A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upon the festival's focus, can include international and domestic releases. Some film festivals focus on a specific filmmaker, genre of film, or on a subject matter. Several film festivals focus solely on presenting short films of a defined maximum length. Film festivals are typically annual events. Some film historians, including Jerry Beck, do not consider film festivals as official releases of the film.
Mahesh Bhatt is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter known for his works in Hindi cinema. A stand-out film from his earlier period is Saaransh (1984), screened at the 14th Moscow International Film Festival. It became India's official entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for that year. The 1986 film Naam was his first piece of commercial cinema. In 1987, he turned producer with the film Kabzaa under the banner, "Vishesh Films", with his brother Mukesh Bhatt.
Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, professionally known as V. M. Bhatt, is an Hindustani classical music instrumentalist who plays the Mohan veena.
Anand Patwardhan is an Indian documentary filmmaker known for his socio-political, human rights-oriented films. Some of his films explore the rise of religious fundamentalism, sectarianism and casteism in India, while others investigate nuclear nationalism and unsustainable development. Notable films include Bombay: Our City (1985), In Memory of Friends (1990), In the Name of God (1992), Father, Son, and Holy War (1995), A Narmada Diary (1995), War and Peace (2002) and Jai Bhim Comrade (2011), and Reason (2018) which have won national and international awards.
Michael Haussman is an American director, writer, and artist, living in Rome, Italy.
Anushka Manchanda aka Kiss Nuka is a singer, music producer, composer, creative entrepreneur, actor, activist, and former VJ of Indian origin. She came to prominence as a member of the Indipop girl group Viva!. Manchanda and the winner of Khatron ke khiladi 2 and one of the lead actors of the international award-winning film Angry Indian Goddesses. She announced she has adopted the artistic name Kiss Nuka – which stands for Natures Universal Kinectic Attention, with a new vision for a better world She is the music head of Ranveer Singh and Navzar Eranee’s music label IncInk Records along with her younger brother Shikhar Yuvraj Manchanda aka Rākhis.
Briana Barbara-Jane Evigan is an American actress and dancer best known for her roles in the Step Up series and for her scream queen roles in numerous horror films. Born in Los Angeles, Evigan is the daughter of actor Greg Evigan and his wife Pamela, a dancer, model and choreographer. She began dancing and acting at a young age, graduating from Los Angeles Valley College with a degree in speech and communication.
Arsalan Nami better known as Arsi Nami, is a Swedish-Persian actor, music therapist, singer, songwriter, screenwriter and philanthropist living in Los Angeles, California. He won the Jury Prize award at the 2017 Cannes International Film Festival Entr'2 Marches for his leading role in motion picture Love is Blind, portraying the visually-impaired Italian American Giovanni. He earned himself the Best Actor award for portraying two characters in Aion, a film presented by FujiFilm, at 2022 New York International Film Awards, Tokyo Film Awards, Cannes Silk Road Film Awards and BrazilVisions Film Fest. Love is Blind also won an award for disability awareness and was screened at world famous Palais des Festival et des Congrès. Arsi Nami was also named as a Judge in the panel of the 2018, 2019 and 2020 Cannes Film Festival International Entr'2 Marches He was the lead actor in Children's Hospital Los Angeles production Healthcare in the Cloud, which premiered at the 2018 Society of Camera Operators Lifetime Achievement Awards, raising over $8 million for children's vision health. He portrayed as the manic depressed French-American painter named Vincent, in 2017 European Cinematography Award-winning drama motion picture Camelia. He also received another international claim via his outstanding and comedic role as Cadiz in the Just Cause 4 commercials for Square Enix, PlayStation and Xbox, as well as his lead role in the international hit music video "Hurt People" performed by international artists Aloe Blacc and Gryffin which reached over 1 million views on VEVO and YouTube. Arsi Nami has also been a guest-star on the Steve Harvey show on NBCUniversal, as well as The Late Late Show with James Corden on CBS. His commercial acting credits include giant brands such as Google, PlayStation, BMW, Puma, MGM Grand, Mercedes-Benz, Prada, Facebook, Hewlett Packard, KIA, Ford, Samsung, Disney, NBA and Guitar Center to name a few. He was also nominated for best lead male actor in the comedy film Villa, at 2017 Official Selection at Premio Tortoreto alla Cultura in Italy, AM Film Festival in Egypt and International Festival of Short Films on Culture & Tourism, India.
Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri is a multidisciplinary artist, director, photographer, public speaker, television personality, Princeton University educator, founder and chief marketing officer, known mononymously as "Indrani" for her multi-platform works of art, innovation, and social impact.
Rahul Bhat is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. He began his career as a fashion model and participated in the Graviera Mr. India contest in 1998, and subsequently worked in several advertisements and music videos. He gained fame for his leading role in the television serial Heena from 1998 to 2003. After starring in the films Yeh Mohabbat Hai (2002) and Nayee Padosan (2003), he took a sabbatical from acting and began producing television serials, including Meri Doli Tere Angana (2007–2008) and Tum Dena Saath Mera (2009).
Humble is a commercial production company with offices in New York and Los Angeles. Humble and its sister post-production company Postal, specialize in the integration of live action production, design, edit, animation, and visual effects for advertising and original creative content.
Aditya Roy Kapur is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Hindi films. He made his acting debut in 2009 with the musical drama film London Dreams. Kapur had his first commercial success came with the romantic musical Aashiqui 2 in 2013 for which he received critical acclaim and won several awards including BIG Star Entertainment Awards for Best Actor in a Romantic Role.
Thaila Ayala Sales is a Brazilian actress and model.
Srinu Pandranki is an Indian author, short film maker and screenwriter. He is noted for directing the short film Peekaboo and for his debut novel X2.
Rashi Mal is an Indian actress, dancer and musician. She made her Hindi film debut in 2018 with Helicopter Eela alongside Kajol and Riddhi Sen.
Raaz: Reboot is a 2016 Indian horror thriller film written and directed by Vikram Bhatt. It features Emraan Hashmi, Kriti Kharbanda and Gaurav Arora in the lead roles. The film is the fourth instalment in the horror film series, Raaz.
Shantanu Maheshwari is an Indian actor, dancer, choreographer and host. He debuted with the show Dil Dosti Dance on Channel V in his breakthrough performance as the protagonist Swayam Shekhawat. In 2017, he participated in Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 8 and emerged as the winner. He was also seen as a contestant on Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 9 and Nach Baliye 9 and became a finalist in both. He is a part of the Desi Hoppers dance crew who emerged as the winners in the World of Dance 2015 Championship in Los Angeles. Maheshwari made his Bollywood debut in 2022, with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Gangubai Kathiawadi opposite Alia Bhatt.
Gaurav Bhatt is a music director, singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Jaipur, India. He has an Indian classical background and sings in the traditional Indian style. Known for his fine work in Fusion, Romantic and Instrumentals melodies.
Jensen Noen is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker, cinematographer and writer. Jensen's early films include "Oceans Within Us" and "Blesscode"; he also works on commercials and directs music video. He was born in Poltava, Ukraine.
The 25th Kolkata International Film Festival took place from 8 to 15 November 2019.
