Jio MAMI 17th Mumbai Film Festival with Star India October 29 to 5 November, 2015
Discovering India
Jio MAMI 17th Mumbai Film Festival with Star India
October 29 to 5 November, 2015
Jio MAMI 17th Mumbai Film Festival with Star India is the one festival in India that showcases the section, ‘Discovering India’, which is much appreciated for the spotlight it gives to films that link globally, and creatively, with India as a cinematic entity.
Mumbai, 27th October, 2015- ‘Discovering India’ screens feature films and documentaries that are international in character but linked to a recognizable Indian idiom. These films are by filmmakers either originating from India and now living elsewhere, whose heart and art echo back to their homeland. Or they are by international filmmakers who come to India’s locations to reflect its reality with new eyes.
2015 Jio MAMI’s ‘Discovering India’ presents five select films. Three films are from Canada and one each from Germany and the USA. Sami Khan’s “Khoya” is a World Premiere on an unusual journey of self discovery. Another, Sturla Gunnarsson’s “Monsoon”, an iridescent account of what India’s rainy season means to people all over the country, won the People’s Choice Award at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. Elisa Paloschi’s “Driving with Selvi” is an uplifting story of how an abused girl child can overcome all odds and emerge triumphant in life. From USA, Rucha Humnabadkar's “For Here or To Go” is a disarming portrayal of young people who have to face the decision whether greener pastures lie abroad or at home. From Germany, Neleesha Barthel’s “Marry Me!” is an amusing take on generational differences when it comes to those with Indian roots.
The five films together embrace the gamut of what India denotes to creative cinematic minds on the world scene.
Note: Screenings are at PVR ECX- Citi Mall, Andheri West and PVR:Phoenix Lower Parel, Theatre
For enquiries, publicity material, interviews contact Discovering India curator, Uma da Cunha <uma.dacunha@gmail.com>, 91 22 22826699, 22873513
------------------------------
Elisa Paloschi’s Driving with Selvi
2014/2015, Canada, 78 mins, Kannada
Screening dates
1st screening, Friday, October 30, 2.00 pm, PVR:Phoenix Lower Parel, Theatre Nix2
2nd screening Sunday, November 1, 11.00 am PVR ECX - Citi Mall, Andheri West
Attending Director Elisa Paloschi and protagonist Selvi
Selvi, typical of India’s patriarchal culture, is forced to marry at a young age, only to find herself in a violent and abusive marriage. She escapes considering suicide but choosing instead to board a bus, her life takes a turn, leading to her becoming South India’s first female taxi driver.
The film took ten years to make.
Canada-based photographer, filmmaker, producer Elisa Paloschi is drawn to stories with a human voice. Paloschi has produced diverse and multi platform content over the past decade. Her latest documentary feature “Embracing Voices” (2012) talks about Canadian jazz luminary Jane Bunnett.
------------------------------
Neelesha Barthel’s Marry Me!
2015, German, 94 mins, Hindi, English
Screening dates
1st Screening, Friday, October 30, 4.30 pm, PVR:Phoenix Lower Parel, Theatre Nix3
2nd Screening, Sunday, November 1, 1.30 pm PVR ECX1 - Citi Mall, Andheri West
Attending
Writer, Director Neelesha Barthel, actors Bharati Jaffrey and Arfi Lamba, from production company Bombay Berlin Filmproduction, Katharina Suckale and Ankur Singh
Kissy, a convinced single woman living in Berlin, wants nothing more to do with her Indian roots, but suddenly finds that she has to reckon with her feisty Indian grandmother who arrives at her doorstep with her own notions on how Kissy should lead her life.
Potsdam-Babelsberg based Neelesha Barthel’s career started with several internships at major film sets and as a freelance cinematographer, editor and director. Her documentaries include "En Why? See! " (1999) followed in 2002 with," Bling Bling "and" Fifty Fifty ". She then went on to study film direction at the University Film Babelsberg Konrad Wolf. Since 1995, Neelesha Barthel has also worked as an actress, her notable roles being in Pan Nalin’s "Samsara" (2001) and "Everyday Life" (2002 Telefilm). "Marry Me!" marks Neelesha’s feature film debut.
