Most filmmakers only really get going when the pain of not making a movie finally boils over to the point where it exceeds the pain of making a movie. And once this pivotal point-of-no-return is reached, the accumulated velocity of ambition will not allow petty inconveniences to impede the ultimate realization of its goal. Not even a punishing lack of start-up capital–or even, it turns out, a torrential Southern California downpour choking the streets of LA to a frigid standstill.
So despite being rescheduled from February 6 due to an aggressive late-winter rainfall, Fi’s Filmmaker Tuesday session, The Evolution of Microbudget Filmmaking, finally happened last week on March 19, featuring a panel of four acclaimed indie producers and directors (not to mention Fi Fellows!) who have all managed to make big waves with their work despite microscopic production budgets. They were: Iram Parveen Bilal, Ron Najor, Gia Rigoli and Avril Speaks.
So despite being rescheduled from February 6 due to an aggressive late-winter rainfall, Fi’s Filmmaker Tuesday session, The Evolution of Microbudget Filmmaking, finally happened last week on March 19, featuring a panel of four acclaimed indie producers and directors (not to mention Fi Fellows!) who have all managed to make big waves with their work despite microscopic production budgets. They were: Iram Parveen Bilal, Ron Najor, Gia Rigoli and Avril Speaks.
- 3/27/2024
- by Matt Warren
- Film Independent News & More
The rise of quality in the entries of this list becomes evident every year, with movies from countries such as Israel, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Jordan finding a number of way outs through festivals and streamers, winning awards all over. Of course, Iran still heads the region, as its biggest movie industry, but the biggest surprise this year came from Sri Lanka, which produced three films of true quality.
Without further ado, here are the best West-Central Asian (rest of Asia one could say) films of 2023, in random order. Some films may have premiered in 2022, but since they mostly circulated in 2023, we decided to include them.
20. Under the Sky of Damascus by Heba Khaled, Talal Derki, Ali Wajeeh (Syria)
“Under the Sky of Damascus” is a great documentary, a testament to the quality and the impact of the medium, and a movie that truly deserved the International Competition Golden...
Without further ado, here are the best West-Central Asian (rest of Asia one could say) films of 2023, in random order. Some films may have premiered in 2022, but since they mostly circulated in 2023, we decided to include them.
20. Under the Sky of Damascus by Heba Khaled, Talal Derki, Ali Wajeeh (Syria)
“Under the Sky of Damascus” is a great documentary, a testament to the quality and the impact of the medium, and a movie that truly deserved the International Competition Golden...
- 1/4/2024
- by AMP Group
- AsianMoviePulse
Click on the titles for the full articles
Film Review: Snow in Midsummer (2023) by Keat Aun Chong
“Snow in Midsummer” is a film that will appeal more to the Malay audience, particularly the ones who have some knowledge of the elements mentioned above, but also to those who can enjoy movies without understanding them fully. And the truth is, that there is enough artistry and beauty here to allow just that. (Panos Kotzathanasis)
Interview with Keat Aun Chong Interview with Park Ki-yong Interview with Yasna Mirtahmasb and Parviz Shahbazi Film Review: Wakhri (2023) by Iram Parveen Bilal
Iram Parveen Bilal does one very smart thing with the film, essentially mirroring her protagonist's persona. She fills the screen with impressive colors, intriguing frames, rather entertaining music, and a truly charismatic protagonist who clearly draws utmost attention every time she appears on screen, either as Noor or Wakhri. This choice allows her to...
Film Review: Snow in Midsummer (2023) by Keat Aun Chong
“Snow in Midsummer” is a film that will appeal more to the Malay audience, particularly the ones who have some knowledge of the elements mentioned above, but also to those who can enjoy movies without understanding them fully. And the truth is, that there is enough artistry and beauty here to allow just that. (Panos Kotzathanasis)
Interview with Keat Aun Chong Interview with Park Ki-yong Interview with Yasna Mirtahmasb and Parviz Shahbazi Film Review: Wakhri (2023) by Iram Parveen Bilal
Iram Parveen Bilal does one very smart thing with the film, essentially mirroring her protagonist's persona. She fills the screen with impressive colors, intriguing frames, rather entertaining music, and a truly charismatic protagonist who clearly draws utmost attention every time she appears on screen, either as Noor or Wakhri. This choice allows her to...
- 12/12/2023
- by AMP Group
- AsianMoviePulse
Inspired by the story of social media star Qandeel Baloch, who was murdered by her brother in 2016 for what he deemed bringing dishonor on her family through online posts that would be considered mild by Western standards, “Wakhri” is a film that leans on its impressive visuals in order to make it rather pointed comments. It is also worth mentioning that it has just passed government censors in Pakistan, and will be released in the country starting January.
Wakhri is screening at Red Sea Film Festival
Noor is a young widow who teaches in a school in Karachi, with her life goal being to raise funds for an all-girls school in Lahore, fed up by the intense patriarchy of the local society, who has, among other things, girls of school age being part of arranged marriages. Gucci, her cross-dressing best friend is the only real support she has in life,...
Wakhri is screening at Red Sea Film Festival
Noor is a young widow who teaches in a school in Karachi, with her life goal being to raise funds for an all-girls school in Lahore, fed up by the intense patriarchy of the local society, who has, among other things, girls of school age being part of arranged marriages. Gucci, her cross-dressing best friend is the only real support she has in life,...
- 12/9/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
A Pakistani film that challenges regional cultural stereotypes of women and trans-people is to get a local theatrical release following its world premiere at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival.
“Wakhri: One of a Kind” by Los Angeles-based, Pakistan-born writer-director Iram Parveen Bilal, has been passed by government censors in Islamabad and is due to be released in cinemas by Karachi-based distributor Mandviwalla Entertainment on Jan. 5, 2024.
The film — which is inspired by the “brave spirits” of women who have challenged the patriarchy in Pakistan, including social media star Qandeel Baloch, who was murdered by her brother in 2016 for what he deemed bringing dishonor on her family through online posts that would be considered mild by Western standards — features strong performances by its two debut leads, Faryal Mehmood — who plays Noor, a young widow trying to raise funds for a new girls’ school – and Gulshan Majeed, as Gucchi, her cross-dressing best friend.
“Wakhri: One of a Kind” by Los Angeles-based, Pakistan-born writer-director Iram Parveen Bilal, has been passed by government censors in Islamabad and is due to be released in cinemas by Karachi-based distributor Mandviwalla Entertainment on Jan. 5, 2024.
The film — which is inspired by the “brave spirits” of women who have challenged the patriarchy in Pakistan, including social media star Qandeel Baloch, who was murdered by her brother in 2016 for what he deemed bringing dishonor on her family through online posts that would be considered mild by Western standards — features strong performances by its two debut leads, Faryal Mehmood — who plays Noor, a young widow trying to raise funds for a new girls’ school – and Gulshan Majeed, as Gucchi, her cross-dressing best friend.
- 12/4/2023
- by Nick Holdsworth
- Variety Film + TV
A first trailer has been unveiled for Pakistani-u.S. director Iram Parveen Bilal’s Pakistan-set “Wakhri: One of a Kind,” which will have its world premiere at the upcoming Red Sea Film Festival.
Bilal was named one of the directors to watch by the Alliance of Women Directors in 2020. Her previous film, “I’ll Meet You There,” was in the Grand Jury competition at SXSW in 2020 and was banned on its release in Pakistan.
“Wakhri” follows a widowed school teacher in Pakistan who becomes a viral sensation overnight when she accidentally unleashes her unabashed opinions on social media. This newfound fame as an unlikely influencer comes with its own challenges as she has to navigate archaic mindsets and secret identities while raising her 10-year-old son in a world where women’s rights to having a voice and owning space, physical or online, are a constant challenge.
The film is inspired...
Bilal was named one of the directors to watch by the Alliance of Women Directors in 2020. Her previous film, “I’ll Meet You There,” was in the Grand Jury competition at SXSW in 2020 and was banned on its release in Pakistan.
“Wakhri” follows a widowed school teacher in Pakistan who becomes a viral sensation overnight when she accidentally unleashes her unabashed opinions on social media. This newfound fame as an unlikely influencer comes with its own challenges as she has to navigate archaic mindsets and secret identities while raising her 10-year-old son in a world where women’s rights to having a voice and owning space, physical or online, are a constant challenge.
The film is inspired...
- 11/6/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Emmy award-winning Indian producer Apoorva Bakshi (Delhi Crime) has boarded The Glassworker, Pakistan’s first ever Hayao Miyazaki-style animated feature, as an executive producer.
Bakshi, who is producing through her Awedacious Originals banner, joins a growing team of supporters of the ground-breaking 2D hand-drawn project, directed by Pakistan’s Usman Riaz and produced through his Karachi-based Mano Animation Studios.
Spanish animation producer Manuel Cristobal is also on board the project, while Paris-based sales agency Charades picked up international rights after it was presented as a work-in-progress at Annecy International Animation Film Festival last year. The film is currently in post-production and scheduled for delivery in August.
Set in a location loosely inspired by Pakistan, the film revolves around a father and son who run the finest glass workshop in the country but find their lives upended by an approaching war in which they want no part.
A long-time...
Bakshi, who is producing through her Awedacious Originals banner, joins a growing team of supporters of the ground-breaking 2D hand-drawn project, directed by Pakistan’s Usman Riaz and produced through his Karachi-based Mano Animation Studios.
Spanish animation producer Manuel Cristobal is also on board the project, while Paris-based sales agency Charades picked up international rights after it was presented as a work-in-progress at Annecy International Animation Film Festival last year. The film is currently in post-production and scheduled for delivery in August.
Set in a location loosely inspired by Pakistan, the film revolves around a father and son who run the finest glass workshop in the country but find their lives upended by an approaching war in which they want no part.
A long-time...
- 5/21/2023
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
XYZ Films has unveiled the first clip from Cannes Directors’ Fortnight selection “In Flames,” a Pakistani-Canadian horror film directed by Zarrar Kahn.
