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 festivals focus on a specific film-maker or genre or subject matter. A number of film festivals specialise in short films of a defined maximum length. Film festivals are typically annual events. Some film historians, including Jerry Beck, do not consider film festivals official releases of film.
Shyam Benegal is an Indian director and screenwriter. With his first four feature films Ankur (1973), Nishant (1975), Manthan (1976) and Bhumika (1977) he was part of a new genre, which has now come to be called the "middle cinema" in India. He has expressed dislike of the term, preferring his work to be called New or Alternate cinema. Benegal was awarded the Padma Shri in 1976 and the Padma Bhushan in 1991. On 8 August 2007, Benegal was awarded the highest award in Indian cinema for lifetime achievement, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2005. He has won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi seven times. He was awarded the V. Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2018 Mumbai International Film Festival.
The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is an annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1952 and is one of the oldest film festivals in the world. MIFF is one of Melbourne's four major film festivals, in addition to the Melbourne International Animation Festival (MIAF), Melbourne Queer Film Festival (MQFF) and Melbourne Underground Film Festival (MUFF). As of 2017, the festival's Artistic Director is Michelle Carey.
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), which have won national and international awards. A secular rationalist, Anand Patwardhan is a vocal critic of Hindutva ideology.
The Melbourne Underground Film Festival (MUFF) was formed out of disagreements over the content and running of the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF). When director Richard Wolstencroft's film Pearls Before Swine was not accepted by the Melbourne International Film Festival, Wolstencroft claimed it was because his film was too confrontational for the tastes of MIFF. As a response to the film's rejection by MIFF, Wolstencroft founded MUFF in 2000 as an alternative independent film festival, featuring mostly genre, controversial, transgressive and avant garde material. MUFF has been known for controversy with a screening of Bruce LaBruce's LA Zombie gaining worldwide attention including coverage in the New York Times. Over the years, the festival has been outspoken on the poor state of the Australia film industry and the need to make more local genre films, and has championed many issues of freedom of speech and outsider politics and ideas. The festival has also discovered Australian directors like James Wan, Greg McLean, Scott Ryan, Spierig brothers, Stuart Simpson, Patrick Hughes, Andrew Traucki, Dave de Vries, David Nerlich, Neil McGregor, Mark Savage and many others. International Guests of MUFF have included Bruce LaBruce, Lloyd Kaufman, William Lustig, Ron Jeremy, American film director Chris Folino, Michael Tierney, Peter Christopherson, Jim Van Bebber, Bret Easton Ellis, Gene Gregorits, Terry McMahon and Geretta Geretta.
The Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) is a public trust that organizes the annual international film festival in Mumbai known as the Mumbai Film Festival (MFF). Actress Deepika Padukone is the new chairperson of the trust.
In general, censorship in India, which involves the suppression of speech or other public communication, raises issues of freedom of speech, which is protected by the Indian constitution.
The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) also wrongly known as Censor Board ; is a statutory censorship and classification body under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. It is tasked with "regulating the public exhibition of films under the provisions of the Cinematograph Act 1952". Films can be publicly exhibited in India only after they are certified by the Board, including films shown on television. CBFC is regularly associated with scandals, blamed for thought policing and being right wing dominated.
Final Solution is a 2004 documentary film directed by Rakesh Sharma concerning the 2002 Gujarat pogrom in which both Hindu and Muslims are targeted in the state of Gujarat by political extremists. In order to rationalize their violence, Hindu extremists had made the claim that their actions were in fact a "spontaneous response" to the Godhra Train Burning incident on 27 February 2002. But as the film proceeds with victims continuing to come forward and share their experiences, a more unsettling possibility seems to emerge- that far from being a spontaneous expression of outrage, the anti-Muslim violence had been carefully coordinated and planned.
The Boston Jewish Film Festival (BJFF) is an annual film festival that screens the best contemporary films on Jewish themes from around the world. The festival presents features, shorts, documentaries, and conversations with visiting artists in order to explore the Jewish identity, the current Jewish experience and the richness of Jewish culture in relation to a diverse modern world.
