilled to be bringing this incredible slate of diverse and exciting films to Miami,...
- 3/7/2024
- by William Earl
- Variety Film + TV
Dublin International Film Festival has unveiled its full programme for the upcoming edition, opening with the world premiere of Irish filmmaker Marian Quinn’s anti-war epic Twig.
This re-telling of Greek tragedy Antigone stars Sade Malone in the titular role and Brían F. O’Byrne, and is set in Dublin’s inner city, where an ancient city wall cordons off a neighbourhood which is rife with drugs. It is produced by Ireland’s Ruth Carter of Blue Ink Films and Tommy Weir for Janey Pictures.
Further Irish filmmaking talent showcased includes the previously announced closing night film, Pat Collins’ adaptation of...
This re-telling of Greek tragedy Antigone stars Sade Malone in the titular role and Brían F. O’Byrne, and is set in Dublin’s inner city, where an ancient city wall cordons off a neighbourhood which is rife with drugs. It is produced by Ireland’s Ruth Carter of Blue Ink Films and Tommy Weir for Janey Pictures.
Further Irish filmmaking talent showcased includes the previously announced closing night film, Pat Collins’ adaptation of...
- 1/22/2024
- ScreenDaily
A tale as old as time, and tragically a tale that was never meant to be. As the true story goes, Jaswinder “Jassi” Kaur haphazardly (one can say love at first sight) fell for Sukhwinder Singh Sidhu (nicknamed “Mithu”) but the forces tried in vain to keep them apart. Fast-forward two plus decades later and Tarsem Singh returned to his homeland to film Dear Jassi with fresh-faced tandem playing star-crossed lovers who can escape their fate but for a fraction of a second.
Plucked from obscurity, Pavia Sidhu and Yugam Sood play the unlikely pairing and let’s just say that cinema magic dust made its way onto set.…...
Plucked from obscurity, Pavia Sidhu and Yugam Sood play the unlikely pairing and let’s just say that cinema magic dust made its way onto set.…...
- 1/17/2024
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Following The Film Stage’s collective top 50 films of 2023, as part of our year-end coverage, our contributors are sharing their personal top 10 lists.
There was much to be thankful for in 2023. Besides new works by several legendary directors, there were personal opportunities that allowed me to spread a larger net and take stock of the cinema landscape from a more privileged vantage point. I got to attend the Cannes and Toronto film festivals for the first time and also became a voter for some key year-end awards. The experience of thus watching films, before most of my cinephile brethren, allowed me to contemplate how much campaigns and narratives can alter a film’s reception and trajectory.
What has come into sharper relief, and what is evident from the list below too, is that Cannes has the lock on much of the best product of the year––at least anything not...
There was much to be thankful for in 2023. Besides new works by several legendary directors, there were personal opportunities that allowed me to spread a larger net and take stock of the cinema landscape from a more privileged vantage point. I got to attend the Cannes and Toronto film festivals for the first time and also became a voter for some key year-end awards. The experience of thus watching films, before most of my cinephile brethren, allowed me to contemplate how much campaigns and narratives can alter a film’s reception and trajectory.
What has come into sharper relief, and what is evident from the list below too, is that Cannes has the lock on much of the best product of the year––at least anything not...
- 12/27/2023
- by Ankit Jhunjhunwala
- The Film Stage
Oscar winner Nicholas Cage received a Red Sea Honouree award
Zarrar Kahn’s Karachi-set thriller In Flames won the $100,000 Golden Yusr award for best feature film at the 2023 Red Sea International Film Festival, which announced its winners on Thursday evening (December 7).
A Canada-Pakistan co-production and Pakistan’s entry to the Oscars, In Flames is the story of a mother and daughter trying to survive after losing the family patriarch. It world premiered in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight.
Indian production Dear Jassi, directed by Tarsem Singh, won the $30,000 Silver Yusr. Based on the true story of an Indian couple who fell foul of the class system,...
Zarrar Kahn’s Karachi-set thriller In Flames won the $100,000 Golden Yusr award for best feature film at the 2023 Red Sea International Film Festival, which announced its winners on Thursday evening (December 7).
A Canada-Pakistan co-production and Pakistan’s entry to the Oscars, In Flames is the story of a mother and daughter trying to survive after losing the family patriarch. It world premiered in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight.
Indian production Dear Jassi, directed by Tarsem Singh, won the $30,000 Silver Yusr. Based on the true story of an Indian couple who fell foul of the class system,...