The film, produced by Anam Abbas and executive produced by Shant Joshi, Todd Brown and Maxime Cottray, is part of XYZ’s New Visions slate. As revealed by Variety, XYZ had boarded the title last year.
In the Karachi-set film, after the death of the family patriarch, a mother and daughter’s precarious existence is ripped apart by figures from their past – both real and phantasmal. They must find strength in each other if they are to survive the malevolent forces that threaten to engulf them.
It is the first Pakistan-set film in Directors’ Fortnight since Jamil Dehlavi’s “The Blood of Hussain” was selected in 1980.
Kahn, who is now based in Canada, was born in and grew up in Karachi. “In Flames,” which is Kahn’s feature debut grew out of “Dia,...
The film, produced by Anam Abbas and executive produced by Shant Joshi, Todd Brown and Maxime Cottray, is part of XYZ’s New Visions slate. As revealed by Variety, XYZ had boarded the title last year.
In the Karachi-set film, after the death of the family patriarch, a mother and daughter’s precarious existence is ripped apart by figures from their past – both real and phantasmal. They must find strength in each other if they are to survive the malevolent forces that threaten to engulf them.
It is the first Pakistan-set film in Directors’ Fortnight since Jamil Dehlavi’s “The Blood of Hussain” was selected in 1980.
Kahn, who is now based in Canada, was born in and grew up in Karachi. “In Flames,” which is Kahn’s feature debut grew out of “Dia,...
- 5/19/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
U.S.-Pakistani director Iram Parveen Bilal has wrapped principal photography at Pakistan locations on her fourth film “One of a Kind” (aka “Wakhri”).
Inspired by and offering tribute to unapologetic social media influencers like the slain Qandeel Baloch, the film is set in the world of patriarchal social media trolling and the burgeoning underground scene of the so-called “misfits” in modern-day Pakistan. It follows a Pakistani schoolteacher who accidentally unleashes the power of social media, unabashedly challenging the patriarchy. As she tries to keep her online identity a secret, she’s gradually exposed to society’s dangerous underbelly and forced to manage the repercussions.
Bilal describes the project as a “grounded masala” film that promises thought-provoking subject matter whilst also featuring loud Punjabi-language club tracks and Urdu-language rap songs to dance and chant with.
Bilal was named one of the directors to watch by the Alliance of Women Directors in 2020. Her previous film,...
Inspired by and offering tribute to unapologetic social media influencers like the slain Qandeel Baloch, the film is set in the world of patriarchal social media trolling and the burgeoning underground scene of the so-called “misfits” in modern-day Pakistan. It follows a Pakistani schoolteacher who accidentally unleashes the power of social media, unabashedly challenging the patriarchy. As she tries to keep her online identity a secret, she’s gradually exposed to society’s dangerous underbelly and forced to manage the repercussions.
Bilal describes the project as a “grounded masala” film that promises thought-provoking subject matter whilst also featuring loud Punjabi-language club tracks and Urdu-language rap songs to dance and chant with.
Bilal was named one of the directors to watch by the Alliance of Women Directors in 2020. Her previous film,...
- 12/5/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Priyanka Chopra Jonas (“The White Tiger”), Richie Mehta (“Delhi Crime”) and Anurag Kashyap (“Sacred Games”) are among the luminaries who are part of Awedacious Originals’ slate.
Awedacious is a production company led by Apoorva Bakshi, one of the producers of Mehta’s International Emmy-winning Netflix series “Delhi Crime,” and Monisha Thyagarajan, who served as associate producer on the show.
Srishti Bakshi’s documentary “Women of my Billion,” which has just been announced as the winner at the Un Sdg Action Awards in their Changemaker category, has been boarded by Chopra Jonas and her company Purple Pebble Pictures. The film narrates the plight, dreams, rights and fight against all forms of violence, that unify the women of today’s India, via Bakshi’s epic foot journey of 3,800km over 240 days, from Kanyakumari (South India) to Kashmir (North India). Chopra Jonas will serve as presenter for the film, which is in distribution negotiations.
Awedacious is a production company led by Apoorva Bakshi, one of the producers of Mehta’s International Emmy-winning Netflix series “Delhi Crime,” and Monisha Thyagarajan, who served as associate producer on the show.
Srishti Bakshi’s documentary “Women of my Billion,” which has just been announced as the winner at the Un Sdg Action Awards in their Changemaker category, has been boarded by Chopra Jonas and her company Purple Pebble Pictures. The film narrates the plight, dreams, rights and fight against all forms of violence, that unify the women of today’s India, via Bakshi’s epic foot journey of 3,800km over 240 days, from Kanyakumari (South India) to Kashmir (North India). Chopra Jonas will serve as presenter for the film, which is in distribution negotiations.
- 10/7/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Projects selected from 15 countries.
South Korea’s Busan International Film Festival (Biff) has unveiled the 29 titles selected for the 2022 Asian Project Market (Apm).
The film financing event that runs as part of Biff’s Asian Contents and Film Market will return in-person from October 9-11, after taking place as a hybrid event last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
From this year, Apm has excluded non-Asian projects to provide more focused support for Asian projects, which must be submitted by directors who have made at least one short or full-length feature as well as producers who have been involved with at least one feature.
South Korea’s Busan International Film Festival (Biff) has unveiled the 29 titles selected for the 2022 Asian Project Market (Apm).
The film financing event that runs as part of Biff’s Asian Contents and Film Market will return in-person from October 9-11, after taking place as a hybrid event last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
From this year, Apm has excluded non-Asian projects to provide more focused support for Asian projects, which must be submitted by directors who have made at least one short or full-length feature as well as producers who have been involved with at least one feature.
- 8/12/2022
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Busan International Film Festival (Biff) has announced the 29 projects selected for this year’s Asian Project Market (Apm), a core strand of the festival’s industry activities, including new works from Thailand’s Aditya Assarat, China’s Wang Qi, Vietnam’s Le Bao and Myanmar’s Maung Sun, whose producer Ma Aeint is currently in prison in Yangon.
Ma Aeint, who previously produced Maung Sun’s award-winning Money Has Four Legs, was recently sentenced to three years in jail with hard labor by Myanmar’s military junta, which took over the country in a brutal coup in early 2021. She was accused of “causing fear, spreading fake news or agitating against government employees”. She is attached as a producer to Maung Sun’s new project, Future Laobans, described as a drama about the “international dimension of organized crime.”
Assarat, an award-winning Thai director, is returning to feature-length directing after focusing on producing,...
Ma Aeint, who previously produced Maung Sun’s award-winning Money Has Four Legs, was recently sentenced to three years in jail with hard labor by Myanmar’s military junta, which took over the country in a brutal coup in early 2021. She was accused of “causing fear, spreading fake news or agitating against government employees”. She is attached as a producer to Maung Sun’s new project, Future Laobans, described as a drama about the “international dimension of organized crime.”
Assarat, an award-winning Thai director, is returning to feature-length directing after focusing on producing,...
- 8/11/2022
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
April 23, 2022 01:30pm Pdt – 10:45pm Pdt
NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (Nfmla) hosts its April Monthly Film Festival and annual InFocus: Asian Cinema program, spotlighting Asian filmmakers and stories from around the world across two shorts programs featuring work by emerging Asian and Asian-American talent in front of and behind the camera. Additionally, the day includes a selection of films from past editions of LA’s own Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (Iffla), as well as the LA premiere of Alana Waksman’s award-winning debut feature film, We Burn Like This, which follows a young Jewish woman confronted with rising antisemitism in her community.
The day begins with a retrospective shorts program from the archives of Nfmla partner, the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (Iffla). In advance of its upcoming landmark 20th Anniversary edition, which takes place April 28 – May 1, Iffla celebrates its remarkable history with an eclectic program of...
NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (Nfmla) hosts its April Monthly Film Festival and annual InFocus: Asian Cinema program, spotlighting Asian filmmakers and stories from around the world across two shorts programs featuring work by emerging Asian and Asian-American talent in front of and behind the camera. Additionally, the day includes a selection of films from past editions of LA’s own Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (Iffla), as well as the LA premiere of Alana Waksman’s award-winning debut feature film, We Burn Like This, which follows a young Jewish woman confronted with rising antisemitism in her community.
The day begins with a retrospective shorts program from the archives of Nfmla partner, the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (Iffla). In advance of its upcoming landmark 20th Anniversary edition, which takes place April 28 – May 1, Iffla celebrates its remarkable history with an eclectic program of...
- 4/5/2022
- by Suzie Cho
- AsianMoviePulse
Pakistan’s Central Board of Film Censors (Cbfc) has banned Pakistani-American filmmaker Iram Parveen Bilal’s ‘I’ll Meet You There’ a week ahead of its scheduled theatrical release in the country. The Cbfc found the film unsuitable for public exhibition on the grounds that it “does not reflect true Pakistani culture, portrays a negative image of Muslims” […]...
- 3/9/2022
- by Glamsham Bureau
- GlamSham
Pakistan’s Central Board of Film Censors (Cbfc) has banned Pakistani-American filmmaker Iram Parveen Bilal’s “I’ll Meet You There” a week ahead of its theatrical release in the country.
The Cbfc found the film unsuitable for public exhibition on the grounds that it “does not reflect true Pakistani culture, portrays a negative image of Muslims, wrong/dubious interpretation of Islamic teachings and our society which is against the norms of Islamic, social and cultural values of Pakistan.” The Cbfc has refused to grant a censorship certificate on these grounds.
The film was selected for SXSW’s narrative feature competition in 2020 before the spread of the coronavirus pandemic forced the festival’s cancelation. Mini-studio Level Forward acquired North American virtual theatrical rights and impact distribution privileges for the film and rolled it out in 2021.
A portrait of three generations of a Muslim-American family, “I’ll Meet You There” follows Majeed,...
The Cbfc found the film unsuitable for public exhibition on the grounds that it “does not reflect true Pakistani culture, portrays a negative image of Muslims, wrong/dubious interpretation of Islamic teachings and our society which is against the norms of Islamic, social and cultural values of Pakistan.” The Cbfc has refused to grant a censorship certificate on these grounds.
