HOME > NEWS & PRESS > Blog
- What to Watch: Shorts Program I – Something for Everyone
When: 2 Screenings to catch shorts: April 10, 7:00pm + April 12, 7:00pm The Deets on the Film: Quick Plot: Films so good we had to split them into 2 programs. These are 2013′s most engaging new voices, a collection of films ranging from experimental narratives to coming of age stories to fascinating docu-shorts- truly the best of the year. Quick Fact #1: AND AFTER THAT (TATPASCHAT), is a dark Indian short about a sudden change in behavior throughout an entire reform school, will be an IFFLA World Premiere. Quick Fact #2: Truly something for everyone, Shorts #1 has such diverse range as RAGS TO PADS, a short documentary about one man’s vision to change a village by producing disposable sanitary napkins, and the film HOMECOMING about intrigue and scandal linked to getting permission to go to an 8th grade dance. Quick Fact #3: THE QUEEN OF MY DREAMS a look at the beauties of Bollywood cinema in a queer light, is Fawzia Mirza’s directorial debut. Quick Fact #4: DOSA HUNT features every desi indie darling of today- from the minds behind Stereogum, Vampire Weekend, Das Racist and more- on their search for the perfect Indian snack. Who should go: True movie buffs, Hipsters and indie music lovers, [...] - EEGA and the “It factor”: A Programmer’s Diary
Annie Hollenbeck is new to IFFLA’s programming team this year. A festival professional, she has previously worked with LAFF, AFI FEST, and OUTFEST. Here she speaks about her favorite film of 2013. EEGA will be screened at IFFLA on Thursday, April 11 at 6:45 pm. Purchase tickets Share on Facebook There is no simple formula for how to work on film festival programming team. Screening hundreds of submissions, you make time in the mornings, during your lunch break, after work, the weekends – any waking moment where you can find an hour or two to sit down and dedicate your time to a film. And dedicate your time you must. Rather than watching a movie, you’re screening a film, looking for something remarkable that stands up and makes you take notice. A great film and a film you are passionate about programming often just has that “it factor”: there’s something inexplicably loveable or charming or devastating or disturbing or any sort of adjective other than ordinary. For me, that film was Eecha. Over the past several months, I watched dozens of films, some of them certainly better than others. When I put Eecha into my DVD player on what I [...] - “How I Discovered Bollywood”- A Cinema Diary By Tom Schnabel, KCRW
Tom Schnabel is a former music director of KCRW and current world music director of the Hollywood Bowl and Walt Disney Concert Hall. Here he reminisces on his relationship to Hindi film. Want to get your own Bolly Fix? Join us for a Yash Chopra Tribute edition of Bollywood By Night, featuring CHANDNI, SILSILA, and KABHI KABHIE. View the events on Facebook Purchase tickets: KHABI KHABIE- 4/14 @ noon SILSILA- 4/11 @ 9:15pm CHANDNI -4/12 @ 9:15pm “How I Discovered Bollywood” My first experience with Bollywood music came with a couple of cd’s back in the 1980s called Golden Voices from the Silver Screen, on a cool UK label called Globe Style. Vol 2 featured songs from the TV series Movie Mahal; the first volume featured classics from Lata Mangeshkar, her kid sister Asha Bhosle, Mohammed Rafi, and others. I was aware of the two sisters who held the Guiness World Record for most recordings. Lata was #1, Asha at #2. I remember leaving KCRW once back in the late 80s and pulling into a Chevron Station in Santa Monica to fill up, with a cassette of Lata playing. An attendant came over and said, “you know our divine Lata?”. [...] - What To Watch: A Doc for Diehard Cinephiles- CELLULOID MAN
