Lovers of world cinema in Mumbai will get a slice of Asian and Arab films at a two-day festival starting here June 13.
MUMBAI: Lovers of world cinema in Mumbai will get a slice of Asian and Arab films at a two-day festival starting here June 13.
The festival will showcase some of the best films to be screened at the ten-day-long Osian's CineFan film festival in Delhi in July.
The screenings at the two-day festival will take place at the Tata Theatre, Experimental Theatre and Little Theatre at the National Centre of Performing Arts in South Mumbai.
Addressing a press conference, Neville Tuli, Chairman of Osian's and Latika Padgaonkar, Joint Festival Director, Osian's-CineFan said the festival which is now in its 10th year has always been Delhi-centric. However, a full-fledged festival in Mumbai too is on the anvil, they said.
One of the highlights of the two-day event is the felicitation of veteran actor Shammi Kapoor for his contribution to Indian cinema. 'Kashmir ki Kali', starring Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore would be screened on the occasion.
"We want to bridge the gap between Mumbai and Delhi. Last year, the festival in in Mumbai was a day-long. Now, we want to take this intiative further with a two-day Mumbai preview," Tuli added.
He said a full-fledged Osian's-CineFan festival in Mumbai will take shape once the re-development of Minerva theatre now called Osianama, taken over by Osian's is completed.
Besides screenings, the infrastructure-building for minds and markets initiative in Mumbai consists of a two-day programme where a panel of intellectuals and artists will analyse and debate the recent rise in the levels of cultural intolerance towards artistic creations all over the world.
Another session will bring together cultural experts and infrastructure builders to discuss the issues at stake-infrastructural, cultural and financial, in building world class art and cultural institution in today's world.
Tuli said three exhibitions from the Osian's Arts & Film Archive collection will be showcased at the NCPA, with one of them being a tribute to Shammi Kapoor. Such a theme and collection has never been exhibited in India, he said.
The special focus for this year's festival is the relationship between writing and cinema.
"Osian's-CineFan is both fun and serious business. Viewing good cinema is part of a total experience. Then there are the exhibitions, the discussions and homage to an icon. We hope that the event in Mumbai will whet the appetite for a full banquet in Delhi," Latika Padgaonkar said.
Tuli said the scale model of "Osianama", Osian's flagship cultural complex, will be unveiled in the presence of leading lights of the cultural world. The complex will open in Mumbai in mid-2009.
Mani Shankar's Hindi film "Mukhbir" will be premiered at the two-day Mumbai festival.
He said the festival in Delhi from July 10-20 will have the theme of 'Literature and cinema'. More than 140 films will be screened at the ten-day event. This year's event will include about 40 short fiction films as well, he added.
Some of the Arab and Asian films to be screened in Mumbai include "33 Days" directed by Mai Masri of Lebenon, "Bamboo Shoots" by Jian Yi of China, "Blood brothers" by Alexi Tan of Taiwan, "Breathing in Mud" by James Lee of Malaysia, "Since You Left" by Mohammad Bakri of Israel, "Peeping Tom" by Yoshihiro Fukagawa of Japan among others.
The lifetime achievement award will go to noted director Mrinal Sen and award for writing on cinema will go to Jose Pete Lecaba of Phillipines. The awards will be given away during the festival in Delhi, he added.
When asked about Osian's proposal to start a television channel for screening of festival films, Tuli said the proposal is too premature to talk about.
"The idea is pratical. But, the question is whether there are enough people to create the required content. Television channels like Animal Planet and Discovery have been a success," he added.
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