The film was selected for SXSW’s narrative feature competition in 2020 before the spread of the coronavirus pandemic forced the festival’s cancelation. Mini-studio Level Forward acquired North American virtual theatrical rights and impact distribution privileges for the film and rolled it out in 2021.
A portrait of three generations of a Muslim-American family, “I’ll Meet You There” follows Majeed,...
- 3/9/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment has awarded Iram Parveen Bilal a grant that will support production on her next feature, Wakhri (One Of A Kind).
The film slated for production in 2022 tells the story of a female Pakistani social media star who vows to change the status quo by craftily using her celebrity for socioeconomic impact. The project was invited to the 2019 Cannes Cinefondation L’Atelier Official Selection, an invitation-only opportunity presented to 15 filmmakers each year.
The grant for Wakhri came to fruition with support from the CAA Foundation’s Full Story Initiative, which looks to generate more authentic and equitable storytelling in film and television.
Bilal is an alum of Cape’s New Writers Fellowship who has made three features to date, including l’ll Meet You There. The project finalized through the aforementioned program was one of ten selected for the 2020 SXSW Film Festival’s Narrative Feature Competition,...
The film slated for production in 2022 tells the story of a female Pakistani social media star who vows to change the status quo by craftily using her celebrity for socioeconomic impact. The project was invited to the 2019 Cannes Cinefondation L’Atelier Official Selection, an invitation-only opportunity presented to 15 filmmakers each year.
The grant for Wakhri came to fruition with support from the CAA Foundation’s Full Story Initiative, which looks to generate more authentic and equitable storytelling in film and television.
Bilal is an alum of Cape’s New Writers Fellowship who has made three features to date, including l’ll Meet You There. The project finalized through the aforementioned program was one of ten selected for the 2020 SXSW Film Festival’s Narrative Feature Competition,...
- 12/13/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
"This is her home, these are her people." Freestyle Digital Media has revealed the first official trailer for an indie drama titled I'll Meet You There, which was originally supposed to premiere during last year's SXSW Film Festival before it was cancelled. A Muslim cop goes undercover at his estranged father's mosque while his daughter hides her passion for a forbidden dance, then uncovering a shocking family secret. From SXSW: "I'll Meet You There defies storytelling conventions and stereotypes in favor of multi-dimensional characters who display their humanity at every turn. Filmmaker Iram Parveen Bilal's thoughtful writing and directing have yielded enlightening performances in a story of family and betrayal that is both unique and universal." The film's big cast includes Faran Tahir, Nikita Tewani, Muhammad Qavi Khan, Sheetal Sheth, Shawn Parsons, Andrea Cirie, Nitin Madan, Michael Pemberton, Samrat Chakrabarti, and Rachit Trehan. I screened this last year and it's a mess,...
- 2/12/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Mini-studio, Level Forward has acquired North American virtual theatrical rights and impact distribution privileges for “I’ll Meet You There,” a portrait of three generations of a Muslim-American family. The company will roll out the film from Feb. 3, 2021.
The film was one of ten chosen from 1,305 submissions for SXSW’s narrative feature competition earlier this year before the spread of the coronavirus pandemic forced the festival’s cancelation.
It was directed by Pakistani-American filmmaker Iram Parveen Bilal, who made her feature debut with the acclaimed “Josh” that played the international festival circuit in 2013.
“I’ll Meet You There” follows Majeed, a Chicago policeman, and his teenage daughter Dua, a gifted ballerina, who are unexpectedly visited by Baba, Majeed’s long-estranged father from Pakistan. Majeed is given a career-making opportunity that he can’t turn down, but it requires him to use his father’s help to gain access to the local mosque,...
The film was one of ten chosen from 1,305 submissions for SXSW’s narrative feature competition earlier this year before the spread of the coronavirus pandemic forced the festival’s cancelation.
It was directed by Pakistani-American filmmaker Iram Parveen Bilal, who made her feature debut with the acclaimed “Josh” that played the international festival circuit in 2013.
“I’ll Meet You There” follows Majeed, a Chicago policeman, and his teenage daughter Dua, a gifted ballerina, who are unexpectedly visited by Baba, Majeed’s long-estranged father from Pakistan. Majeed is given a career-making opportunity that he can’t turn down, but it requires him to use his father’s help to gain access to the local mosque,...
- 12/17/2020
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The Coalition of South Asian Film Festivals will kick off Oct. 3 with Baba Azmi’s “Mee Raqsam” (I Dance) and close with Prateek Vats’ “Eeb Allay Ooo!” on Oct. 17. The centerpiece film will be Shirish Gurung’s “Lato Kosero” from Nepal. Azmi’s sister the veteran Hindi actress Shabana will present his film.
In-between more than 20 films and shorts will play at the fest, which will also host virtual programs including Q&As with talent and creatives. The films will be streamed on Vimeo’s Ott platform, while the Q&As can be seen on-demand.
The coalition, which comprises South Asian fests from Seattle; Chicago; Washington, D.C.; Mississauga/Toronto; Maryland; Montreal; and Vancouver, will also unspool blocks of shorts covering themes of interest to the South Asian diaspora, the Lgbtqi community, racism and love and relationships. Unable to host a festival on the ground due to the coronavirus, CoSaff...
In-between more than 20 films and shorts will play at the fest, which will also host virtual programs including Q&As with talent and creatives. The films will be streamed on Vimeo’s Ott platform, while the Q&As can be seen on-demand.
The coalition, which comprises South Asian fests from Seattle; Chicago; Washington, D.C.; Mississauga/Toronto; Maryland; Montreal; and Vancouver, will also unspool blocks of shorts covering themes of interest to the South Asian diaspora, the Lgbtqi community, racism and love and relationships. Unable to host a festival on the ground due to the coronavirus, CoSaff...
- 9/9/2020
- by Shalini Dore
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: After postponing its in-person festival that was originally slated for May, the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (Laapff) is ready to return — virtually, of course. Visual Communications (Vc) will present the 36th Annual Laapff from September 24 to October 31.
“Visual Communications is grateful for these storytellers who believe in the power of media to build and connect communities,” said Francis Cullado, Executive Director of Visual Communications. He added, “Vc thanks these artists and community members for utilizing their creative powers to oppose racism and amplify change.”
The fest will include the World Premiere of Mallorie Ortega’s musical dramedy The Girl Who Left Home as well as the U.S. Premiere of Bao Tran’s martial arts action-comedy The Paper Tigers.
Laapff will also include special screenings of Ursula Liang’s Down A Dark Stairwell, Iram Parveen Bilal’s I’ll Meet You There as well as Ramona S. Diaz...
“Visual Communications is grateful for these storytellers who believe in the power of media to build and connect communities,” said Francis Cullado, Executive Director of Visual Communications. He added, “Vc thanks these artists and community members for utilizing their creative powers to oppose racism and amplify change.”
The fest will include the World Premiere of Mallorie Ortega’s musical dramedy The Girl Who Left Home as well as the U.S. Premiere of Bao Tran’s martial arts action-comedy The Paper Tigers.
Laapff will also include special screenings of Ursula Liang’s Down A Dark Stairwell, Iram Parveen Bilal’s I’ll Meet You There as well as Ramona S. Diaz...
- 9/1/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: After unveiling its lineup for the sixth edition of the Bentonville Film Festival (Bff), the Bentonville Film Foundation has set panels, events and jury for the hybrid virtual/in-person event. The fest will take place August 10-16.
The panels for this year’s fest include “If She Can See It, She Can Be It” with Geena Davis, Oge Egbuonuvisible Portraits) and Katori Hall (P-Valley creator). The panel spotlights the best practices for executives and creators who have successfully created or worked with female-driven content.
Isabella Gomez (One Day At A Time), Sonay Hoffman (For Life), Marie Jacobson (Spt’s Gemstone Studios), Mary Molina (Party of Five) and Esta Spalding (On Becoming a God in Central Florida) will be panelists for “What’s Your Story? And Why We Need It Now More Than Ever”, which will feature a conversation of the importance of fresh, distinctive voices on TV.
The panels for this year’s fest include “If She Can See It, She Can Be It” with Geena Davis, Oge Egbuonuvisible Portraits) and Katori Hall (P-Valley creator). The panel spotlights the best practices for executives and creators who have successfully created or worked with female-driven content.
Isabella Gomez (One Day At A Time), Sonay Hoffman (For Life), Marie Jacobson (Spt’s Gemstone Studios), Mary Molina (Party of Five) and Esta Spalding (On Becoming a God in Central Florida) will be panelists for “What’s Your Story? And Why We Need It Now More Than Ever”, which will feature a conversation of the importance of fresh, distinctive voices on TV.
- 8/5/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
The Bentonville Film Festival set the lineup for its sixth edition Tuesday, with the festival co-founded by Geena Davis unveiling its spotlight and competition program of indie feature films, shorts and episodic titles.
The fest is set to run August 10-16 in the Arkansas city and is being engineered as a hybrid event because of coronavirus concerns, with digital screenings, panels and events to run alongside some on-the-ground premieres and conversations.
This year’s lineup includes four Spotlight pics including the U.S. premiere of Misbehaviour, starring Keira Knightley and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, which tells the true story of protest and controversy at 1970 Miss World contest, and Parkland Rising, a documentary that looks at the students of Parkland, Fl, who started an international movement to call attention to the need for better gun laws.
As per usual, this year’s lineup focuses on underrepresented voices in film. Of the 68 titles, more...
The fest is set to run August 10-16 in the Arkansas city and is being engineered as a hybrid event because of coronavirus concerns, with digital screenings, panels and events to run alongside some on-the-ground premieres and conversations.
This year’s lineup includes four Spotlight pics including the U.S. premiere of Misbehaviour, starring Keira Knightley and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, which tells the true story of protest and controversy at 1970 Miss World contest, and Parkland Rising, a documentary that looks at the students of Parkland, Fl, who started an international movement to call attention to the need for better gun laws.
As per usual, this year’s lineup focuses on underrepresented voices in film. Of the 68 titles, more...
