Majid Majidi, Ishaan Khatter & Malavika Mohanan attend the press conference of Opening Film ‘Beyond the Clouds’!
Panaji : 21st November 2017
After showcasing the movie, ‘Beyond the Clouds’ at the opening ceremony of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2017, the cast and crew of the movie featuring actors Ishaan Khatter and Malavika Mohanan, producers Punit Goenka (Zee Entertainment Enterprise, MD & CEO), Shareen Mantri, Kishore Arora, Reza Tashakkori and Sujay Kutty (Zee Studios Business Head) and director Majid Majidi attended the press conference of their film on 21st November, 2017.
‘Beyond the Clouds’ is an extension of Majidi's cinematic beliefs, the roots of which lie in human values, love, friendship and family bonding.
The film is a story of a brother and sister like Children of Heaven, with the difference being that the siblings are grownups and tackle greater conflicts with the backdrop of the bustling city of Mumbai. The film is a vindication of Majid Majid’s firm view that human emotions have no barriers of language and geography.
The acclaimed Iranian filmmaker, who is also the recipient of several prestigious awards, has made a film out of this country, an experience which he describes as “one waiting for years to happen”.
Majid Majidi says, “Working with the exceptionally talented cast and crew of India in ‘Beyond the Clouds’ has been an amazing experience. Ishaan and Malavika has done full justice to their characters and portrayed them very well. The subject of ‘Beyond the Clouds’ has got a universal appeal and I hope the subject resonates with audiences across the globe after its release.”
Ishaan Khatter informs, “It was a great learning and interesting experience working with all the stalwarts associated with ‘Beyond the Clouds’ including Majidi sir, Anil Mehta sir, Vishal Bhardwaj sir and A R Rahman sir. It’s indeed a strong team to be working with. Mr Majidi has the strong leadership qualities. It is incredibly empowering in the sense that there was so much to learn from all these talented people. For instance, working with Vishal sir and speaking his dialogues was surreal. Everybody worked in tandem with the same goal – to satisfy Majidi sir’s vision as a filmmaker.”
Sujay Kutty, Zee Studios Business Head, said, “Zee Studios has completed 25 years and it was a great experience collaborating with ‘Beyond the Clouds’ and what you see on screen is something extra ordinary with brilliant artists being part of the film including Vishal Bhardwaj, A R Rahman, Anil Mehta and our lovely cast Ishaan Khatter and Malavika Mohanan. We want to create content which people across the globe would like to see. The opening ceremony was brilliant and people really appreciated our film and we will strive to make such films.”
Malavika Mohanan said, “When it comes to working with a filmmaker like Majid Majidi, there was nothing to think about. What he brings to the screen is simply outstanding. So it was a no-brainer. I am a lover of cinema and passionate about it. I would like to portray interesting roles on screen and something that would challenge me as an actor. It was a blessing.”
The 48th Edition of IFFI is scheduled from the 20th to 28th of November, 2017 in the beach state of Goa.
Megastar Sridevi inaugurates Indian Panorama Section at the 48th International Film Festival of India!
Panaji : 21st November 2017
Megastar Sridevi, who celebrates 50 years in the Indian film industry this year, inaugurated the Indian Panorama Section of the 48th International Film Festival of India.
The inaugural ceremony scheduled on 21st November, introduced audiences to IFFI's official selection of 26 Feature & 16 Non-Feature films under the Indian Panorama 2017 category.
Sridevi, who made her presence felt at the opening ceremony of the festival, felicitated the renowned and upcoming filmmakers and presented to them certificates of participation at the Indian Panorama 2017.
Talking about the festival Sridevi said, “It is my honour to be with you all for the inaugural ceremony of the Indian Panorama. It’s one of the most exciting segments of the International Film Festival of India. Indian Panorama 2017 is a special selection of feature and non-feature multilingual films from various regions. The films of Indian Panorama have been chosen by the esteemed jury. Having worked in various industries over the last fifty years, this segment is something I am really excited about. It is my pleasure to declare the Indian Panorama 2017 officially opened.”
IFFI Festival Director Sunit Tandon adds, “It’s indeed a great pleasure to be with you all here at the Indian Panorama ceremony. It’s an integral part of IFFI and the aim of it is to select feature and non-feature films of cinematic and aesthetic excellence promoting films in India and abroad and the bilateral cultural exchange programmes and others. Over the years, Indian Panorama is proud to be associated with the best of cinema and we are proud to say that this year is going to be no exception.”
The 48th Edition of IFFI is scheduled from the 20th to 28th of November, 2017 in the beach state of Goa.
SUBHASH GHAI RELEASES SPECIAL EDITION OF FTII ACADEMIC JOURNAL "LENSIGHT" AT IFFI GOA.
“THERE IS NEED FOR MORE RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS ON FILM AND MEDIA. – SUBHASH GHAI
Panaji : 21st November 2017
Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) Pune released a special issue of its quarterly academic journal LENSIGHT in Panaji, Goa today to coincide with the ongoing International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa.
Subhash Ghai, renowned film maker and FTII alumnus launched the October-December 2017 issue of the prestigious journal on film and media which has been standing out for its scholarly content since last 26 years. Bhupendra Kainthola, Director FTII Pune and Amit Tyagi (Dean Films) were present at the launch.
"LENSIGHT journal publishes articles and research papers by film scholars, researchers, academicians and various other subject experts in the field from India and abroad. There's a need to have more such journals to broaden and deepen the understanding of cinema", said Subhash Ghai in his address.
Addressing the event, Bhupendra Kainthola said, "The theme that each practitioner resonates with is the universally important question of Reality and Imagination. This is what we deal with in Cinema, where the real challenge lies and also the joy of creation. This makes it a unique exercise in understanding the process, with its pains, joys, sorrows, difficulties in a transparent and vulnerable way, opening an intimate space for dialogue between the makers, and the lovers of cinema who wish to always know more."
Rajula Shah, FTII alumna has guest edited the issue. A sensitive film maker Rajula's work falls in the interstice of poetry, cinema and anthropology. She doodles, writes, makes books, installations, web portals and tends towards the constantly evolving, changing, mutating forms of creative practice.
Says Rajula Shah, "This being the academic journal of the film school, we have kept it focused on the ‘process’, ‘learning’, the ‘making’ of a film and a filmmaker. For this reason, it becomes imperative that we have the practitioners writing about it rather than the critics or theoreticians. Cinema has so many dimensions, that there is hardly anything that falls outside the domain of a filmmaker. And this issue has tried to project the multi-faceted aspect by inviting diverse voices from Film Direction, to Cinematography, Sound, Music, Art et al.”
‘LENSIGHT’ was launched in 1991 initially with a focus on technical articles to enlighten technicians about new technology and equipment used in filmmaking and video productions. It was repositioned in 2008 with emphasis on film-related articles especially on aesthetic values.
The special issue has diaries and notebooks of prolific makers, as testimony of their everyday practice. It also has essays, memoirs, articles, specially written. The contributors hail from our FTII's luminous alumni that include expats like Nandini Bedi, and important voices like RV Ramani as also musician of the high stature of Moushumi Bhowmik and even a neuroscientist based in the US. Hansa Thapliyal, Amit Dutta and Payal Kapadia, a current student at FTII whose film THE AFTERNOON CLOUDS was India's only entry to Cannes this summer.
The frames running on the edge of both pages are from early cinema and contemporary cinema, a wish to bring in the cinematic movement in to print, a remembering of a pre cinema device, in the manner of a flipbook that delights young and old equally.