Payal Kapadia’s short ‘Afternoon Clouds’ Selected For Cannes Cinéfondation

Cannes Film Festival has announced the official selection of shorts for the 70th edition of the festival. Payal Kapadia’s short film, Afternoon Clouds, has been selected for the Cinéfondation forum.

Payal is a third-year student of direction at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. Her 13-minute short film is among 16 films chosen, from among 2,600 works submitted this year.

Afternoon Clouds depicts a 60-year old widow, who lives with her Nepali maid, Malati. The entire movie revolves around a single afternoon in their house. This film features Usha Naik and Trimala Adhikari.

A jury presided over by Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu will decide the winners. The three Cinéfondation prizes will be awarded at a ceremony preceding the screening of the prize-winning films on Friday 26th May in the Buñuel Theatre.

First Look : Anurag Kashyap’s Raman Raghav 2.0 (Poster + Stills)

The first look of Anurag Kashyap’s new film, Raman Raghav 2.0, is out. The film stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Vicky Kaushal and Sobhita Dhulipala in the lead.

The film will have its world premiere at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight.

Do check out the poster and the stills.

(click on any image to enlarge and start slide show)

Raman Raghav Poster

Nawazuddin Siddiqui

Nawazuddin Siddiqui

Sobhita Dhulipala

Vicky Kaushal

Vicky Kaushal

Anurag Kashyap’s ‘Raman Raghav 2.0’ To Premiere At Cannes + Teaser Poster Out

 

UPDATE  (24-04-16) – The teaser posters are just out. We have updated the post with 2 teaser posters of the film.

Anurag Kashyap is ready with his new film which is interestingly titled, Raman Raghav 2.0. And here is the good news – as expected, Anurag will be back to the Cannes with the premiere of the film in Directors Fortnight segment.

The films stars Nawazuddin and Vicky Kaushal in the lead roles. Not sure why, but the film is titled ‘Psycho Raman’ in press release.

To check out the complete list of 2016 selection, click here.

The Directors’ Fortnight (French: Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) is an independent section held in parallel to the Cannes Film Festival. It was started in 1969 by the French Directors Guild after the events of May 1968 resulted in cancellation of the Cannes festival as an act of solidarity with striking workers. (via wiki)

Aditya Vikram Sengupta’s ‘Memories and my Mother’ Selected For Cannes Cinefondation

Aditya Vikram Sengupta made an impressive debut with his feature film, Asha Jaoor Majhe(Labour Of Love).  And here’s some news about his next film titled Memories and my Mother.

The project have been selected for this year’s edition of Cannes Cinefondation. For L’Atelier’s 12th edition, 15 projects from 14 countries have been selected, from the new director to the well-known filmmaker.

The film is an Indo-French-German co-production which is currently in development and pre-production. It has been produced by For Films, which includes producers Jonaki Bhattacharya and Vikram Mohinta, and French producer Catherine Catherine Dussart who had produced Gurvinder Singh’s The Fourth Direction.

In an interview to HT, he had given more details about the film during Film Bazaar selection. And here we quote…

As Sengupta says in the course of a conversation the other day, his new film will be an “emotional response” to a city — Kolkata — where he grew up. The work is all about an ageing metropolis, where his story unfolds, a story that has been inspired by true events. Kolkata with its teeming millions and confusion confounded will present a study in contrast. Sengupta’s protagonist will be Manu, who lives in a crumbling old mansion, his ancestral home, and one night he gets on to the top of it to meet his deceased relatives. As the helmer quips, he plans to paint a picture where tradition and modernism will mix and mingle to create “magic realism”.

The Cinefondation’s Atelier hosts its 12th edition this year and will invite to the Festival de Cannes 16 directors whose projects have been considered particularly promising. Together with their producers, they will be able to meet potential partners, a necessary step to finish their project and start the making of their film. L’Atelier provides its participants access to international co-productions, thus accelerating the film’s completion.

The Cinefondation’s Atelier has been created in 2005 to stimulate creative filmmaking and encourage the emergence of a new generation of filmmakers. So far, out of 171 projects accompanied, 126 have been released in the theaters and 18 are currently in pre-production.

 

 

Neeraj Ghaywan’s Masaan Bags 2 Top Awards at Cannes – FIPRESCI & Un Certain Regard

Neeraj receiving FIPRESCI

FIPRESCI citation

Neeraj receiving Un Certain regard jury prize

Un certain regard citation

Neeraj receiving Un Certain regard jury prize

Neeraj with film’s producers

Masaan writer Varun Grover says cheers from Venice

Neeraj with Jury & other winners

(click on any pic to start the slide show)

Aha. It feels so good to write this post. And since Indian media is still busy covering gowns at Cannes, we feel like shouting out from rooftop that our Neeraj Ghaywan has bagged not one, but two-fucking-awards at Cannes! The first one is the FIPRESCI Award, which is given by the International Federation Of Film Critics. For other winners, click here.

The next win is in the Un Certain Regard section in which Masaan premiered and was in competition. The film won the Special Jury prize for Debut films/Promising Future (Prix de l’avenir). It shared the award with Ida Panahandeh’s Nahid. Click here for the video. For complete list of winners, click here.

Earlier, the film had received a standing ovation after its first screening. Click here for the video and all the pics. To check out film’s trailer and premiere pics, click here. And to know more about the film, its synopsis, cast & crew, click here.