- 7/22/2020
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
[Note: In the wake of the fest's cancellation this year, THR is reviewing select South by Southwest entries that elected to premiere digitally.]
The famous quote from 13th century Sufi mystic Rumi about the place beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right-doing provides the title of I'll Meet You There, writer-director Iram Parveen Bilal's domestic drama set in a Pakistani immigrant community in Chicago. But that philosophical foundation can't disguise the soapy plotting or uneven acting in this earnest melodrama about an aspiring ballerina, her widowed cop father and her grandfather, who arrives unannounced from Karachi after ...
The famous quote from 13th century Sufi mystic Rumi about the place beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right-doing provides the title of I'll Meet You There, writer-director Iram Parveen Bilal's domestic drama set in a Pakistani immigrant community in Chicago. But that philosophical foundation can't disguise the soapy plotting or uneven acting in this earnest melodrama about an aspiring ballerina, her widowed cop father and her grandfather, who arrives unannounced from Karachi after ...
- 3/20/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
[Note: In the wake of the fest's cancellation this year, THR is reviewing select South by Southwest entries that elected to premiere digitally.]
The famous quote from 13th century Sufi mystic Rumi about the place beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right-doing provides the title of I'll Meet You There, writer-director Iram Parveen Bilal's domestic drama set in a Pakistani immigrant community in Chicago. But that philosophical foundation can't disguise the soapy plotting or uneven acting in this earnest melodrama about an aspiring ballerina, her widowed cop father and her grandfather, who arrives unannounced from Karachi after ...
The famous quote from 13th century Sufi mystic Rumi about the place beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right-doing provides the title of I'll Meet You There, writer-director Iram Parveen Bilal's domestic drama set in a Pakistani immigrant community in Chicago. But that philosophical foundation can't disguise the soapy plotting or uneven acting in this earnest melodrama about an aspiring ballerina, her widowed cop father and her grandfather, who arrives unannounced from Karachi after ...
- 3/20/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“This was going to a transformative event, and with the cancellation, the filmmakers were left stranded and scrambling.”
SXSW film head Janet Pierson said on Friday (13) that despite the cancellation of the physical festival, staff will ensure all of this year’s competition sections can be judged via screener links.
At time of writing Screen understands almost every filmmaker in every section including the 10 narrative feature and 10 documentary feature competition categories had opted into the plan. Only one filmmaker of a short had not opted in and at time of writing organisers were waiting to hear back from the teams behind two high school shorts.
SXSW film head Janet Pierson said on Friday (13) that despite the cancellation of the physical festival, staff will ensure all of this year’s competition sections can be judged via screener links.
At time of writing Screen understands almost every filmmaker in every section including the 10 narrative feature and 10 documentary feature competition categories had opted into the plan. Only one filmmaker of a short had not opted in and at time of writing organisers were waiting to hear back from the teams behind two high school shorts.
- 3/13/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
The L.A. division of Women in Film on Monday announced nine new grantees for its 34th annual Film Finishing Fund.
Two of this year’s recipients have been selected at major film festivals: Sabrina Doyle’s narrative feature “Lorelei” will screen at the Tribeca Film Festival, while Iram Parveen Bilal’s “I’ll Meet You There” was selected for the recently scuttled SXSW fest. Parveen Bilal and “And She Could Be Next” co-director Grace Lee were both previous grantees, in 2012.
The Film Finishing Fund provides cash grants and in-kind production services to complete films that fit the established criteria of being created by, for or about women. The works-in-progress are viewed by a special jury of women in the industry who select the winning films.
Also Read: 15% in 2020?!: Female Directors Show No Gains on This Year's Studio Release Slates
This year’s nine grantees — including four receiving $25,000 grants from...
Two of this year’s recipients have been selected at major film festivals: Sabrina Doyle’s narrative feature “Lorelei” will screen at the Tribeca Film Festival, while Iram Parveen Bilal’s “I’ll Meet You There” was selected for the recently scuttled SXSW fest. Parveen Bilal and “And She Could Be Next” co-director Grace Lee were both previous grantees, in 2012.
The Film Finishing Fund provides cash grants and in-kind production services to complete films that fit the established criteria of being created by, for or about women. The works-in-progress are viewed by a special jury of women in the industry who select the winning films.
Also Read: 15% in 2020?!: Female Directors Show No Gains on This Year's Studio Release Slates
This year’s nine grantees — including four receiving $25,000 grants from...
- 3/10/2020
- by Thom Geier
- The Wrap
Exclusive: Women’s advocacy organization WeForShe has revealed its 2020 list of top unproduced, female-written TV scripts. Scroll down for the list in full.
According to organizers, the sixth WriteHer List came from hundreds of nominations by network and studio execs, showrunners, producers and directors.
Submissions of comedy scripts surged this year, the org said, with almost half the list being comprised of half-hour dramedy, or multi-cam scripts. Ya, procedural, sci-fi and family drama were also popular.
Some projects are already being set up, the firm said. Bliss is with Participant, CBS TV Studios is attached to Coma Girl from actress and writer Liz Vassey (who starred in and got a writing start on CBS’s CSI) and Rocket Jump is attached to produce Space Trash.
WeForShe created the annual list to aid executives in their search for women writers. All scripts must be written by a woman (or writing team...
According to organizers, the sixth WriteHer List came from hundreds of nominations by network and studio execs, showrunners, producers and directors.
Submissions of comedy scripts surged this year, the org said, with almost half the list being comprised of half-hour dramedy, or multi-cam scripts. Ya, procedural, sci-fi and family drama were also popular.
Some projects are already being set up, the firm said. Bliss is with Participant, CBS TV Studios is attached to Coma Girl from actress and writer Liz Vassey (who starred in and got a writing start on CBS’s CSI) and Rocket Jump is attached to produce Space Trash.
WeForShe created the annual list to aid executives in their search for women writers. All scripts must be written by a woman (or writing team...
- 2/12/2020
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Before Sundance gets underway, SXSW has unveiled the first wave of their film lineup. This year’s slate includes Judd Apatow’s Pete Davidson-led comedy The King of Staten Island, a new Spike Jonze-directed Beastie Boys documentary, an intriguing new film by Amy Seimetz, and more.
There’s also The Lovebirds, directed by Michael Showalter (The Big Sick) and starring Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani, whose comedic stylings coalesce astoundingly well in the first trailer. The duo play Leilani and Jibran, a couple who are accidentally embroiled in a murder mystery as a man claiming to be a cop commits murder with their car and leaves them with the evidence.
Ahead of a release on April 3, see the trailer below, followed by the SXSW 2020 lineup.
Narrative Feature Competition
Ten world premieres, ten unique ways to celebrate the art of storytelling. Selected from 1,305 narrative feature submissions in 2020.
Holler
Director...
There’s also The Lovebirds, directed by Michael Showalter (The Big Sick) and starring Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani, whose comedic stylings coalesce astoundingly well in the first trailer. The duo play Leilani and Jibran, a couple who are accidentally embroiled in a murder mystery as a man claiming to be a cop commits murder with their car and leaves them with the evidence.
Ahead of a release on April 3, see the trailer below, followed by the SXSW 2020 lineup.
Narrative Feature Competition
Ten world premieres, ten unique ways to celebrate the art of storytelling. Selected from 1,305 narrative feature submissions in 2020.
Holler
Director...
- 1/17/2020
- by Margaret Rasberry
- The Film Stage
The 27th edition of the SXSW Film Festival will feature a romantic caper starring Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani, a documentary about the Beastie Boys directed by Spike Jonze, a “hidden camera” comedy headlined by Tiffany Haddish and an autobiographical studio vehicle from Pete Davidson.
Thousands of moviegoers will flock to Austin, Texas, starting on March 13 for the annual gathering, which is a launching pad for major summer — or spring — studio releases, as well as smaller independent films and buzzy TV shows.
“King of Staten Island,” which stars Davidson, will open the fest. The movie is directed by Judd Apatow, who is no stranger to SXSW, having brought many of his hit projects — from “Knocked Up” to “Bridesmaids” — to screen first at SXSW.
Other high-profile titles that will premiere in Austin include “The Lovebirds,” a comedy from Michael Showalter, with Rae and Nanjiani trying to solve a murder mystery; “Bad Trip,...
Thousands of moviegoers will flock to Austin, Texas, starting on March 13 for the annual gathering, which is a launching pad for major summer — or spring — studio releases, as well as smaller independent films and buzzy TV shows.
“King of Staten Island,” which stars Davidson, will open the fest. The movie is directed by Judd Apatow, who is no stranger to SXSW, having brought many of his hit projects — from “Knocked Up” to “Bridesmaids” — to screen first at SXSW.
Other high-profile titles that will premiere in Austin include “The Lovebirds,” a comedy from Michael Showalter, with Rae and Nanjiani trying to solve a murder mystery; “Bad Trip,...
- 1/15/2020
- by Ramin Setoodeh
- Variety Film + TV
The 27th edition of the SXSW Film Festival has unveiled its robust slate of feature and episodic premieres which will kick off with its opening night film, Judd Apatow’s The King of Staten Island starring Saturday Night Live cast member Pete Davidson. The fest is set to run March 13-22 in Austin.
In The King of Staten Island, Davidson is a burnout living in the titular New York City borough with his mom played by Oscar-winning actress Marisa Tomei. The movie, which will make its world premiere at SXSW, also stars Bill Burr, Bel Powley, Steve Buscemi and Maude Apatow.
“Judd Apatow has consistently provided transcendent, exhilarating experiences at SXSW, starting with Knocked Up, then Bridesmaids, Trainwreck, Girls, The Big Sick, and his documentary May it Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers,” said Janet Pierson, Director of Film. “This March it’s our particular privilege to present his...
In The King of Staten Island, Davidson is a burnout living in the titular New York City borough with his mom played by Oscar-winning actress Marisa Tomei. The movie, which will make its world premiere at SXSW, also stars Bill Burr, Bel Powley, Steve Buscemi and Maude Apatow.