------------------------------
Rucha Humnabadkar's For Here or to Go
2015, USA/India, 105 mins, English, Hindi
Screening dates
1st Screening, Tuesday, November 3, 2.00 pm PVR:Phoenix Lower Parel, Theatre NIX 4
2nd Screening, Thursday, November 5 4.00 pm PVR ECX3- Citi Mall, Andheri West
Attending Director Rucha Humnabadkar, Writer/Producer Rishi Bhilawadikar, actors
Ali Fazal, Rajit Kapur, Amitosh Nagpal, Gaurav Dwivedi
Aspiring Indian tech entrepreneur Vivek Pandit working in California’s Silicon Valley is poised to get a plum job. When his employers find that his visa will expire within the year, they withdraw the offer. He finds himself battling the bizarre American immigration system for a chance to stay. Though returning to India grows tempting, a budding relationship with an Indian American girl hangs in the balance. Meanwhile, his eyes are opened to the similar struggles of his own roommates and those around him.
Rucha Humnabadkar moved to the US twelve years ago from India, and now lives in San Francisco. She has written/directed three English language plays and won the Young Achiever’s Award for contribution to theatre in Pune, India, 1999. She worked as AD/Art Director on Nagesh Kukunoor’s indie hits “Hyderabad Blues”, “Rockford” and “Bollywood Calling” Rucha has a Master's in Design from Carnegie Mellon University and has attended the San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking. Her short film “Arranged Marriage” features in the touring Smithsonian Asian Heritage exhibit Beyond Bollywood. Her debut novel Dance of the Fireflies, 2006, based on the lives of India's street children, received critical acclaim. For “Here or To Go?” is her first feature film
------------------------------
Sami Khan’s Khoya - World Premiere
2015, Canada, 82 mins, English
Screening dates
1st Screening, Saturday, October 31, 4.00 pm PVR:Phoenix Lower Parel, Theatre NIX3
2nd Screening Monday, November 2, 11.15 am PVR ECX5- Citi Mall, Andheri West
Attending Director Sami Khan, actor Rupak Ginn, Producer Karen Shaw
When his adopted mother dies unexpectedly, Roger Moreau loses the last tie he has to his Canadian upbringing and identity. He decides to travel to India to find his biological parents that gave him up for adoption more than two decades ago.
New York-based Sami Khan’s short films have screened at international film festivals including Toronto. He graduated from Columbia University with an MFA in Film where his thesis film “75 EL CAMINO” won faculty honours. In 2013, Sami was selected to participate in the Berlinale’s Talent Campus. He was selected for the Tribeca Film Institute’s All Access Fellowship and NBC Universal’s 2014 Director’s Fellowship.
------------------------------
Sturla Gunnarsson’s Monsoon
2014, Canada/France,106 mins, English
Screening dates
1st Screening, Tuesday, November 3, 2.15 pm PVR ECX3- Citi Mall, Andheri West
2nd screening Thursday, November 5, 4.00 pm PVR:Phoenix Lower Parel, NIX3
Attending Music Compsoer Andrew T Mackay
Part road movie, part spectacle, part human drama, “Monsoon”, a documentary is a cinematic journey into the terrain where nature, science, belief and wonder converge in one of the most astonishing and breathtaking landscapes on earth.
Sturla Gunnarsson was born in Reykjavik, Iceland. He studied English literature and film at the University of British Columbia. He has directed films for the National Film Board of Canada and for television. His feature films include “Such a Long Journey” (98), “Rare Birds” (01), “Beowulf & Grendel” (05), and documentary features ‘After the Axe” (81) “Force of Nature” (10) and “Monsoon” which won the People’s Choice Award at the 2014 Toronto International Festival.
------------------------------
Comments
Post a Comment