ADVERTISEMENT

Australasian films to screen at Indian film festival

Press release from International Film Festival of India

A Phillip Noyce retrospective, the acclaimed drama 'Oranges and Sunshine', and NZ cross cultural romance 'My Wedding and Other Secrets' are among the Australasian films screening at the 42nd International Film Festival of India, taking place in Goa from 23 November – 3 December 2011.

The International Film Festival of India is the most well established film festival in India, and screens over 400 films to an audience of millions, through cinema screenings and live feeds to the subcontinent’s numerous and passionate cinefiles.

Mind Blowing Films’ Mitu Bhowmick Lange, who produces Australia’s own Indian Film Festival: Bollywood and Beyond, curates the Australasian program. Bhowmick Lange said “This is an incredible opportunity for Australian and New Zealand films to reach this massive and diverse audience. I am particularly delighted that directors Phillip Noyce and Nadia Tass will both attend as guests of the Festival.”

IFFI will screen a special retrospective of Phillip Noyce’s work, from his high profile action collaboration with Harrison Ford, 'Clear and Present Danger', through to political thrillers 'Catch a Fire' and 'The Quiet American', his 1978 classic 'Newsfront', and 1977’s ultra low budget 'Backroads'.

Noyce will attend the festival and present a day-long masterclass on the process of translating ideas from concept, through script development, to finished product.

Noyce said “I‘m delighted that the International Film Festival of India will share with audiences films spanning my whole career. The screening of 'Backroads' and 'Newsfront' will give Indian audiences a taste of Australian acting icon, Bill Hunter, in two of the roles that first revealed his remarkable talent.”

Nadia Tass will attend with her moving drama 'Matching Jack', which recently won Best Directing and Best Screenplay at the Milan International Film Festival.

Also screening are 2011’s extraordinarily successful 'Oranges and Sunshine', shot in South Australia and starring David Wenham; and from New Zealand the dramatic and affecting 'Matariki', in which five intersecting stories merge into a fascinating portrait of a South Auckland community; and 'My Wedding and Other Secrets', a cross cultural romance about love and family loyalty.

“These screenings build on the success of the Australasian program at last’s year IFFI, where Indian audiences lapped up the smash hit 'Animal Kingdom', and Taika Waititi’s 'Boy' picked up the Special Jury Award,” said Bhowmick Lange.

Mitu Bhowmick Lange is the director of the Indian Film Festival: Bollywood and Beyond, Australia’s annual celebration of Indian cinema in all its forms, from Hindi blockbusters to Bengali arthouse. She is the director of Mind Blowing Films, a film production and distribution company bringing the best Indian theatrical and DVD releases to Australia and New Zealand