“Judd Apatow has consistently provided transcendent, exhilarating experiences at SXSW, starting with Knocked Up, then Bridesmaids, Trainwreck, Girls, The Big Sick, and his documentary May it Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers,” said Janet Pierson, Director of Film. “This March it’s our particular privilege to present his...
- 1/15/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
“The King of Staten Island,” written by Judd Apatow and Pete Davidson, as well as “Bad Trip” starring Tiffany Haddish and Eric Andre, have been announced as part of the 2020 SXSW Film Festival lineup.
“Pink Skies Ahead,” starring Mary J. Blige and Marcia Gay Hayden, “Violet,” starring Olivia Munn and Justin Theroux, Spike Jonze’s “Beastie Boys Story” documentary, and “The Love Birds,” starring Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani,” will also be debuting at the festival.
Alex Gibney will be returning with “Crazy, Not Insane,” a documentary about the minds of serial killers. “The King of Staten Island” is also the festival’s Opening Night Film.
Also Read: 'SNL': Pete Davidson's Parody of Michael Avenatti Gets a 'Total Loser' Review From the Attorney
In total, 102 features and episodics were announced on Wednesday — dozens of additional titles will be announced on Feb. 5. The 2020 program was selected from 2,316 feature-length film submissions. The...
“Pink Skies Ahead,” starring Mary J. Blige and Marcia Gay Hayden, “Violet,” starring Olivia Munn and Justin Theroux, Spike Jonze’s “Beastie Boys Story” documentary, and “The Love Birds,” starring Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani,” will also be debuting at the festival.
Alex Gibney will be returning with “Crazy, Not Insane,” a documentary about the minds of serial killers. “The King of Staten Island” is also the festival’s Opening Night Film.
Also Read: 'SNL': Pete Davidson's Parody of Michael Avenatti Gets a 'Total Loser' Review From the Attorney
In total, 102 features and episodics were announced on Wednesday — dozens of additional titles will be announced on Feb. 5. The 2020 program was selected from 2,316 feature-length film submissions. The...
- 1/15/2020
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Wrap
15 directors due to present their projects at the co-production market, including Mikko Myllylahti and Soudade Kaadan.
Finnish director and screenwriter Mikko Myllylahti and Syrian filmmaker Soudade Kaadan will be among 15 directors presenting their projects at the Cannes L’Atelier co-production meeting in May.
The event, organised by the Cannes Film Festival’s Cinéfondation, will run May 16-23.
Myllylahti, who co-wrote Un Certain Regard winner The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Mäki, will present his debut project The Woodcutter Story.
The project, which took part in the 2018 edition of the TorinoFilmLab, revolves around a man who loses everything when...
Finnish director and screenwriter Mikko Myllylahti and Syrian filmmaker Soudade Kaadan will be among 15 directors presenting their projects at the Cannes L’Atelier co-production meeting in May.
The event, organised by the Cannes Film Festival’s Cinéfondation, will run May 16-23.
Myllylahti, who co-wrote Un Certain Regard winner The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Mäki, will present his debut project The Woodcutter Story.
The project, which took part in the 2018 edition of the TorinoFilmLab, revolves around a man who loses everything when...
- 3/4/2019
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Min Bahadur Bham’s female survival road movie “A Year of Cold” and Siddiq Barmak’s family drama “The Postman” are among the eight projects selected from South Asia selected by Locarno’s Open Doors Hub co-production forum to be offered for international partnerships.
This year five of the projects are closely tied to gender-related issues, marking an emerging trend in a patriarchal-dominant region. Pakistan heads the selection with two projects.
“A Year of Cold” is the sophomore directorial effort of Min Bahadur Bham, whose coming-of-age debut “The Black Hen” hit Venice Critics Week in 2015 taking the Fedeora award, and was Nepal’s 2016 Oscar submission.
Nepal-based Shooney Films (“The Black Hen”) is behind “A Year of Cold.” Set against the background of the Himalayas, and a strongly patriarchal rural society, the feature turns on a Tibetan woman refugee forced for legal reasons to find her missing husband, accompanied by her now de facto husband,...
This year five of the projects are closely tied to gender-related issues, marking an emerging trend in a patriarchal-dominant region. Pakistan heads the selection with two projects.
“A Year of Cold” is the sophomore directorial effort of Min Bahadur Bham, whose coming-of-age debut “The Black Hen” hit Venice Critics Week in 2015 taking the Fedeora award, and was Nepal’s 2016 Oscar submission.
Nepal-based Shooney Films (“The Black Hen”) is behind “A Year of Cold.” Set against the background of the Himalayas, and a strongly patriarchal rural society, the feature turns on a Tibetan woman refugee forced for legal reasons to find her missing husband, accompanied by her now de facto husband,...
- 7/25/2018
- by Emilio Mayorga
- Variety Film + TV
The finalists for the first Raw Science Film Festival were screened at Caltech, which received a nod for its contribution to film during the recent Academy Awards, and the awards presented to winners in the Zanuck Theater at Fox Studios on December 8, 2014. The festival honors talented filmmakers, both student and professional, and gives them the opportunity to receive recognition in front of a worldwide audience of leaders in entertainment, science, and technology.
In addition to this, the jury is comprised of longstanding members of the Academy. Andy Hendrickson (Cto, Disney Animation Studios) accepted an award for "Big Hero 6," which recently became the winner of the Oscar for Best Animated Feature.
The 2014 Raw Science Film Festival was created by the Raw Science Foundation in association with Raw Science TV. The festival was made possible by the premiere sponsor and partner Science and Entertainment Exchange , which connects entertainment industry professionals with top scientists and engineers to create a synergy between accurate science and engaging storylines in both film and TV programming. $20,000 in cash prizes were awarded to winning filmmakers.
The festival was curated by Mitchell Block, the Executive Director of Programming for Raw Science TV, and produced by Yokeena Jamar.
The Jury included Academy Award winning & nominated filmmakers Luke Matheny (Best Short Film, “God of Love”), Randal Kleiser (“Grease” and “Honey I Blew up the Kid”), Martha Coolidge (“Real Genius” and “The Twilight Zone” TV Series), and John Singleton (“Boyz n the Hood” and “Tupac”), Liz Keim ( The Exploratorium), and Iram Parveen Bilal (“Josh”).
Presenters included Martha Coolidge and Martin Gunderson ("Real Genius"), S&Ee’s Kevin Grazier ("Gravity," "Battlestar Galactica"), Rick Loverd (Science and Entertainment Exchange), and filmmaker Iram Parveen Bilal.
Attendees included Queen Mother Dr. Delois Blakely (Un Ambassador of Goodwill to Africa, New Future Foundation, Inc.) and First Robotics Team 980 for a screening of the film "Spare Parts" starring George Lopez.
“Filmmakers inspire and balance our advancing society" said Keri Kukral, Founder/CEO of Raw Science. "We want to honor them."
The awards were specially designed and created by 3D Systems.
Watch a video of the award creation process here: Raw Science Awards
Film Festival Winners:
"Number 32," directed by Linnea Langkammer
"The Heart Thief," directed by Ella Rubeli
"Consider the Ant," directed by Emily Fraser
"Ballet Meets Robotics," directed by Ashley Rodholm
"Beyond the Spheres," directed by Meghdad Asadi Lari
"Nzara '76," directed by Jon Noble
"The Nostalgist," directed by Giacomo Cimini
"Habana," directed by Edouard Salier
"Channeling," directed by Andrew Thomas.
Special Awards:
Kip Thorne Gravity Award for Best Depiction of a Scientific Principle :
Kip Thorne ("Interstellar")
Technical Innovation in Media :
Andy Hendrickson and Walt Disney Animation Studios Team ("Big Hero 6")
Best Documentary :
Brian Knappenberger ("The Internet's Own Boy")
Best University Prank :
Dwight Berg a.k.a. “Calvin Techer” (Caltech & The Hollywood Sign, 1987)
The USA Science & Engineering Festival Youth Award :
Tim Eddy ("A-z of Zombies")
The series DIYsect by Benjamin Welmond and Mary Tsang was noted as one-to-watch. The Looking Planet by Eric Law Anderson was an audience favorite.
Best University Prank:
The identity of legendary prankster “Calvin Techer” (aka Dwight Berg) was revealed by his surprise appearance at the festival. Berg described (video) the technical details behind one of the most legendary college pranks of all time – the changing of the Hollywood sign to read “Caltech” in 1987.
In addition to this, the jury is comprised of longstanding members of the Academy. Andy Hendrickson (Cto, Disney Animation Studios) accepted an award for "Big Hero 6," which recently became the winner of the Oscar for Best Animated Feature.
The 2014 Raw Science Film Festival was created by the Raw Science Foundation in association with Raw Science TV. The festival was made possible by the premiere sponsor and partner Science and Entertainment Exchange , which connects entertainment industry professionals with top scientists and engineers to create a synergy between accurate science and engaging storylines in both film and TV programming. $20,000 in cash prizes were awarded to winning filmmakers.
The festival was curated by Mitchell Block, the Executive Director of Programming for Raw Science TV, and produced by Yokeena Jamar.
The Jury included Academy Award winning & nominated filmmakers Luke Matheny (Best Short Film, “God of Love”), Randal Kleiser (“Grease” and “Honey I Blew up the Kid”), Martha Coolidge (“Real Genius” and “The Twilight Zone” TV Series), and John Singleton (“Boyz n the Hood” and “Tupac”), Liz Keim ( The Exploratorium), and Iram Parveen Bilal (“Josh”).
Presenters included Martha Coolidge and Martin Gunderson ("Real Genius"), S&Ee’s Kevin Grazier ("Gravity," "Battlestar Galactica"), Rick Loverd (Science and Entertainment Exchange), and filmmaker Iram Parveen Bilal.
Attendees included Queen Mother Dr. Delois Blakely (Un Ambassador of Goodwill to Africa, New Future Foundation, Inc.) and First Robotics Team 980 for a screening of the film "Spare Parts" starring George Lopez.