(PS – whatever you think of Bombay Velvet, Anurag Kashyap still remains the best film school in India. Here is one more proof)

VIDEO : Standing ovation for “Masaan” at Cannes 2015

Finally! You have read about it, and now here is the video of that moment of glory – the long standing ovation for Neeraj Ghaywan’s Masaan, at its premiere on 19th May, 2015 at Cannes Film Festival. The claps continued long after the film got over. Cheers to the entire team of Masaan!

 

And click here to read an early and glowing review of the film by Screen Daily.

UPDATE : And we have got a small video of the presentation ceremony too. Do watch it.

Neeraj Ghaywan’s Masaan at Cannes (Trailer + Photos)

Neeraj Ghaywan’s debut feature Masaan (Fly Away Solo) is premiering at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival. Written by Varun Grover and starring Richa Chaddha, Sanjay Mishra, Vicky Kaushal and Shweta Tripathi, the film is competing in Un Certain regard section of the fest. Click here for the official synopsis, cast and crew list.

Here’s the trailer of the film

Click here to check out a new clip from the film.

And here are some happy faces of the film at the fest. Click on any pic to start the slide show.

Cast with Anupama Chopra

Masaan Cast on stage

Neeraj Ghaywan with producer Manish Mundra

Neeraj Ghaywan with cast

Ghaywan with Dardenne Brothers

Neeraj Ghaywan at photocall

Ghaywan receiving standing ovation

Richa Chadha, Neeraj Ghaywan, Shewta Tripathi, Vicky Kaushal

Vicky Kaushal, Richa Chadha, Shweta Tripathi

Writer Varun Grover in front, Mundra & Ghaywan at the back

Richa with film’s poster

Producer Manish Mundra

Varun & Neeraj

Vicky Kaushal, Shweta Tripathi, Neeraj Ghaywan, Richa Chaddha at the photocall

Ghaywan gets emotional

Receiving standing ovation

Kanu Behl’s Titli – Tracking the Cannes buzz

Kanu Bahli’s Titli premiered at Cannes Film Festival in Un Certain Regard section. Here’s all the buzz from the Cannes.

(click on any pic to start the slide show)

An enjoyable, character-driven Indian yarn about an emotional family of criminals gets better as it goes on…. Behl shows talent directing a largely non-pro cast, situating them carefully in the squalor of their Delhi surroundings. The family’s cramped apartment is the theater of many domestic dramas but also symbolizes the close ties that bind everyone together, like the humorous intimacy of their noisy tooth-brushing.

All the technical work is top quality. Namrata Rao’s editing keeps the rhythm flowing, while sound effects and music (uncredited) are used to great effect to pump up the mood.

– From The Hollywood Reporter. Full review is here.

To Behl’s credit, as wretched, repulsive and disgusting as his characters often are, it’s impossible to ignore them, because there is a spark of human grace even in the least appealing ones. His cast, mostly consisting of inexperienced actors, instill lots of fiery passion  in their respective roles, with a couple of remarkably intense scenes between Arora and Raghuvanshi standing out among others.

– From Screen Daily review, it’s here.

– Screen Daily interview is here.

– Film critic Anupama Chopra tweeted about it

#Titli is brutal, complex, layered, gripping. Terrific performances. Congratulations Kanu, @RanvirShorey, Shashank, Dibakar, @guneetm, @yrf!

— Anupama Chopra (@anupamachopra) May 20, 2014

– A Variety feature on “Titli’s challenges” is here.

– To know more about the film (synopsis, cast, crew, poster, trailer), click here.

(pics from various sources)

First Look : Kanu Behl’s Titli (Poster,Trailer)

Kanu Behl’s Titli is all set to premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. And the makers have just released the poster and the first trailer of the film. It looks so intense, and so unlike any other YRF film ever. Have a look.

And here’s the Offficial Synopsis –

In the badlands of Delhi’s dystopic underbelly, Titli, the youngest member of a violent car-jacking brotherhood plots a desperate bid to escape the ‘family’ business.

His struggle to do so is countered at each stage by his indignant brothers, who finally try marrying him off to ‘settle’ him.

Titli, finds an unlikely ally in his new wife, caught though she is in her own web of warped reality and dysfunctional dreams. They form a strange, beneficial partnership, only to confront their inability to escape the bindings of their family roots. But is escape, the same as freedom?

Cast and Crew

Directed by: Kanu Behl
Produced by: Dibakar Banerjee and Yashraj Films
Music by: Karan Gour
Written by: Sharat Katariya & Kanu Behl

– Starring Ranveer Shorey, Amit Sial and introducing Shashank Arora

– Earlier Varun Grover wrote about Titli in this post.

 

Gitanjali Rao’s True Love Story selected for Cannes Critics Week (Poster/Trailer)

After Titli, one more Indian film is going to Cannes this year. Gitanjali Rao’s 19 min animation short film True Love Story has been selected for Canes Critics Week.

Her earlier short film Printed Rainbow premiered in the same section of Cannes in 2006 and had won three awards. She was also on the jury of Critics Week Short films in 2011.

In her words, True Love Story is a journey through the seductive, treacherous streets of Bombay. In a city soaked in Bollywood dreams, it moves from the fantastical to the viscerally real. True Love Story is a painted ode to romance.