- 12/8/2023
- by Mona Sheded
- ScreenDaily
At the closing ceremony of the 3rd edition of the Red Sea Film Festival Thursday, which took place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in front of an audience that included Hollywood stars Nicolas Cage, Gwyneth Paltrow, Halle Berry, Jason Statham and Adrien Brody, the Golden Yusr for best film and a $100,000 cash prize went to Pakistani-Canadian horror film “In Flames,” directed by Zarrar Kahn.
The director said that the indie movie was shot for “just $300,000 — the size of a Red Sea Fund production grant.” He urged “everyone who gets a grant to go make a movie, because this was made for nothing.”
The Silver Yusr prize for best feature film went to Tarsem Singh for “Dear Jassi.” The film, an India/Canada/U.S. co-production, is based on the true story of a Canadian Punjabi woman who ran afoul of her family’s expectations when she chose to marry a working-class...
The director said that the indie movie was shot for “just $300,000 — the size of a Red Sea Fund production grant.” He urged “everyone who gets a grant to go make a movie, because this was made for nothing.”
The Silver Yusr prize for best feature film went to Tarsem Singh for “Dear Jassi.” The film, an India/Canada/U.S. co-production, is based on the true story of a Canadian Punjabi woman who ran afoul of her family’s expectations when she chose to marry a working-class...
- 12/7/2023
- by Nick Holdsworth
- Variety Film + TV
Zarrar Khan’s In Flames has picked up the Yusr Award for best competition film at the third edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The festival, which attracted such Hollywood stars as Will Smith, Johnny Depp, Chris Hemsworth and Sharon Stone, on Thursday evening unveiled the winners of its Red Sea competition honors, the so-called Yusr awards, as well as other prizes.
Khan’s Pakistani-Canadian horror pic that bowed in Cannes portrays a mother and daughter having to navigate loss, oppression and vulnerability after the death of the family patriarch. The debut feature is rendered as a ghost story as they must find strength in each other if they are to survive the malevolent forces that threaten to engulf them.
The Silver Yusr award for best feature went to Tarsem Singh’s modern day tragic drama Dear Jassi, which bowed in Toronto, where it won the 2023 Platform Prize.
The festival, which attracted such Hollywood stars as Will Smith, Johnny Depp, Chris Hemsworth and Sharon Stone, on Thursday evening unveiled the winners of its Red Sea competition honors, the so-called Yusr awards, as well as other prizes.
Khan’s Pakistani-Canadian horror pic that bowed in Cannes portrays a mother and daughter having to navigate loss, oppression and vulnerability after the death of the family patriarch. The debut feature is rendered as a ghost story as they must find strength in each other if they are to survive the malevolent forces that threaten to engulf them.
The Silver Yusr award for best feature went to Tarsem Singh’s modern day tragic drama Dear Jassi, which bowed in Toronto, where it won the 2023 Platform Prize.
- 12/7/2023
- by Georg Szalai and Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Will Smith, Johnny Depp, Sharon Stone among international guests in attendance.
The third edition of Red Sea International Film Festival opened on Thursday, November 30 with a ceremony that added local interests and humour to the standard festival event template.
Stars including Will Smith, Johnny Depp, Sharon Stone, Michelle Williams, Sofia Vergara, Diane Kruger and Ranveer Singh were in attendance at the 1,000-seat Grand Ballroom in the Ritz-Carlton Jeddah, for a one-hour ceremony prior to the world premiere of Yasir Alyasiri’s Saudi fantasy romance Hwjn. Screen’s review described the film as ”an entertaining, swashbuckling fantasy epic.”
Smith took his...
The third edition of Red Sea International Film Festival opened on Thursday, November 30 with a ceremony that added local interests and humour to the standard festival event template.
Stars including Will Smith, Johnny Depp, Sharon Stone, Michelle Williams, Sofia Vergara, Diane Kruger and Ranveer Singh were in attendance at the 1,000-seat Grand Ballroom in the Ritz-Carlton Jeddah, for a one-hour ceremony prior to the world premiere of Yasir Alyasiri’s Saudi fantasy romance Hwjn. Screen’s review described the film as ”an entertaining, swashbuckling fantasy epic.”
Smith took his...
- 12/1/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Though the Red Sea Film Festival will feature a slew of films from the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region – including 11 feature films from Saudi Arabia – there is a rich roster of international fare set to launch locally from Jeddah.