“Filmmakers inspire and balance our advancing society" said Keri Kukral, Founder/CEO of Raw Science. "We want to honor them."
The awards were specially designed and created by 3D Systems.
Watch a video of the award creation process here: Raw Science Awards
Film Festival Winners:
"Number 32," directed by Linnea Langkammer
"The Heart Thief," directed by Ella Rubeli
"Consider the Ant," directed by Emily Fraser
"Ballet Meets Robotics," directed by Ashley Rodholm
"Beyond the Spheres," directed by Meghdad Asadi Lari
"Nzara '76," directed by Jon Noble
"The Nostalgist," directed by Giacomo Cimini
"Habana," directed by Edouard Salier
"Channeling," directed by Andrew Thomas.
Special Awards:
Kip Thorne Gravity Award for Best Depiction of a Scientific Principle :
Kip Thorne ("Interstellar")
Technical Innovation in Media :
Andy Hendrickson and Walt Disney Animation Studios Team ("Big Hero 6")
Best Documentary :
Brian Knappenberger ("The Internet's Own Boy")
Best University Prank :
Dwight Berg a.k.a. “Calvin Techer” (Caltech & The Hollywood Sign, 1987)
The USA Science & Engineering Festival Youth Award :
Tim Eddy ("A-z of Zombies")
The series DIYsect by Benjamin Welmond and Mary Tsang was noted as one-to-watch. The Looking Planet by Eric Law Anderson was an audience favorite.
Best University Prank:
The identity of legendary prankster “Calvin Techer” (aka Dwight Berg) was revealed by his surprise appearance at the festival. Berg described (video) the technical details behind one of the most legendary college pranks of all time – the changing of the Hollywood sign to read “Caltech” in 1987.
- 3/4/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
This is one of the most amazing festival stories I have heard yet. I met my friend Mitch Block (known to all industryites who care about documentaries and himself, worth a separate blog) on the circuit, and he introduced me to Keri Kukral and told me the two of them were organizing a science film festival at Cal Tech and Fox Studios to be held this December 6-8. They already have a VOD platform, website (www.rawscience.tv), YouTube channel, and are now selling tickets to the festival .
I am very partial to science and particularly to women in science because my family roots in science include the recent graduation of my niece from Stanford with her Master’s Degree in evolutionary biology.
Up to now, the only media-oriented science initiative I knew of was The Sloan Foundation which encourages science in media and in tandem, encourages women in science and media. On the festival front, there exist only a handful of science film festivals including Goethe Institute’s 10 year old Science Film Festival in October which showed 78 films from 27 countries from Se Asia, No. Africa and the Middle East; St. Petersburg’s International Science Film Festival World of Knowledge which began in 2006; the seven year old Imagine Science Film Festival in October featuring 89 films (5 features) from 20 countries which counts 35 women directors, Scinema in Australia since 2001, Jackson Hole Wildlife Ff, Pariscience Ff and a very few others .
Now we can add Raw Science TV and Raw Science Film Festival to be held for the first time ever at Cal Tech’s Beckman Auditorium with an awards ceremony at Fox Studios. Of course, Cal Tech is pushing this festival to its student body, but the public is cordially invited as well. Up to $40,000 in prizes will be awarded for science and technology videos and films.
Raw Science is a new online network that produces and distributes on-demand videos, news and original programming about science and technology. The festival is a collaboration with the Science and Entertainment Exchange of the National Academy of Sciences, the Caltech to present the first annual Raw Science Film Festival.
Award winners and runners-up will be screened at Caltech’s Beckman Auditorium on December 6, 2014 and the Awards Ceremony will be held in the Zanuck Theater at 20th Century Fox Studios on December 8, 2014.
Organized within a year’s time, this festival is aimed at a broad public and celebrates filmmakers inspired by science.
“We wanted to create a film festival that significantly supported filmmakers who share the wonderful world of science and technology through exceptional film and video content,” explained Mitchell Block, Executive Director of Programming for Raw Science. “Our goal is to find, present, award and promote the youngest generation of student filmmakers all the way to the seasoned professional filmmaker, and in any style of film imaginable, be it narrative, documentary short, feature.”
We know sci-fi has a broad appeal, so let’s start there and later discover who this amazing woman, Keri Kukral, is and how she ventured into mostly unoccupied space.
The festival will screen the finalists for the eight awards offered in the categories of Less Than Ten Minutes and More Than Ten Minutes by students and by professionals to show on campus at its 1,100 seat theater. 20th Century Fox’s 400 seat Zanuck Theater will host the Awards Ceremony which will screen the winners. There will also be special theatrical feature and doc awards presented.
The call for submissions went out through the campus and through various film groups like Ifp. Mitch Block, who is the director of programming, made the first selection which will be judged. The Raw Science Film Festival Jury includes Academy Award ™ winning & nominated filmmakers Luke Matheny (Best Short Film, “God of Love”), Randal Kleiser (“Grease” and “Honey I Blew up the Kid”), Martha Coolidge (“Real Genius” and “The Twilight Zone” TV Series) and John Singleton (“Boyz n the Hood” and “Tupac”), and Iram Parveen Bilal (“Josh”).
Now, let’s return to who is Keri Kukral:
As former professional ballet dancer and engineer, Keri Kukral has a deep appreciation for the merging of creative and technical fields. She was chosen to train on full scholarship by Ruth Page at 10 years old. She performed under the direction of Larry Long and the Chicago Tribune Charities, New York City Ballet dancer Bryan Pitts with Ballet Oklahoma, and as an apprentice at Joffrey Ballet. After retiring from ballet, Keri attended Purdue University where she received a degree in biomedical/electrical engineering. She spent over a decade developing medical devices including the “The Navigator,” one of the first devices approved to monitor blood glucose real-time continuously with wireless data transfer. Keri also managed R&D for products including the “Apollo" micro catheter for use in treating brain Avms.
Keri has always loved science media.
For the decade while she was working in engineering, she would finance special trips to interview people she cared about. “I first started jumping into science media by documenting a group of radio astronomers led by Bob Dixon in Ohio with an organization called Naapo. That eventually led to many others including Stephen Hawking; Michio Kaku of string theory fame; and Nikolai Kardashev (deputy director of the Russian Space Research Institute).
She would bring with her Donald Goldsmith, Raw Science’s science editor who cowrote “Origins” with Neil deGrasse Tyson and whose college advisor was Carl Sagan, and the cinematographer Paul Goldsmith (no relation) whose Nyu Film School’s classmate was Mitch Block and who introduced the two. It was Mitch who suggested the film festival.
She was aware that the audience for science was quickly leaving TV and migrating to the internet. It began to be clear to her that one could make a legitimate network on the internet, and so she moved from her hobby to her new entrepreneurial endeavor by winning a pitch contest held by Cal Tech and Idealab. They seed-funded the medical start-up where she was currently working.
The newly created VoD platform has just licensed its first film, “Particle Fever”, a feature film that took 12 years to make about the discovery of the Higgs Boson, popularly known as “The God Particle”. Netflix and Raw Science share this film and there are more in the pipeline.
Raw Science video-on-demand: Particle Fever
http://www.rawscience.tv/particle-fever-2/
VoD revenues will contribute to the creation of independent science content straight from the thinkers, unbiased and unfiltered. So, dear reader, why buy off of Netflix when buying from RawScience.tv will help support this most worthy endeavor?
Festival :
http://www.rawscience.tv/get-your-tickets-to-the-raw-science-film-festival-and-awards-ceremony-featuring-martha-coolidge-and-john-singleton/
Press on the Channel :
12/09/2013: http://www.cynopsis.com/12913-2/
12/12/2013: http://www.forbes.com/fdc/welcome_mjx.shtml
12/18/2014: http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/12/nasas-original-lunar-images-are-housed-in-a-former-mcdonalds/282471/
03/23/2014: http://www.streamingmedia.com/Articles/Editorial/Featured-Articles/Raw-Science-Bringing-Science-Education-to-the-Streaming-World-95466.aspx
09/08/2014: http://blogs.indiewire.com/sydneylevine/raw-science-film-festival-dec-6-7-2014-40-000-in-prizes-20140908
09/29/2014: http://www.ufva.org/news/195406/Raw-science-tv-film-festival-Offers-20000-in-Prizes-for-Student-Films.htm
10/08/2014: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/raw-science-launches-multimedia-network-180500253.html
10/09/2014: http://www.socaltech.com/raw_science_takes_on_science_tech_video/s-0057316.html
10/10/2014: http://www.labusinessjournal.com/news/2014/oct/10/la-launch-list-oct-10/...
I am very partial to science and particularly to women in science because my family roots in science include the recent graduation of my niece from Stanford with her Master’s Degree in evolutionary biology.
Up to now, the only media-oriented science initiative I knew of was The Sloan Foundation which encourages science in media and in tandem, encourages women in science and media. On the festival front, there exist only a handful of science film festivals including Goethe Institute’s 10 year old Science Film Festival in October which showed 78 films from 27 countries from Se Asia, No. Africa and the Middle East; St. Petersburg’s International Science Film Festival World of Knowledge which began in 2006; the seven year old Imagine Science Film Festival in October featuring 89 films (5 features) from 20 countries which counts 35 women directors, Scinema in Australia since 2001, Jackson Hole Wildlife Ff, Pariscience Ff and a very few others .
Now we can add Raw Science TV and Raw Science Film Festival to be held for the first time ever at Cal Tech’s Beckman Auditorium with an awards ceremony at Fox Studios. Of course, Cal Tech is pushing this festival to its student body, but the public is cordially invited as well. Up to $40,000 in prizes will be awarded for science and technology videos and films.
Raw Science is a new online network that produces and distributes on-demand videos, news and original programming about science and technology. The festival is a collaboration with the Science and Entertainment Exchange of the National Academy of Sciences, the Caltech to present the first annual Raw Science Film Festival.
Award winners and runners-up will be screened at Caltech’s Beckman Auditorium on December 6, 2014 and the Awards Ceremony will be held in the Zanuck Theater at 20th Century Fox Studios on December 8, 2014.
