Skip to main content

Indian Film Festival of Melbourne rescheduled amid COVID-19 pandemic

The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne today announced that this year’s festival will go ahead with dates rescheduled from August to late 2020 due to the ongoing COVID -19 pandemic.IFFM 2020’s program will be devised in line with public health guidance with plans for a compact schedule taking place over a week from October 30 to November 7. The festival is retaining the Short Film Competition and the popular dance competition (to be held on October 31, pending easing of restrictions) but the much anticipated IFFM Awards Gala will be postponed till 2021. More details of festival highlights will be announced shortly.

Indian Film Festival of Melbourne rescheduled amid COVID-19 pandemic

An exciting new innovation to the festival this year, in response to current challenges and opportunities, is the IFFM Film Club where fans of Indian movies can enrol for a virtual masterclass with leading filmmakers discussing their works in detail. This exciting new event is facilitated by noted journalist Rajeev Masand. Functioning like a book club, the festival asks participants to watch a classic film, and they then have an opportunity to discuss the film at the virtual film club with the filmmaker. The virtual talks are open for registration to festival-goers and accommodate 100 early bird users.

Previously, the festival has hosted masterclasses with acclaimed filmmakers including Rajkumar Hirani, Rani Mukerji, Karan Johar, Rima Das, Zoya Akhtar, Onir, Vijay Sethupathi, Nag Ashwin, Kabir Khan, and many others. With the launch of this year’s Film Club, IFFM continues to celebrate the spirit of diversity through cinema.

IFFM Festival Director Mitu Bhowmick Lange said, “This is a uniquely intimate way for film lovers to stay engaged, entertained and educated while at home in these unprecedented times. We already have a strong line up of filmmakers from various parts of India. Well-known film journalist Rajeev Masand will moderate the session as he opens the film and its maker to a world of questions from curious fans.”

Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley said: “Social distancing doesn’t mean social disconnection and through the screen, we can continue to be inspired by stories and perspectives from across the globe. I applaud the Indian Film
Festival of Melbourne team for its commitment to continuing to bring the IFFM spirit to film lovers and for pivoting to a new model for 2020 in response to these challenging times.”

In 2019 the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne celebrated its tenth anniversary. In February this year pre-COVID, IFFM hosted an event in Mumbai where Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan awarded the four-year scholarship named after him to Gopika Kottantharayil Bhasi from Thrissur (Kerala), as a part of the festival’s long association with Melbourne’s La Trobe University. Now faced with restrictions and new opportunities the IFFM team is working hard to develop new exciting elements.



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NCB arrests Armaan Kohli for illegal possession of cocaine

Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has arrested actor Armaan Kohli for illegal possession of drugs, on August 29. On Saturday, August 28, the actor's residence was raided after which the same evening, he was taken to NCB office for questioning. According to the reports, on Saturday, a team of the anti-drugs agency had intercepted one major drug peddler, Ajay Raju Singh. He was in possession of illegal drugs. The same day, the agency launched a follow up operation after interrogation of Singh. Following his inputs, the agency headed to Armaan Kohli's house. As per reports, a small quantity of cocaine was recovered. Armaan Kohli was arrested in 2018 by the Excise department. He was caught possessing 41 bottles of scotch whiskey at his residence which was against the law. On the work front, Armaan Kohli has worked in films like Jaani Dushman and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo . Also Read:  NCB raids residence of actor Armaan Kohli in drugs case, taken in for questioning 
Post a Comment
Read more

Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson and Salma Hayek starrer The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard to now release on June 16

Actors Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson are returning in the sequel of Hitman’s Bodyguard which released in 2017. This time, Salma Hayek joins the cast. Titled The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard , Lionsgate and Millennium have announced that the film will now release on June 16. The announcement was made on Monday along with the title logo reveal. only in theaters june 16, 2021. #hitmanswife pic.twitter.com/rAxSbZNvPq — Lionsgate (@Lionsgate) March 29, 2021 Along with Ryan and Samuel, Salma Hayek, and Richard E. Grant will reprise their roles. The new cast includes Antonio Banderas, Morgan Freeman, and Frank Grillo. The film is directed by Patrick Hughes and the script to be penned by Tom O'Connor. ALSO READ: Cruella, Free Guy, Death On The Nile and more new release dates announced by Disney
Post a Comment
Read more

Nag Ashwin’s sci-fi thriller with Prabhas, Deepika Padukone and Amitabh Bachchan to go on floors around June-July

Telugu film director Nag Ashwin is best known for his National Award winning film Mahanati that starred Keerthy Suresh, Dulquer Salmaan, Vijay Deverakonda and Samantha Akkineni. Now, the filmmaker is getting ready for his next big pan-India project which will star Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan and Deepika Padukone. The film was announced last year and currently Nag is working on the pre-production of the film. The project, like many others, got delayed due to the pandemic. However, talking to a tabloid, Nag Ashwin said that he has been fine tuning the script and logistics. He also had his round of meetings with all three leads separately. He said that pre-production has been going on for a long time and that they will take the film on floors in June-July. Ashwin will once again be collaborating with Spanish cinematographer Dani Sanchez-Lopez and composer Mickey J Meyer after Mahanati for the upcoming film. Veteran filmmaker Singeetam Srinivasa Rao has been brought on board as a mentor...
Post a Comment
Read more