Kaleem Aftab, the festival’s director of international programming, says they received lots more submissions for this year’s third edition. He is particularly proud of the presence in competition of Indian-born auteur Tarsem Singh’s romancer “Dear Jassi,” the first film set in India by the flamboyant director of “The Cell,” and of Japanese master Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Venice prizewinner “Evil Does Not Exist.”
Peppered through various Red Sea sections are the Mena region premieres of other high-profile titles such as Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla”; Belgian-based Moroccan duo Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah flashy third feature “Gangsta”; British director James Marsh’s biographical film about Irish playwright Samuel Beckett...
Kaleem Aftab, the festival’s director of international programming, says they received lots more submissions for this year’s third edition. He is particularly proud of the presence in competition of Indian-born auteur Tarsem Singh’s romancer “Dear Jassi,” the first film set in India by the flamboyant director of “The Cell,” and of Japanese master Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Venice prizewinner “Evil Does Not Exist.”
Peppered through various Red Sea sections are the Mena region premieres of other high-profile titles such as Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla”; Belgian-based Moroccan duo Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah flashy third feature “Gangsta”; British director James Marsh’s biographical film about Irish playwright Samuel Beckett...
- 11/30/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival stands as testimony to the kingdom’s unwavering drive to become a film and TV industry powerhouse amid regional conflicts, political turbulence and societal changes.
The Israel-Hamas war caused cancellations of several movie celebrations across the Arab world, including the Cairo Film Festival and Tunisia’s Carthage Film Days. But Saudi’s rapidly growing fest is forging ahead undeterred with its third edition set to run Nov. 30-Dec. 9 in Jeddah, on the Red Sea’s eastern shore.
In early October, after the war broke out, “we were assessing the situation day by day,” recalls pioneering Saudi producer and philanthropist Mohammed Al Turki, the event’s CEO, who notes that Red Sea organizers at that point reached out to filmmakers in the Middle East and North Africa region for feedback “and they almost had a heart attack when we told them we might not continue.
The Israel-Hamas war caused cancellations of several movie celebrations across the Arab world, including the Cairo Film Festival and Tunisia’s Carthage Film Days. But Saudi’s rapidly growing fest is forging ahead undeterred with its third edition set to run Nov. 30-Dec. 9 in Jeddah, on the Red Sea’s eastern shore.
In early October, after the war broke out, “we were assessing the situation day by day,” recalls pioneering Saudi producer and philanthropist Mohammed Al Turki, the event’s CEO, who notes that Red Sea organizers at that point reached out to filmmakers in the Middle East and North Africa region for feedback “and they almost had a heart attack when we told them we might not continue.
- 11/29/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Dear Jassi arrives with echoes of Madonna’s 1989 hit “Dear Jessie” and its sugary promise of pink elephants and lemonade, but none of that turns out to be forthcoming in Tarsem Singh Dhandwar’s beautiful and brutal sixth feature. Instead, we have perhaps the most disturbing bait-and-switch since George Sluizer’s original iteration of The Vanishing, a Punjabi Juliet-meets-Romeo story that’s much harsher that any so-far-filmed version of West Side Story and a whole lot funnier. This dissonance takes a while to reveal itself, but when it does, the shock is visceral. The fact that almost everything is true is the killer blow, and the shockwave of that reverberates through the poignant final credits, a static shot that forces the audience, or maybe just simply dares them, to think about what they’ve just seen.
Immigrant stories have been big in 2023, but the troubling core of Dear Jassi is actually an emigrant story,...
Immigrant stories have been big in 2023, but the troubling core of Dear Jassi is actually an emigrant story,...
- 10/9/2023
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
A first clip has been unveiled for Tarsem Singh Dhandwar’s return to feature film direction, “Dear Jassi.”
Dhandwar, the filmmaker previously known simply as Tarsem, returned to the big screen and to his roots with the film which had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, where it won the 2023 TIFF Platform Award in an unanimous decision.
Written by Amit Rai (“Omg 2”) and based on the reporting of journalist Fabian Dawson, “Dear Jassi” is a modern-day tragedy inspired by the tragic true story of Jaswinder “Jassi” Kaur and Sukhwinder “Mithu” Singh Sidhu, told in a Punjabi folk style. In 1996 Punjab, India, Canadian-born Jassi (Pavia Sidhu) falls in love with Mithu (Yugam Sood), a rickshaw driver beneath her social status. Their attraction is pure and unconditional, but is it has to fight the dictates imposed by Jassi’s family and Punjabi society.
The film is currently seeking distribution,...