Ashvin Kumar is India's youngest Oscar nominated and two time national award-winning filmmaker, who has written, directed and produced a wide range of films, including India's only Oscar nominated short film Little Terrorist (2004), documentary Inshallah, Kashmir (2012) and Inshallah Football (2010); feature-length thriller The Forest (2012); coming-of-age tale Dazed in Doon (2010) and his debut film Road to Ladakh (2004) starring Irrfan Khan.
Naga Story: The Other Side of Silence is a 2003 documentary film by Indian film maker Gopal Menon. The film provides an introduction to the history of the Struggle by Naga people in North- East frontier of the Indian subcontinent, and documents the human rights abuses suffered by the Naga people in more than 50 years of the existence of Independent India. The Naga political struggle is one of the oldest nationality movements in South Asia, continuing till present times. This film, which took 5 years to complete, is the first comprehensive film about the Naga struggle for identity, peace, and justice.
Inshallah, Football is a documentary film by Ashvin Kumar about an aspiring footballer who was denied the right to travel abroad on the pretext that father was a militant in the 1990s. The film was completed in 2010, and has faced difficulties getting released in India. The film's first screening in India at the India Habitat Center received this review from Tehelka magazine, 'Kumar’s camera catches the irony of Kashmir’s physical beauty, the claustrophobia of militarisation, the dread and hopelessness of children born into war and the nuances of relationships. It also filters the inherent joie-de-vivre of youth, even if that flows uneasily with Kashmir’s collective memory of unmitigated grief...There is no better way to understand Kashmir right now.'. The film was shot by Kumar himself using five different camera formats "There is a rough, almost unpolished, feel to Inshallah, Football. The narrative runs unfettered, with an energy of its own." says Tehelka, "We shot with five different cameras, from DSLRs to the best equipment. The idea was to watch life unfold and get under the skin of the audience.” adds Kumar.
The Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Films (MIFF) is a festival organized in the city of Mumbai by the Films Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India. It was started in 1990, and focuses on documentary, short fiction and animation films.
An Insignificant Man is a 2017 Hindi/English Indian socio-political documentary co-produced and directed by Khushboo Ranka and Vinay Shukla and also co-produced by filmmaker Anand Gandhi. and is about the rise of anti-corruption protests in India and the formation and rise to power of the Aam Aadmi Party. The film received a standing ovation at its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and has gone on to have sold out screenings at major festival across the world including the BFI London Film Festival & Busan International Film Festival.
Father, Son, and Holy War is a 1995 film by Indian documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan. The film is shot in two parts, with the first examining the link between the violence of the Hindu nationalist movement, such as the demolition of the Babri Masjid, and sexual violence against women. The second part looks at the nature of masculinity in contemporary urban India, and its role in encouraging sexual violence. As with other films of his, Patwardhan had to fight multiple court battles in order to force the national carrier Doordarshan to screen the film, a screening which eventually occurred on the orders of the Supreme court. The film received numerous national and international awards, and was also seen positively by critics.
Jeevika: Asia Livelihood Documentary Festival is an annual documentary festival started in January 2004 by Centre for Civil Society. The festival is a part of their Jeevika Campaign which advocates for livelihood freedom for street entrepreneurs. The festival showcases documentaries based on the issue of livelihood, to capture the challenges faced by the rural and urban poor by bringing them to the attention of the public.
India Untouched: Stories of a People Apart is a 2007 documentary by Indian filmmaker Stalin K. The film reveals the discrimination and atrocities against dalits and practice of Untouchability rooted in different parts of India. Stalin's interview and clips of the film were featured in Episode 10: Dignity for All of Satyamev Jayate TV series on the issue of Untouchability.
Teenaa Kaur Pasricha is an Indian filmmaker and screenwriter best known for her documentary film 1984, When the Sun didn't Rise which won India's National Film Award for Best Investigative Film, announced on 13 April 2018 by Government of India appointed jury headed by filmmaker Shekhar Kapoor.
The Kazhcha-Niv Independent Film Festival (KNIFF) is a niche festival for independent cinema in India held annually in Thiruvananthapuram. The festival debuted in 2017, and is hosted by Kazhcha Chalachithra Vedi, a local film society, in collaboration with Niv Art Centre, an Art and Cultural society in New Delhi. The festival is held in December parallel to the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK).
