Indie fest season

Malayalee director Dr. Biju Kumar’s The Way Home,Raj Nair’s Punyam Aham, Aamir Bashir’s debut directorial venture Harud (Autumn),Aparna Sen’s Bengali film Iti Mrinalini,Girish Kasarvalli’s Kannada film Kanasemba Kudureyaneri (riding the stallion of a dream) and Marathi film Mani Mangalsutra by Gauri Sarawate,are among the Indian films at MAMI. At the SAIFF,Anurag Kashyap’s That Girl In Yellow Boots,Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Paan Singh Tomar,Saurabh Shukla’s Pappu Can’t Dance Saala and Ananth Mahadevan’s I Am Sindhutai Sapkal are some of the films to be screened. In the Third Eye Asian Film Festival,the centre piece will be Mrinal Sen’s Akaler Sandhane. Other Indian films to be screened at the festival are Ananth Mahadevan’s I Am Sindhutai Sapkal,Gaurav Pandey’s Dry Red Chillies,M G Sasi’s Janaki and six films from Mrinal Sen’s kitty. It’s pretty evident that all three festivals are promoting independent filmmakers and Indie filmmakers themselves are making a rush to attend these film festivals. Anurag Kashyap plans to head to New York for SAIFF to present his film. He says,“I will be there for the film festival. My cast will not be accompanying me.” Neha Dhupia,whose film Phas Gaye Re Obama premieres at SAIFF,stands undecided on whether she’ll make it to the festival,given her busy schedule. Naseeruddin Shah,Irrfan and Jackie Shroff are also expected to be present at the SAIFF. Ananth Mahadevan plans to make it to the SAIFF and the Third Eye Film Festival as his films will be screened at both the venues.

With the number of movies submitted at the MAMI having doubled this year,the festival organisers have tried to put in as many films as they could. Starting on October 21,MAMI will screen 200 films from 60 countries. “The number of submissions have doubled from last year’s 75 to 150 this year,” says Srinivasan Narayanan,director of MAMI.

Among the surprises in store at MAMI this year,there’s Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere,Aamir Bashir’s Harud,the festival opener – David Fincher’s The Social Network,Mike Leigh’s Another Year,Innaritu’s Biutiful,Hong Sang-Soo’s Hahaha and the closing film,Robert Schwentke’s Red. This year,MAMI has an all-woman jury headed by Jane Campion,whose short film Peel (1982) won the Palme d’Or at the 1986 Cannes Film Festival. Accompanying Campion will be four internationally-celebrated panelists including BAFTA award-winning producer of Pawel Pawlikowski’s My Summer of Love,Tanya Seghatchian,internationally-acclaimed Iranian filmmaker and scriptwriter Samira Makhmalbaf,South Korean actress Yoon Jeong Hee and Suhasini Mani Ratnam,wife of celebrated director Mani Ratnam.

Now in its ninth year,the Third Eye Asian Film Festival,which begins on October 29,will screen 110 films that focusses on cinema of the lesser-known filmmakers. The festival has been criticised for its screenings of old films and this year,festival regulars like Abbas Kiarostami,Jafar Panahi and Majid Majidi have been passed over for younger directors. The festival will,for the first time,have a selection of European films and the focus is on Poland: six Polish films will be screened. The retrospective on Kon Ichikawa,one of the lesser- known Japanese directors,is expected to create a buzz at the festival. Predictably there’s the usual fare of Iranian cinema,but festival organisers insist that one must watch the selection of films from Taiwan. Also in the European Connection section,Andrzej Wajda’s Sweet Rush is worth its time.

Organisers of the SAIFF,which will be held at SVA Theatre,New York from October 27 to November 2,guarantee to break ground with films that deal closely with social issues. The film subjects at SAIFF range from frank depiction of sexuality and desire,societal taboos,political satires and a critique of social and economic issues facing India and South Asia today. The Bengali film,Gaandu,which has bold scenes,will be showcased at the festival. A spokesperson from the festival said,“For people who don’t understand cinema,the film may come across as sleazy. But we have seen portions of the film. It has dealt with the issue of sexuality and desire in a mature way. ” It has also been rumoured that Golmaal 3 will be premiered on the final day of the SAIFF festival.

HIGHLIGHTS

MAMI:

Celebrate Age is the brand new competition section of the 12th Mumbai Film Festival. It will showcase ad-films,short fiction films,documentaries and feature length films on the concerns of growing older. A special section,Celebration Of Japanese Cinema,will feature 43 Japanese films spanning eight decades,with a special screening of Akira Kurosawa’s Ran.

SAIFF:

Anurag Kashyap’s That Girl In Yellow Boots starring Kalki Koechlin,Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Paan Singh Tomar,Saurabh Shukla’s Pappu Can’t Dance Saala and Ananth Mahadevan’s I Am Sindhutai Sapkal are some films to look out for. As for the Tamil section,there is Thiagarajan Kumararaja’s Anima And Persona (Aaranya Kaandam) starring Jackie Shroff,among others.

Third Eye Asian Film Festival:

The festival will six Polish films including two by Andrzej Wajda. In the centrepiece section is Mrinal Sen’s Bengali movie Akalar Sandhane.

The festival opens with Iraqi director Mohamed Al Daradji’s,Son Of Babylon (Iraq) and will close with Ananth Mahadevan’s I Am Sindhutai Sapkal (Marathi). The retrospective on Kon Ichikawa is expected to create a buzz at the festival.