Dhandwar, the filmmaker previously known simply as Tarsem, returned to the big screen and to his roots with the film which had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, where it won the 2023 TIFF Platform Award in an unanimous decision.
Written by Amit Rai (“Omg 2”) and based on the reporting of journalist Fabian Dawson, “Dear Jassi” is a modern-day tragedy inspired by the tragic true story of Jaswinder “Jassi” Kaur and Sukhwinder “Mithu” Singh Sidhu, told in a Punjabi folk style. In 1996 Punjab, India, Canadian-born Jassi (Pavia Sidhu) falls in love with Mithu (Yugam Sood), a rickshaw driver beneath her social status. Their attraction is pure and unconditional, but is it has to fight the dictates imposed by Jassi’s family and Punjabi society.
The film is currently seeking distribution,...
- 9/22/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Director Tarsem Singh Dhandwar ominously warned audiences at the world premiere of his Punjabi-language debut that it was a much more serious affair than they might be expecting. After all, the Romeo and Juliet framing in the festival notes and the film’s title pointed towards a young-love romantic melodrama. Instead, what unfolds is a shattering real-life tragedy—appalling on a scale audiences might scarcely be able to imagine. Romeo and Juliet got off easy compared to what befalls Jassi & Mithu in this factual story that lays bare the terrifying cost of class divisions, caste discrimination, and patriarchy in societies worldwide.
Read More: Toronto International Film Festival 2023: 26 Must-See Films To Watch At TIFF
“Dear Jassi” comes to us as a doubly surprising film—being the first Indian film by Hollywood director Tarsem (as he has been credited and known throughout his career).
Continue reading ‘Dear Jassi’ Review: Tarsem Singh...
Read More: Toronto International Film Festival 2023: 26 Must-See Films To Watch At TIFF
“Dear Jassi” comes to us as a doubly surprising film—being the first Indian film by Hollywood director Tarsem (as he has been credited and known throughout his career).
Continue reading ‘Dear Jassi’ Review: Tarsem Singh...
- 9/18/2023
- by Ankit Jhunjhunwala
- The Playlist
“American Fiction,” Cord Jefferson’s blistering satire of race and media, captured the Toronto International Film Festival’s people’s choice award, bolstering its Oscars chances.
TIFF’s people’s choice award is considered to be among the best predictors of eventual awards success, though the 2023 festival hosted a weaker lineup than most years due to the writers and actors strikes that saw some prominent contenders skip a Canadian premiere. In the past, winners of the prize such as “Green Book,” “12 Years a Slave” and “Nomadland” went on to be named best picture at the Academy Awards. Other recipients, including “Belfast,” “La La Land,” “Jojo Rabbit,” and 2022’s winner, “The Fabelmans,” were all best picture nominees.
The people’s choice category was created in 1978. Seven recipients won best picture at the Oscars, with five of those victories coming in the past two decades.
Alexander Payne’s boarding school dramedy...
TIFF’s people’s choice award is considered to be among the best predictors of eventual awards success, though the 2023 festival hosted a weaker lineup than most years due to the writers and actors strikes that saw some prominent contenders skip a Canadian premiere. In the past, winners of the prize such as “Green Book,” “12 Years a Slave” and “Nomadland” went on to be named best picture at the Academy Awards. Other recipients, including “Belfast,” “La La Land,” “Jojo Rabbit,” and 2022’s winner, “The Fabelmans,” were all best picture nominees.
The people’s choice category was created in 1978. Seven recipients won best picture at the Oscars, with five of those victories coming in the past two decades.
Alexander Payne’s boarding school dramedy...
- 9/17/2023
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction picked up the top People’s Choice honor Sunday at the Toronto Film Festival, which wrapped up a 48th edition with little Hollywood star wattage amid the uncertainty of dual Hollywood strikes.
Jefferson’s feature directorial debut, an adaptation for Orion of Percival Everett’s 2001 novel Erasure, had its world premiere in Toronto at the Princess Alexandra Theatre on Sept. 8. MRC is the film’s studio and financier.
The American drama about U.S. racial dynamics portrays a Black academic, played by Jeffrey Wright, who grows frustrated that the only “Black books” that seem to find a wide (and white) audience are those that tread on stereotypes.
“My gratitude towards everyone who watched American Fiction [and] discussed it afterwards among friends and colleagues is endless. The film is now in your hands, and I’m so grateful that it was embraced in this way,” Jefferson said in a statement Sunday morning.
