International film fest on tribal art opens in Bhopal

October 6th, 2009 MUMBAI - Four movies produced by Big Pictures - "Well Done Abba", "Abohamaan", "Kutty Srank" and Janala - will be screened at the upcoming 14th Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) and 53rd London Film Festival. While "Kutty Srank" and "Abohamaan" will be screened in A Window on Asian Cinema section at Pusan film fest in Korea starting Oct 8, while "Well Done Abba" and Janala will be screened in the World Cinema Category of the London fest, beginning on Oct 14 respectively.

September 22nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The 11th biennial Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) for Documentary, Short and Animation films 2010 will have three new features - students films/videos, mobile films and puppet animation films. Organised by the information and broadcasting ministry, the gala event will be held Feb 3-9 next year at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Nariman Point, Mumbai.

September 21st, 2009 PANAJI - The Goa government has announced a cash prize of Rs.25 lakh to filmmaker Laxmikant Shetgaonkar whose film "Paltadacho Munis" won an award at the 34th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The decision to honour the filmmaker was taken Monday at a meeting of the governing body of the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG).

September 16th, 2009 MUMBAI - In a song in recently released "Chintu Ji" the lyrics included 24 influential international film directors like Akira Kurosawa, Alfred Hitchcock, Quentin Tarantino, but it didn't mention "Slumdog Millionaire" director Danny Boyle. Composer Siddhartth (of Siddhartth-Suhas duo) explains the reason behind the elimination.

September 14th, 2009 MUMBAI - Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif, who has been shooting non-stop for her upcoming film "Rajneeti" with Ranbir Kapoor on the streets of Bhopal, says it is "disgusting" to see television channels create controversies and indulge in "match-mixing" to raise TRPs. Earlier this week, a television channel went ballistic with an image showing her reaching out and hugging Ranbir Kapoor on a road.

September 5th, 2009 LONDON - Veteran Bollywood director Yash Chopra has been named the Asian filmmaker of the year by organisers of the Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) to be held in South Korea next month. Chopra's popular films, including Lamhe, Dhoom 2, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and New York, will be showcased in a retrospective section at the fest, said a press release from Yash Raj Films.

September 3rd, 2009 NEW YORK - Hollywood legend Morgan Freeman will be honoured for his career achievements at the upcoming Zurich Film Festival in Switzerland. The "Million Dollar Baby" star is set to receive the Golden Icon Award, with festival organisers hailing his "multi-faceted talent, his sense of business and his integrity" for earning him a "level of respect within and outside the entertainment industry that few others enjoy", reports buzzhollywood.com.

September 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Joining the league of commercial Hindi films like Road Movie, Delhi-6, "What's Your Raashee?" and "Dil Bole Hadippa" being screened at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), the latest one to gain entry at the fest is NFDC's Konkani film The Man Beyond The Bridge. Directed by National Award-winning Laxmikant Shetgaonkar, the Konkani feature film will be screened under the Discovery Section of the fest and will have a total of five screenings during the gala.

September 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Debut-director Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan's Lahore, that has Nafisa Ali and Farouque Shaikh in important roles, will be premiered at Italy's Salento International Film Festival starting Sep 3-14. Lahore, about competitive sports, is the opening night film and is also in the World Competition Section of the fest.

August 13th, 2009 Roopa Iyer, the debutant director of Mukhaputa (also known as ‘The Cover Page’ in English) can’t stop gushing about the selection of her film for seven international film festivals, namely, Portland International Film Festival, AE International Film Festival, England International Film Festival, UK– International Youth Film Festival, AVALON International Film Festival, IW– International Film Festival and International Film Festival of LONDON. The actress cum danseuse cum director’s film is about HIV AIDS.

July 7th, 2009 BHOPAL - Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan Tuesday told announced that water from the Narmada river will be supplied to the state capital Bhopal soon. The assurance followed a question in the state assembly by Congress legislator Arif Aqueel in the wake of an acute water crisis gripping Madhya Pradesh.

June 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The annual Osian's-Cinefan Film Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema has been re-scheduled from July to October from this year onwards. The film fest used to be held during July at the Siri Fort Complex in the capital since its inception a decade ago but from now it will be held in October.

June 5th, 2009 DHARAMSALA - The Tibetan government-in-exile will organise a two-day film festival here June 12-13 to commemorate its 50 years in exile. "The film fest will screen 17 Tibetan films at the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts.

May 26th, 2009 SHANGHAI - Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle will be one of the members of the jury at the 12th Shanghai International Film Festival. The Oscar-winning filmmaker will judge the films along with actress Andie MacDowell and fellow director Andrew Lau, reported contactmusic.com.

May 3rd, 2009 Veteran Malayalam actor Madhu inaugurated the 70th International Film Festival of Malappuram at the DTPC Auditorium, Kottakunnu on 21st of February. Organized by Malappuram-based Rasmi Film Society, which is said to be the first Indian film body to organize 70 international film festivals, the four-day festival will feature many films screened at major international festivals, including the one held in Thiruvananthapuram.