Organized within a year’s time, this festival is aimed at a broad public and celebrates filmmakers inspired by science.
“We wanted to create a film festival that significantly supported filmmakers who share the wonderful world of science and technology through exceptional film and video content,” explained Mitchell Block, Executive Director of Programming for Raw Science. “Our goal is to find, present, award and promote the youngest generation of student filmmakers all the way to the seasoned professional filmmaker, and in any style of film imaginable, be it narrative, documentary short, feature.”
We know sci-fi has a broad appeal, so let’s start there and later discover who this amazing woman, Keri Kukral, is and how she ventured into mostly unoccupied space.
The festival will screen the finalists for the eight awards offered in the categories of Less Than Ten Minutes and More Than Ten Minutes by students and by professionals to show on campus at its 1,100 seat theater. 20th Century Fox’s 400 seat Zanuck Theater will host the Awards Ceremony which will screen the winners. There will also be special theatrical feature and doc awards presented.
The call for submissions went out through the campus and through various film groups like Ifp. Mitch Block, who is the director of programming, made the first selection which will be judged. The Raw Science Film Festival Jury includes Academy Award ™ winning & nominated filmmakers Luke Matheny (Best Short Film, “God of Love”), Randal Kleiser (“Grease” and “Honey I Blew up the Kid”), Martha Coolidge (“Real Genius” and “The Twilight Zone” TV Series) and John Singleton (“Boyz n the Hood” and “Tupac”), and Iram Parveen Bilal (“Josh”).
Now, let’s return to who is Keri Kukral:
As former professional ballet dancer and engineer, Keri Kukral has a deep appreciation for the merging of creative and technical fields. She was chosen to train on full scholarship by Ruth Page at 10 years old. She performed under the direction of Larry Long and the Chicago Tribune Charities, New York City Ballet dancer Bryan Pitts with Ballet Oklahoma, and as an apprentice at Joffrey Ballet. After retiring from ballet, Keri attended Purdue University where she received a degree in biomedical/electrical engineering. She spent over a decade developing medical devices including the “The Navigator,” one of the first devices approved to monitor blood glucose real-time continuously with wireless data transfer. Keri also managed R&D for products including the “Apollo" micro catheter for use in treating brain Avms.
Keri has always loved science media.
For the decade while she was working in engineering, she would finance special trips to interview people she cared about. “I first started jumping into science media by documenting a group of radio astronomers led by Bob Dixon in Ohio with an organization called Naapo. That eventually led to many others including Stephen Hawking; Michio Kaku of string theory fame; and Nikolai Kardashev (deputy director of the Russian Space Research Institute).
She would bring with her Donald Goldsmith, Raw Science’s science editor who cowrote “Origins” with Neil deGrasse Tyson and whose college advisor was Carl Sagan, and the cinematographer Paul Goldsmith (no relation) whose Nyu Film School’s classmate was Mitch Block and who introduced the two. It was Mitch who suggested the film festival.
She was aware that the audience for science was quickly leaving TV and migrating to the internet. It began to be clear to her that one could make a legitimate network on the internet, and so she moved from her hobby to her new entrepreneurial endeavor by winning a pitch contest held by Cal Tech and Idealab. They seed-funded the medical start-up where she was currently working.
The newly created VoD platform has just licensed its first film, “Particle Fever”, a feature film that took 12 years to make about the discovery of the Higgs Boson, popularly known as “The God Particle”. Netflix and Raw Science share this film and there are more in the pipeline.
Raw Science video-on-demand: Particle Fever
http://www.rawscience.tv/particle-fever-2/
VoD revenues will contribute to the creation of independent science content straight from the thinkers, unbiased and unfiltered. So, dear reader, why buy off of Netflix when buying from RawScience.tv will help support this most worthy endeavor?
Festival :
http://www.rawscience.tv/get-your-tickets-to-the-raw-science-film-festival-and-awards-ceremony-featuring-martha-coolidge-and-john-singleton/
Press on the Channel :
12/09/2013: http://www.cynopsis.com/12913-2/
12/12/2013: http://www.forbes.com/fdc/welcome_mjx.shtml
12/18/2014: http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/12/nasas-original-lunar-images-are-housed-in-a-former-mcdonalds/282471/
03/23/2014: http://www.streamingmedia.com/Articles/Editorial/Featured-Articles/Raw-Science-Bringing-Science-Education-to-the-Streaming-World-95466.aspx
09/08/2014: http://blogs.indiewire.com/sydneylevine/raw-science-film-festival-dec-6-7-2014-40-000-in-prizes-20140908
09/29/2014: http://www.ufva.org/news/195406/Raw-science-tv-film-festival-Offers-20000-in-Prizes-for-Student-Films.htm
10/08/2014: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/raw-science-launches-multimedia-network-180500253.html
10/09/2014: http://www.socaltech.com/raw_science_takes_on_science_tech_video/s-0057316.html
10/10/2014: http://www.labusinessjournal.com/news/2014/oct/10/la-launch-list-oct-10/...
- 12/1/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Iram Parveen Bilal’s Josh was screened at the London Indian Film Festival 2013. The winner of the 2012 Women in Film Finishing Fund and the official selection for numerous film festivals all over the world, Josh is a film with a powerful message: people will not be oppressed if they choose not to be oppressed. Speaking to Iram Parveen Bilal after the screening, we asked her: If there is one thing that you want your audience to take away from the film, what would that be? She replied: ‘That one person is enough to start a change’. This is precisely what Josh is about. Inspired by true events, Josh is Fatima’s journey in finding the truth on about what happened to her nanny. Fatima represents a strong, brave and determined woman who not only wants to know the truth, but wants to bring the truth out in the open, for everyone else.
- 7/25/2013
- by Aashi Gahlot
- Bollyspice
Going on in the UK now and running through the 25th of July is the fabulous London Indian Film Festival. This festival showcases a world of Indian independent films that according to actress and brand ambassador Feryna Wazheir, ‘breaks new ground with its programme, giving young talent a real platform to showcase their work and for audiences to see another side of Indian cinema.‘ You have seen the British-Asian actress, who just signed a cool two-film deal with iRock in India, in the fabulous Sadiyaan – the Bollywood film on the India-Pakistan partition, that also starred Rishi Kapoor, Hema Malini and Rekha. In her second year, Feryna Wazheir says she is ‘delighted and honoured’ to be brand ambassador for Liff. See what else the lovely actress told us in this exclusive interview including her top 5 films she is most excited to see at Liff and more!
Is acting something you always wanted to do?...
Is acting something you always wanted to do?...
- 7/19/2013
- by Stacey Yount
- Bollyspice
Yesterday we gave you an overview about the exciting London Indian Film Festival that is running from July 18th to the 24th. Today we thought we would give you the full list of films and events that will be featured at the Beyond Bollywood film festival!
Films
B.A. Pass | Dir. Ajay Bahl | Hindi, Punjabi, with English subtitles
The Graduate meets film noir in this sizzling tale of seduction and betrayal where a young man is seduced by a gorgeous cougar who leaves him entranced, that is until she farms him out to entertain her lady friends with dangerous consequences. The film’s steamy trailer drew millions of hits on YouTube and the eroticism of the film has drawn the ire of India’s moral police.
Bombay Talkies | Dirs. Karan Johar, Zoya Akhtar, Dibakar Bannerjee, Anurag Kashyap | Hindi, Marathi with English subtitles | Closing Film.
Mumbai’s spectacular homage to 100 years of...
Films
B.A. Pass | Dir. Ajay Bahl | Hindi, Punjabi, with English subtitles
The Graduate meets film noir in this sizzling tale of seduction and betrayal where a young man is seduced by a gorgeous cougar who leaves him entranced, that is until she farms him out to entertain her lady friends with dangerous consequences. The film’s steamy trailer drew millions of hits on YouTube and the eroticism of the film has drawn the ire of India’s moral police.
Bombay Talkies | Dirs. Karan Johar, Zoya Akhtar, Dibakar Bannerjee, Anurag Kashyap | Hindi, Marathi with English subtitles | Closing Film.
Mumbai’s spectacular homage to 100 years of...
- 6/28/2013
- by Stacey Yount
- Bollyspice
Amit Kumar’s Monsoon Shootout will be the opening night film of the 4th edition of the London Indian Film Festival (July 18-25).
Closing the festival will be Bombay Talkies directed by Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee, Karan Johar and Zoya Akhtar. Both these films premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this year.
The centrepiece ‘In conversation’ on Saturday 20th July at the BFI Southbank, will be with Actor Irrfan Khan talking to award winning director of Senna, Asif Kapadia. Read Irrfan Khan to conduct Masterclass at London Indian Film Festival
Adoor Gopalakrishnan will conduct a Masterclass ‘Life in Pictures’ on July 19.
The winner of the annual Satyajit Ray short film competition will be announced at the end of the festival.
Complete list of films to be screened at London Indian Film Festival:
Monsoon Shootout by Amit Kumar
Bombay Talkies by Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee, Karan Johar and Zoya Akhtar
Pune...
Closing the festival will be Bombay Talkies directed by Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee, Karan Johar and Zoya Akhtar. Both these films premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this year.
The centrepiece ‘In conversation’ on Saturday 20th July at the BFI Southbank, will be with Actor Irrfan Khan talking to award winning director of Senna, Asif Kapadia. Read Irrfan Khan to conduct Masterclass at London Indian Film Festival
Adoor Gopalakrishnan will conduct a Masterclass ‘Life in Pictures’ on July 19.
The winner of the annual Satyajit Ray short film competition will be announced at the end of the festival.
Complete list of films to be screened at London Indian Film Festival:
Monsoon Shootout by Amit Kumar
Bombay Talkies by Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee, Karan Johar and Zoya Akhtar
Pune...
- 6/28/2013
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
Given the very few films which are being made in Pakistan today, a number of actresses from the country are now turning to neighbouring India for work in films. Humaima Malik, Meesha Shafi, Sarah Loren, Mehreen Syed, Mathira and Saeeda Imtiaz are just some the female artistes that are looking to establish themselves within the Bollywood film industry. Although many female actors have made the big move of searching for a break in Bollywood, male actors from Pakistan are apparently hesitant to do the same.