Jefferson’s feature directorial debut, an adaptation for Orion of Percival Everett’s 2001 novel Erasure, had its world premiere in Toronto at the Princess Alexandra Theatre on Sept. 8. MRC is the film’s studio and financier.
The American drama about U.S. racial dynamics portrays a Black academic, played by Jeffrey Wright, who grows frustrated that the only “Black books” that seem to find a wide (and white) audience are those that tread on stereotypes.
“My gratitude towards everyone who watched American Fiction [and] discussed it afterwards among friends and colleagues is endless. The film is now in your hands, and I’m so grateful that it was embraced in this way,” Jefferson said in a statement Sunday morning.
- 9/17/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“American Fiction” has won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, TIFF organizers announced at an awards brunch on Sunday.
The Orion/MGM film by first-time director Cord Jefferson is a barbed satire that stars Jeffrey Wright as a writer who, to his dismay, achieves enormous success after as a joke writing a book filled with what he feels are the worst and most pandering cliches of Black representation. In its review, TheWrap called the film “an outlandishly assured directorial debut, a beautifully modulated film that takes a great actor, Jeffrey Wright, and gives him a spectacular showcase.”
While the film did not come into the festival as one of its highest profile selections, it was an immediate sensation after its Friday night premiere at the Princess of Wales Theatre, drawing some of TIFF’s most positive reviews. It currently stands at 86% positive on Rotten Tomatoes...
The Orion/MGM film by first-time director Cord Jefferson is a barbed satire that stars Jeffrey Wright as a writer who, to his dismay, achieves enormous success after as a joke writing a book filled with what he feels are the worst and most pandering cliches of Black representation. In its review, TheWrap called the film “an outlandishly assured directorial debut, a beautifully modulated film that takes a great actor, Jeffrey Wright, and gives him a spectacular showcase.”
While the film did not come into the festival as one of its highest profile selections, it was an immediate sensation after its Friday night premiere at the Princess of Wales Theatre, drawing some of TIFF’s most positive reviews. It currently stands at 86% positive on Rotten Tomatoes...
- 9/17/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
After a two week run that included a slew of buzzy world premieres and screenings of previous favorites from the international festival circuit, the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival has come to a close. Toronto is often considered the unofficial kickoff to Oscar season (along with the Venice and Telluride film festivals), so the films that take home the coveted People’s Choice Awards often get an early boost for their award campaigns.
The top prize went to “American Fiction,” Cord Jefferson’s publishing industry satire that stars Jeffrey Wright as a novelist who finds massive success after writing a deliberately stupid novel about Black life. Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers” and Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron” were honored as the first and second runners up, respectively.
The MRC title could have a bright future at the Academy Awards, as 11 of the last 14 People’s Choice Award winners...
The top prize went to “American Fiction,” Cord Jefferson’s publishing industry satire that stars Jeffrey Wright as a novelist who finds massive success after writing a deliberately stupid novel about Black life. Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers” and Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron” were honored as the first and second runners up, respectively.
The MRC title could have a bright future at the Academy Awards, as 11 of the last 14 People’s Choice Award winners...
- 9/17/2023
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
Director Tarsem Singh has spilled beans on ‘Dear Jassi’; which is his first film to be shot in India. According to him, the film takes certain threads of inspiration from his own late mother, where he wondered why a Canadian woman of Indian heritage would plot to have her daughter abducted then murdered. ‘Dear Jassi’, ahead of its global release, was first premiered at the TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival), and it is touted to be a romance story, but also features grisly murder and violence.
Speaking to Deadline, Tarsem Singh said: “It is a love story, but with a grisly murder at its centre.”
‘Dear Jassi’ is inspired by the real-life honour killing of the Indo-Canadian beautician Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu in June 2000.
The incident saw thugs ambushing the Sikh couple of Jaswinder and her husband Sidhu, who dragged the young bride to a desolate farm in a Punjabi village and slit her throat,...
Speaking to Deadline, Tarsem Singh said: “It is a love story, but with a grisly murder at its centre.”
‘Dear Jassi’ is inspired by the real-life honour killing of the Indo-Canadian beautician Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu in June 2000.
The incident saw thugs ambushing the Sikh couple of Jaswinder and her husband Sidhu, who dragged the young bride to a desolate farm in a Punjabi village and slit her throat,...
- 9/16/2023
- by Agency News Desk
Director Tarsem Singh has spilled beans on ‘Dear Jassi’; which is his first film to be shot in India. According to him, the film takes certain threads of inspiration from his own late mother, where he wondered why a Canadian woman of Indian heritage would plot to have her daughter abducted then murdered. ‘Dear Jassi’, ahead of its global release, was first premiered at the TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival), and it is touted to be a romance story, but also features grisly murder and violence.