When: April 14, 1pm The Deets on the Film: Director: Shivendra Singh Dungarpur Star: P.K Nair N Quick Plot: An exploration of the life and work of the founder of the National Film Archive of India. S Quick Fact #1: Regarded the ‘guardian of Indian Cinema’, P.K. Nair built a cinema archive film by film, in an environment where film preservation was viewed as unimportant. Out of over 1700 Indian films from the silent era, Nair was able to save 9. Quick Fact #2: The documentary took shape after director Dungarpur visited Nair and was dismayed to find the Archive in a poor state- rusting cans lying in the grass, thick cobwebs hanging from the shelves in vaults and Nair’s old office turned into a junkyard. Determined that this man’s legacy should not be forgotten, Dungarpur made almost a dozen pleas to convince the authorities to let him film Nair and the Archive. Quick Fact #3: The film features interviews with filmmakers and personalities who have been directly influence by Nair- Mrinal Sen, Naseeruddin Shah, Jaya Bachchan, Dilip Kumar, Yash Chopra, and many more. Quick Fact #4: When Nair retired in 1991, he had amassed a collection of over 12,000 films- 8,000 of which were Indian. [...] - What to Watch: Gender and Tradition Clash in Transgender Doc MOHAMMED TO MAYA
When: April 10, 9:15pm The Deets on the Film: Director: Jeff Roy Stars: Maya Jafer Quick Plot: A young woman’s personal journey to find peace and her true self, through gender reassignment. Quick Fact #1: The film was shot in two parts, with part 2 being funded via Kickstarter. Over one hundred backers helped the film surpass its $5,000 goal to finish the film. Quick Fact #2: Maya was raised as Mohammed, a devout young Muslim man from an Orthodox family who devoted his life to Islamic principles and practices. Through her transition, Maya also redefines and reevaluates her spiritual convictions. Quick Fact #3: The film follows its subjects through three countries: Maya’s native home of South India, her adopted one in Southern California, and Thailland where she receives her surgery. Quick Fact #4: A professional violinist, Director Jeff Roy holds a background in music, having previously studied ethnomusicology. His next project, part of mtvU/Fulbright Fellowship, follows the musicians and dancers of India’s LGBT community. Quick Fact #5: While specifically the story of a transgender Muslim Indian woman, the scope of the film is much more. Touching on the evolving struggles in Indian and Islamic societies regarding their LGBT populations, the film focuses on just what [...] - What to Watch: Civil Liberties Take A Focus in Court Drama SHAHID
When: April 13, 9:15pm The Deets on the Film: Director: Hansal Mehta Stars: Raj Kumar Yadav, Prabhleen Sandhu, Baljinder Kaur, Vipin Sharma, Mohb Zeeshan Ayyup Quick Plot: Based on true events surrounding the life of defense lawyer and human rights activist Shahid Azmi, who was murdered in 2010 at the age of 32 for his defense of a Muslim man accused of terrorism in Mumbai. Quick Fact #1: The film is produced by Anurag Kashyap, IFFLA’s homegrown talent. Coming to the festival in 2005 with BLACK FRIDAY, IFFLA found a home for the controversial film, and it went on to win the Grand Jury prize for best feature and put Kashyap on the map. Quick Fact #2: Mehta decided to make the film when he heard the posthumous reputation being cast on the film’s subject. “He was not alive to tell his side of the story…I decided to stand up for him.” Quick Fact #3: Much of the film’s dialogue is improvised. Quick Fact #4: The film premiered as a part of Toronto’s City to City:Mumbai program, where it was regarded as: “Mehta has transformed his camera into witness…SHAHID is as much a testament to a remarkable life cut tragically short as it [...] - What To Watch: Cricket Fever in BEYOND ALL BOUNDARIES
The Deets on the Film: Director: Sushrut Jain Stars: Sudhir, Akshaya and Prithvi Quick Plot: Exploring India’s national obsession with cricket, this doc follows three-die hard fans of the sport in the lead up to the 2011 World Cup. Quick Fact #1: The film boasts some inspiring characters. 18-year old Akshaya won’t let anything stop her from playing- be it gender norms, schoolwork, or even a broken ankle. Quick Fact #2: Batting since age 3, 12 year-old prodigy Prithvi is currently the best youth batsman in India, having broken all kinds of records, consistently scoring hundreds in inter-school competitions. He also captains an under-16 team with kids a few years older than him. Quick Fact #3: Homeless and jobless Sudhir meanwhile, doesn’t let his poverty interfere with his love of the game- he bikes around the country to watch his favorite teams play. Quick Fact #4: The director, Sushrut Jain, was born and raised in Mumbai, but came to the United States to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Economics at Ohio Wesleyan University. After working in San Francisco as an economist, Jain was drawn to storytelling and ended up at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles studying Film Production. Quick Fact [...] - What To Watch: MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN, Closing Night Gala