Pakistani filmmaker Iram Parveen Bilal has stated to the Indian press why there is now a rise in Pakistanis wanting to work in Bollywood, which has managed to establish itself as the second biggest film industry after Hollywood. “Given the current lack of film production in Pakistan, it is natural for actresses to seek opportunities in India. Art and artistes play a positive role in...
Pakistani filmmaker Iram Parveen Bilal has stated to the Indian press why there is now a rise in Pakistanis wanting to work in Bollywood, which has managed to establish itself as the second biggest film industry after Hollywood. “Given the current lack of film production in Pakistan, it is natural for actresses to seek opportunities in India. Art and artistes play a positive role in...
- 12/4/2012
- by Bodrul Chaudhury
- Bollyspice
Mumbai, Oct 29: Saying she had a "long love history with Mumbai", visiting Pakistani director Iram Parveen Bilal says late Bollywood veteran Yash Chopra, who had a "soft corner for Pakistan", was such a source of inspiration for her that after graduating in engineering she took the plunge into filmmaking.
The young director, who has made her first film after four years of arduous work, grew up watching Chopra's evergreen romances "Kabhi Kabhie", "Chandni" and the like.
"I have.
The young director, who has made her first film after four years of arduous work, grew up watching Chopra's evergreen romances "Kabhi Kabhie", "Chandni" and the like.
"I have.
- 10/29/2012
- by Amith Ostwal
- RealBollywood.com
Mumbai, Oct 23: Independent filmmaker Iram Parveen Bilal, whose debut feature "Josh" was the only fiction film from Pakistan to be screened at the 14th Mumbai Film Festival (Mff), feels her biggest challenge was to raise funds as the country's industry is not so developed and lacks "streamlined infrastructure".
"The fundraising for the film was hard since I had to do it independently and it took me one and a half years since it is a first feature and I don't have.
"The fundraising for the film was hard since I had to do it independently and it took me one and a half years since it is a first feature and I don't have.
- 10/23/2012
- by Leon David
- RealBollywood.com
Mumbai, Oct 23: Independent filmmaker Iram Parveen Bilal, whose debut feature "Josh" was the only fiction film from Pakistan to be screened at the 14th Mumbai Film Festival (Mff), feels her biggest challenge was to raise funds because as a first timer, she didn't have any track record.
"The fundraising for the film was hard since I had to do it independently and it took me one and a half years since it is a first feature and I don't have a.
"The fundraising for the film was hard since I had to do it independently and it took me one and a half years since it is a first feature and I don't have a.
- 10/22/2012
- by Lohit Reddy
- RealBollywood.com
The recipients of the Women In Film Foundation's 27th annual Film Finishing Fund grant program were announced on Wednesday by the foundation. Supported by Netflix, the Film Finishing Fund provides annual cash grants and in-kind production services to winners and finalists. The Netflix grants range from $25,000 to $50,000. The ten winning projects for the 2012 Film Finishing Fund include two narrative feature films, seven documentaries and one narrative short. This includes Iram Parveen Bilal for her narrative feature film "Josh (Against The Grain)," which tells the story of a nanny who is...
- 10/10/2012
- by Liza Foreman
- The Wrap
The Women In Film Foundation’s Film Finishing Fund (Wiff Fff) announce the recipients of their 27th annual grant program, which provides cash and in-kind services to ten chosen winners, among them seven documentaries, two features and one short film. The winners and their projects are listed below. Support for the fund is provided by Netflix. Wiff also announces the addition of thirteen new members to its Board of Trustees. They are listed below, and will serve 3-year terms effective September 1. The 2012 Wiff Film Finishing Fund Winners - Narrative Feature Films Josh (Against The Grain) - Iram Parveen Bilal - Writer/Director, Los Angeles, CA Fatima’s nanny is killed by a feudal Pakistani landlord when she tries to start a self-sustaining food market in her village. The townspeople urge Fatima not to get involved. But the young woman is determined to make it a reality, and in the process,...
- 10/10/2012
- by Sophia Savage
- Thompson on Hollywood
Director: Sriram Raghavan, Story: Sriram Raghavan, Arijit Biswas, Actors: Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor
Agent Vinod is a superhero film. A Raw agent masquerading as a body guard of a mafia in St. Petersburg is killed. Just before his death, he leaves a cryptic message about ‘242’, a mystery that ought to be solved in order to save the world. Just before the agent’s death, we have witnessed another killing in Russia that had something to do with the proliferation of a nuclear bomb. Agent Vinod (Saif Ali Khan) is rushed to St. Petersburg to solve the mystery of his colleague’s death.
The puzzle leads him from Russia through Morocco, Latvia and Pakistan to his homeland India which is where the repercussion of ‘242’ is to be felt. The globetrotting mission of Agent Vinod that begins in Delhi and culminates there isn’t so much a whodunit as it is a personal journey of heroism.
Agent Vinod is a superhero film. A Raw agent masquerading as a body guard of a mafia in St. Petersburg is killed. Just before his death, he leaves a cryptic message about ‘242’, a mystery that ought to be solved in order to save the world. Just before the agent’s death, we have witnessed another killing in Russia that had something to do with the proliferation of a nuclear bomb. Agent Vinod (Saif Ali Khan) is rushed to St. Petersburg to solve the mystery of his colleague’s death.
The puzzle leads him from Russia through Morocco, Latvia and Pakistan to his homeland India which is where the repercussion of ‘242’ is to be felt. The globetrotting mission of Agent Vinod that begins in Delhi and culminates there isn’t so much a whodunit as it is a personal journey of heroism.
- 3/23/2012
- by Nandita Dutta
- DearCinema.com
The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (Iffla) has announced the 13 short films that will screen in the 2011 festival. The 9th edition of the festival will take place from April 12-17 at ArcLight Hollywood.
The shorts were selected from over 350 submissions worldwide. Two of the selected films are from Kranti Kanade and Nisha Ganatra who won the Iffla Film Fund Development Grant in 2010.
Iffla 2011 Shorts Category (Complete list of films with their descriptions, as in a press release by Iffla)
Beholder (Director/Writer Nisha Ganatra)
USA/Los Angeles Premiere/English
Imagine a future where it is mandatory to alter the sexual orientation of an unborn child who doesn’t fit the heterosexual norm.
Idol (Director/Writer Kranti Kanade)
India /Los Angeles Premiere/Marathi, English
A father and son fight in defense of each of their idols, be it Lord Ganesh or soccer superstar Maradona
In That Moment (Director/Writer Shripriya Mahesh...
The shorts were selected from over 350 submissions worldwide. Two of the selected films are from Kranti Kanade and Nisha Ganatra who won the Iffla Film Fund Development Grant in 2010.
Iffla 2011 Shorts Category (Complete list of films with their descriptions, as in a press release by Iffla)
Beholder (Director/Writer Nisha Ganatra)
USA/Los Angeles Premiere/English
Imagine a future where it is mandatory to alter the sexual orientation of an unborn child who doesn’t fit the heterosexual norm.
Idol (Director/Writer Kranti Kanade)
India /Los Angeles Premiere/Marathi, English
A father and son fight in defense of each of their idols, be it Lord Ganesh or soccer superstar Maradona
In That Moment (Director/Writer Shripriya Mahesh...
- 3/4/2011
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
- Rodrigo Garcia, Keith Gordon, Catherine Hardwicke, and Alfredo De Villa to Serve as Lab Mentors -
Los Angeles (February 10, 2010) - Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, has announced the filmmakers and film projects for its 9th annual Directors Lab, sponsored by Kodak. Taking place in Los Angeles from now until the end of March, the Directors Lab is an intensive nine-week incubator designed to assist directors with strong, original voices develop new narrative feature films, improve their craft, and advance their filmmaking careers in a nurturing yet challenging creative environment. This year's Lab Mentors include Rodrigo Garcia (Mother and Child), Keith Gordon (The Singing Detective, Waking the Dead), Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight, Thirteen), and Alfredo De Villa (Adrift in Manhattan, Washington Heights).
"It's exciting to have a group of filmmakers in the Directors Lab that not only have such varied artistic backgrounds,...
- 2/11/2010
- by maint
- Film Independent
Film Independent has selected eight filmmakers for its 9th annual Directors Lab, which runs through the end of March. Rodrigo Garcia, Keith Gordon, Catherine Hardwicke and Alfredo De Villa are serving as mentors in the nine-week program designed to assist emerging directors.
The filmmakers receive a cash stipend for the projects and access to production resources provided by Moviola, NBC Universal and Mode HQ.
Under the tutelage of the mentors, the filmmakers learn to work with actors, collaborate with cinematographers and crew, refine scripts and shoot scenes from their projects. They then become Film Independent Fellows, receiving year-round support including access to Film Independent's annual educational offerings, on-staff filmmaker advisor, and the Los Angeles Film Festival.
The 2010 Directors Lab filmmakers and their projects are: "Dish," writer/director Brian Harris Krinsky; "El Flaco," writer/director/editor Jeff Seymann Gilbert; "Forbidden Steps," writer/director Iram Parveen Bilal; "Grievous Angel," Jessica Hundley; "Saigon...
The filmmakers receive a cash stipend for the projects and access to production resources provided by Moviola, NBC Universal and Mode HQ.
Under the tutelage of the mentors, the filmmakers learn to work with actors, collaborate with cinematographers and crew, refine scripts and shoot scenes from their projects. They then become Film Independent Fellows, receiving year-round support including access to Film Independent's annual educational offerings, on-staff filmmaker advisor, and the Los Angeles Film Festival.
The 2010 Directors Lab filmmakers and their projects are: "Dish," writer/director Brian Harris Krinsky; "El Flaco," writer/director/editor Jeff Seymann Gilbert; "Forbidden Steps," writer/director Iram Parveen Bilal; "Grievous Angel," Jessica Hundley; "Saigon...
- 2/10/2010
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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