Speaking to Deadline, Tarsem Singh said: “It is a love story, but with a grisly murder at its centre.”
‘Dear Jassi’ is inspired by the real-life honour killing of the Indo-Canadian beautician Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu in June 2000.
The incident saw thugs ambushing the Sikh couple of Jaswinder and her husband Sidhu, who dragged the young bride to a desolate farm in a Punjabi village and slit her throat,...
Speaking to Deadline, Tarsem Singh said: “It is a love story, but with a grisly murder at its centre.”
‘Dear Jassi’ is inspired by the real-life honour killing of the Indo-Canadian beautician Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu in June 2000.
The incident saw thugs ambushing the Sikh couple of Jaswinder and her husband Sidhu, who dragged the young bride to a desolate farm in a Punjabi village and slit her throat,...
- 9/16/2023
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
Exclusive: Director Tarsem Singh thought of his own sainted mother as he tried to understand why a Canadian woman of Indian heritage would plot to have her daughter abducted then murdered.
It was to be a significant moment as Singh prepared to shoot Dear Jassi, his first feature shot in India, the land of his birth.
The riveting film played at TIFF, shocking audiences who thought they were going to watch a gentle love story. ”It is a love story,” Singh noted, but with a grisly murder at its center.
Dear Jassi is inspired by the real-life honor killing of Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu in June 2000.
Aided by a local policeman, thugs ambushed Jaswinder and her husband, dragged the young bride to a desolate farm in a Punjabi village and slit her throat on the direct orders of the girl’s mother, who was at the other end of a phone...
It was to be a significant moment as Singh prepared to shoot Dear Jassi, his first feature shot in India, the land of his birth.
The riveting film played at TIFF, shocking audiences who thought they were going to watch a gentle love story. ”It is a love story,” Singh noted, but with a grisly murder at its center.
Dear Jassi is inspired by the real-life honor killing of Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu in June 2000.
Aided by a local policeman, thugs ambushed Jaswinder and her husband, dragged the young bride to a desolate farm in a Punjabi village and slit her throat on the direct orders of the girl’s mother, who was at the other end of a phone...
- 9/16/2023
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
Tarsem Singh Dhandwar’s “Dear Jassi” starts with a declaration: This is a love story. Sikh singer Kanwar Grewal proclaims this directly to the audience while sitting in the lush fields of Punjab, visibly moved already by the the events about to be depicted. Over the next 132 minutes, Dhandwar weaves the stirring, tragic, and true journey of Jassi (Pavia Sidhu) and Mithu (Yugam Sood).
Jaswinder “Jassi” Kaur and Sukhwinder Singh “Mithu” Sidhu met in Punjab in the 1990s, where they quickly fell in love. “Dear Jassi” chronicles their courtship from that first serendipitous meeting and through years of love letters, phone calls, and a secret marriage. Dhandwar and his cinematographic collaborator Brendan Galvin instantly immerse viewers in the story, told through long takes and slow, steady panning that captures the stillness of rural India — and how love and hate can shake that peace to its very roots.
Sidhu and Sood...
Jaswinder “Jassi” Kaur and Sukhwinder Singh “Mithu” Sidhu met in Punjab in the 1990s, where they quickly fell in love. “Dear Jassi” chronicles their courtship from that first serendipitous meeting and through years of love letters, phone calls, and a secret marriage. Dhandwar and his cinematographic collaborator Brendan Galvin instantly immerse viewers in the story, told through long takes and slow, steady panning that captures the stillness of rural India — and how love and hate can shake that peace to its very roots.
Sidhu and Sood...
- 9/11/2023
- by Proma Khosla
- Indiewire
Directed by Hollywood director Tarsem Singh, ‘Dear Jassi’, the story of honour killing of Indo-Canadian woman Jassi Sidhu in Punjab in June 2000 for marrying a village boy against her family’s wishes, premiered at the on-going Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) here today.
Somewhat reminiscent of legendary love stories of Punjabi folklore, the film retells the tragedy of 24-year-old Jassi Sidhu who made the mistake of falling in love with Sukhwinder Sidhu alias Mithu, a kabaddi player of the same Sidhu clan, while visiting her mother’s village in Punjab.
Born at Maple Ridge near Vancouver, Jassi was murdered by her mother’s hired killers near Jagraon in Punjab while her husband was left for dead.