Closing Night- What’s the Deal?: Just like Opening Night, but with a Grad Night feel- awards are awarded, and the festival comes to an end so everyone parties like it counts! The Deets on the Film: Director: Deepa Mehta Stars: Seema Biswas, Rahul Bose, Shabana Azmi, Satya Bhabha, Shriya Saran, Anupam Kher Quick Plot: A lush historical fiction told through magical realism, a pair of children are born within moments of India’s independence, and grow up in a fractured nation with special psyching powers joining them. Based on Salman Rushdie’s renowned novel. Quick Fact #1: Regarded as the “Booker of Bookers” Rushdie’s 600-page epic novel won the Booker Prize in 1981, then went on to win the Best of Booker in 1993 and 2008. Quick Fact #2: The story features a lot of magic. All children born at the stroke of midnight on the eve of independence share a special telepathic connection that unites them. Quick Fact #3: The film was shot in Sri Lanka to prevent protests from fundamentalists on either side were the film shot in Pakistan or India. Quick Fact #4: A mainstay of Indian arthouse and parallel cinema, Seema Biswas is an alum several times over, appearing [...] - [director's notes from an indie set.] An Alumni Diary by Tanuj Chopra
Tanuj Chopra is an independent filmmaker who came to IFFLA in 2010 with his short film CLAP CLAP, a microcinema noir set in the streets of Chinatown. IFFLA also screened his short BUTTERFLY (2003) as well as co-sponsored his feature PUNCHING AT THE SUN (2006). From coffee to Assistant Camera to the politics of wearing hats, he dishes out tips on everything a young filmmaker should know regarding set life. Follow @ChopsFilms on Twitter -Stay away from those styrofoam bowls full of pretzels and trail mix at craft service – lotta fingers rummage through those things. - When waiting for a shot to go up, ask a grip for an apple box to sit on. If you’re cool, the grip will bring you a box for every camera setup. It will become your reminder to sit down and shut up until you’re needed. - Don’t go into hair and makeup when there are more than 2 actors getting ready. Someone will track you down if there’s a big question. Send the AD in for time checks, send a PA in to scope the scene but stay away. I know this requires elaboration but trust me here. - Stop and get your own cup of [...] - What To Watch: GANGS OF WASSEYPUR, Opening Night Gala
Opening Night- What’s the Deal?: A star-studded red carpet precedes the film which is then followed by a gala reception full of food, fun, and drinks. An Epic in Two Parts: GANGS OF WASSEYPUR is a contemporary classic split into 2 parts. Opening Night will screen Part I, while Part II will be screened the following day. A ticket to Part II is included in the purchase of all Opening Night tickets. The Deets on the Film: Director: Anurag Kashyap Stars: Manoj Bajpai, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Piyush Mishra, Richa Chadda, Reemma Sen, Nawazuddin Siddiqui Quick Plot: A mafia blood feud spanning generations lays the foundation for this left-of-Bollywood film that pays plenty of tribute to the conventions of mainstream Hindi cinema while simultaneously defying them. Quick Fact #1: It wooed Cannes and the international film community at large. The Hollywood Reporter and numerous press outlets went on to cover its screening as part of the Director’s Fortnight program. Post-Cannes, Anurag went on to be a jury member at Sundance 2013. Quick Fact #2: Quentin Tarantino is a big fan of Kashyap and his work- he even threw the filmmaker a birthday party in Venice. Quick Fact #3: Kashyap is IFFLA’s homegrown talent. Coming to the [...]
To read IFFLA's full blog, click here.