Opening with sufi poet Bulleh Shah’s ‘Kamli’, the film brilliantly recreates the tragic events of June 2000, beginning with the Indo-Canadian girl (played by Pavia Sidhu) falling in love with the rugged Punjab boy...
Somewhat reminiscent of legendary love stories of Punjabi folklore, the film retells the tragedy of 24-year-old Jassi Sidhu who made the mistake of falling in love with Sukhwinder Sidhu alias Mithu, a kabaddi player of the same Sidhu clan, while visiting her mother’s village in Punjab.
Born at Maple Ridge near Vancouver, Jassi was murdered by her mother’s hired killers near Jagraon in Punjab while her husband was left for dead.
Opening with sufi poet Bulleh Shah’s ‘Kamli’, the film brilliantly recreates the tragic events of June 2000, beginning with the Indo-Canadian girl (played by Pavia Sidhu) falling in love with the rugged Punjab boy...
- 9/11/2023
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
Tarsem Singh Dhandwar, the filmmaker previously known simply as Tarsem, is returning to the big screen and to his roots with “Dear Jassi,” which has its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival Sept. 10.
The new film is set in the 1990s and based on a real-life incident. It follows Indian origin Canadian Jassi (Pavia Sidhu), who on a visit to her ancestral village in Punjab, India, falls in love with Mithu (Yugam Sood). They commence an epistolatory romance but familial objections, with the threat of terrifying consequences, get in the way of their love.
Dhandwar rose to prominence through commercials and music videos. Dhandwar previously directed films “The Cell” (2000), “The Fall” (2006), “Immortals” (2011) and “Mirror Mirror” (2012). His last feature film was “Self/less” in 2015, and he directed NBC series “Emerald City” (2017). The filmmaker hails from the Punjab, but “Dear Jassi” is his first film set in India.
“I’m just known...
The new film is set in the 1990s and based on a real-life incident. It follows Indian origin Canadian Jassi (Pavia Sidhu), who on a visit to her ancestral village in Punjab, India, falls in love with Mithu (Yugam Sood). They commence an epistolatory romance but familial objections, with the threat of terrifying consequences, get in the way of their love.
Dhandwar rose to prominence through commercials and music videos. Dhandwar previously directed films “The Cell” (2000), “The Fall” (2006), “Immortals” (2011) and “Mirror Mirror” (2012). His last feature film was “Self/less” in 2015, and he directed NBC series “Emerald City” (2017). The filmmaker hails from the Punjab, but “Dear Jassi” is his first film set in India.
“I’m just known...
- 9/9/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The 67th BFI London Film Festival has unveiled the titles that will compete in its official, first feature, documentary and short film competitions.
Festival director Kristy Matheson said: “The films represented in each of these competitive strands offer audiences an exciting array of U.K. and global filmmaking voices and cinematic forms. We’re so proud to be showcasing each of these films and thank all the filmmaking teams in competition for sharing their films with us.”
Official Competition
“Baltimore”
“Dear Jassi”
“Europa”
“Evil Does Not Exist”
“Fingernails”
“Gasoline Rainbow”
“I Am Sirat”
“The Royal Hotel”
“Self Portrait: 47 Km 2020”
“Starve Acre”
“Together 99”
First Feature Competition
“Black Dog”
“Earth Mama” (U.S. Dir-scr. Savanah Leaf)
“Hoard”
“In Camera”
“Mambar Pierrette”
“Paradise is Burning”
“Penal Cordillera”
“The Queen of My Dreams”
“Sky Peals”
“Tiger Stripes”
“Tuesday”
Documentary Competition
“Bye Bye Tiberias”
“Celluloid Underground”
“Chasing Chasing Amy”
“A Common Sequence”
“Dancing On...
Festival director Kristy Matheson said: “The films represented in each of these competitive strands offer audiences an exciting array of U.K. and global filmmaking voices and cinematic forms. We’re so proud to be showcasing each of these films and thank all the filmmaking teams in competition for sharing their films with us.”
Official Competition
“Baltimore”
“Dear Jassi”
“Europa”
“Evil Does Not Exist”
“Fingernails”
“Gasoline Rainbow”
“I Am Sirat”
“The Royal Hotel”
“Self Portrait: 47 Km 2020”
“Starve Acre”
“Together 99”
First Feature Competition
“Black Dog”
“Earth Mama” (U.S. Dir-scr. Savanah Leaf)
“Hoard”
“In Camera”
“Mambar Pierrette”
“Paradise is Burning”
“Penal Cordillera”
“The Queen of My Dreams”
“Sky Peals”
“Tiger Stripes”
“Tuesday”
Documentary Competition
“Bye Bye Tiberias”
“Celluloid Underground”
“Chasing Chasing Amy”
“A Common Sequence”
“Dancing On...
- 8/29/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Barry Jenkins will head the jury for the competitive section.
Kristoffer Borgli’s Dream Scenario has been set as the opening night film for the Platform section at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) (Sept 7-17).
Barry Jenkins has been named jury chair for the competitive section, which according to the festival “champions bold directorial visions.” Other jury members are Nadine Labaki and Anthony Shim, whose Riceboy Sleeps won the Platform prize, which comes with an award of Cad $20,000, last year.
Among the other nine world premieres in this year’s section are Tarsem Singh Dhandwar’s Dear Jassi,...
Kristoffer Borgli’s Dream Scenario has been set as the opening night film for the Platform section at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) (Sept 7-17).
Barry Jenkins has been named jury chair for the competitive section, which according to the festival “champions bold directorial visions.” Other jury members are Nadine Labaki and Anthony Shim, whose Riceboy Sleeps won the Platform prize, which comes with an award of Cad $20,000, last year.
Among the other nine world premieres in this year’s section are Tarsem Singh Dhandwar’s Dear Jassi,...
- 8/2/2023
- by John Hazelton
- ScreenDaily
“Dream Scenario,” a bizarre comedy starring Nicolas Cage and directed by Kristoffer Borgli, will be one of 10 films competing in the Platform program at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, TIFF organizers announced on Wednesday.
The films will be competing for the Platform Prize, a $20,000 Cad award that will be given to the film chosen as the section’s best by a jury consisting of directors Barry Jenkins, Nadine Labaki and Anthony Shim (who won the Platform Prize last year for “Riceboy Sleeps”).
In a statement released by TIFF, programming director and Platform lead Robyn Citizen singled out “Dream Scenario,” which will serve as the section’s opening-night film, and said, “This surrealist satire-comedy has sharp, timely observations about social media culture — especially ‘going viral’ — and its impact on the way that we interact with others in our day-to-day life. Cage delivers some of his finest work.” She went on to say,...
The films will be competing for the Platform Prize, a $20,000 Cad award that will be given to the film chosen as the section’s best by a jury consisting of directors Barry Jenkins, Nadine Labaki and Anthony Shim (who won the Platform Prize last year for “Riceboy Sleeps”).
In a statement released by TIFF, programming director and Platform lead Robyn Citizen singled out “Dream Scenario,” which will serve as the section’s opening-night film, and said, “This surrealist satire-comedy has sharp, timely observations about social media culture — especially ‘going viral’ — and its impact on the way that we interact with others in our day-to-day life. Cage delivers some of his finest work.” She went on to say,...
- 8/2/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Kristoffer Borgli’s Dream Scenario comedy, starring Nicolas Cage with a hair transformation and Julianne Nicholson, will open the Toronto Film Festival’s Platform competition program with a world premiere.
The latest film from the director of Cannes gem Sick of Myself also stars Dylan Baker, Kate Berlant, Michael Cera, Dylan Gelula and Tim Meadows, and is part of a competitive program of emerging and established directors headed to Toronto with world premieres.
“This surrealist satire-comedy has sharp, timely observations about social media culture — especially going viral — and its impact on the way that we interact with others in our day-to-day life. Cage delivers some of his finest work,” Robyn Citizen, director, programming & platform lead at TIFF, said in a statement about choosing A24’s Dream Scenario as the opening film for the competitive sidebar.
Toronto unveiled 10 features with world premieres for the festival section where international films outside the Hollywood studio orbit compete.
The latest film from the director of Cannes gem Sick of Myself also stars Dylan Baker, Kate Berlant, Michael Cera, Dylan Gelula and Tim Meadows, and is part of a competitive program of emerging and established directors headed to Toronto with world premieres.
“This surrealist satire-comedy has sharp, timely observations about social media culture — especially going viral — and its impact on the way that we interact with others in our day-to-day life. Cage delivers some of his finest work,” Robyn Citizen, director, programming & platform lead at TIFF, said in a statement about choosing A24’s Dream Scenario as the opening film for the competitive sidebar.
Toronto unveiled 10 features with world premieres for the festival section where international films outside the Hollywood studio orbit compete.
- 8/2/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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